Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
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Killarney’s Logan Beazley (15) drives to the basket while guarded by Parkland’s Austin Klein Thursday.
SWAN RIVER — Team Westman’s 16-and-under boys basketball team opened with a pair of convincing wins Thursday at the Power Smart Manitoba Summer Games.
In the first of two games on the day, Westman rallied to a 60-33 victory over Team Parkland.
But despite a smooth finish, the road to victory started off a little bumpy. Parkland seemed in control after the opening tip-off, jumping out to a 5-0 run out of the gates. Dominating the lanes but unable to finish under the hoop, Team Westman mustered only five points in the first quarter as Parkland took a 10-5 lead after the opening frame.
"I thought the guys were real nervous to start there and so we got off to a pretty slow start," said Westman head coach Jeremy Wielenga following the game. "But after that the kids played hard and battled back and got through it. So overall I’m really happy with that first game."
In what appeared to be a completely different team, Westman opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run, eventually outscoring their opponent by 18 points in the frame to take a 29-16 lead into half.
When asked what advice he offered to fire up his players after a dismal first quarter, Wielenga said he kept things simple.
"I just let them know it’s still just basketball," said Wielenga, who just finished his second year as an assistant coach with the Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball team. "(I told them) the hoop’s ten feet high, the free throw lines the same as anywhere else you play and I think they were just nervous. It’s a great atmosphere and its a great opportunity for the kids to play here, so I think they were just a bit anxious and after that we said the ball is going to go in the hoop, so keep playing hard."
Westman forward Quinton Hunter of Brandon certainly heard the message, leading all scorers with a game-high 15 points. James Klassen also hit double-digits, scoring 10 points in the victory.
But it was two big plays in the second quarter from the 5-foot-11 Hunter that shifted momentum in Westman’s direction. The first play came in the form of a three-point buzzer-beater. With the shot clock winding down, in what appeared to be a certain turnover, Edgardo Tabortlupa Jr. found Hunter open behind the arc with enough time drain the shot before the clock expired.
The icing on the cake came with two minutes left in the half when Hunter stole the ball off his opponent and drove to the basket, hitting the shot while drawing the foul. He would go on to make the free throw and complete the three-point-play.
"It wasn’t my best game, but we came out on top so I can’t feel bad about it," said Hunter. "We knew that we hadn’t had a lot of games this season. It’s been about a month since we’ve played, so we were hoping to come out on top and we did.
"We knew that they were going to be a great team. They gave us a run for our money at the beginning, but we came up with a big win."
Team Westman would continue their winning streak last night, rolling over Team Eastman by a score of 82-48.
With the score tied 21-21 after the opening frame, Westman pulled away — much like it did in their first game — outscoring Team Eastman 61-27 in the next three frames.
Westman’s Igor Revol led the way with 16 points, while Hunter chipped in 14.
But despite a 2-0 start to the tournament, Wielenga knows there’s still work to be done.
"Defensively I thought we played well," he said. "Even when the ball wasn’t going in the hoop we still defended hard. We got stops and we kept it close, so when the ball started going in we’d be there in the end. Offensively we need to execute a bit more, look to move the ball and hopefully get inside a bit more and have some easier looks at the hoop."
Wielenga also won’t let his players take their 2-0 start for granted.
"We need to come out and play hard," he said. "No games are ever easy, no win is ever easy."
Team Westman will play its final round-robin game today against Winnipeg Blue (2-0). Tip-off is at 10:45 a.m.
» jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition July 20, 2012
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SWAN RIVER — Team Westman’s 16-and-under boys basketball team opened with a pair of convincing wins Thursday at the Power Smart Manitoba Summer Games.
In the first of two games on the day, Westman rallied to a 60-33 victory over Team Parkland.
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SWAN RIVER — Team Westman’s 16-and-under boys basketball team opened with a pair of convincing wins Thursday at the Power Smart Manitoba Summer Games.
In the first of two games on the day, Westman rallied to a 60-33 victory over Team Parkland.
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