May 6, 2015 · 0 Comments
After a regular season and semi-final series, the Dufferin Elementary Schools basketball tournament came down to the final games held at Westside Secondary School in Orangeville on Tuesday, May 5.
Eight teams in two pools battled it out for the championship title in front an enthusiastic crowd of supporters.
Boys ‘B’ pool
The Spencer Avenue Elementary School Stallions and the East Garafraxa Public School Raiders were the first game of the night in a challenge for the boy’s ‘B’ pool championship.
Spencer Avenue took a lead and was ahead 16-9 at the half.
East Garafraxa battled hard in the second half but the the Stallions took control of the game and claimed the championship with a 30-13 win.
“We passed a lot and I went to my shooting guards when I needed help,” Said Stallions centre Mateo Stoll. “I practiced a lot and my team practiced a lot and we worked together as a team.
Girl’s ‘B’ pool
The girl’s ‘B’ pool championship pitted the Grand Valley and District Public School Gators against teh Princess Elizabeth Public School Panthers.
The game got underway with a 6:50 p.m. start.
The match was the most closely fought battle of the night with Grand Valley leading 7-6 at the half.
With the clock ticking down, the teams were separated by a single point with a minute remaining. The Gators scored with a minute left on the clock and held on to win the game 13-10 and leave the court with the championship.
Gators’ player Logan Taylor said thought her team played well during the championship.
“We drove the net really good and got the lay-ups,” She said, adding the Panthers teams put up “a really good defence.”
Girl’s ‘A’ pool
In the girl’s ‘A’ pool championship game, the Island Lake Public School Lakers were up against the Laurelwoods Elementary School Lady Lightning.
Laurelwoods opened a big lead during the first half with a series of successful charges to lead the game 13-4 at the end of the half.
Laurelwoods had a good performance in the second half but could not close the gap.
Island Lake took the championships with a 20-10 final score.
“I’m proud of us because we came together and pulled it up. We never played them before so I didn’t know what to expect. After the first half I knew we were going to win.” Said Island Lake player Alina Dineley. “Most of us have played before,” She said her team’s experience on the court. “We normally practice every other day.”
Boy’s ‘A’ pool
The final game of the night pitted the Glenbrook Elementary School Grizzlies from Shelburne against Orangeville’s Montgomery Village Public School Vipers for the boy’s ‘A’ pool championship.
There was a lot of talent on both ends of the court and at the half Montgomery Village had pulled ahead with a 15-10 lead.
In the second half the Grizzlies played an outstanding game but just couldn’t drop the ball through the hoop while Montgomery Village hit shot after shot to widen the gap and take the game with a 34-16 win to claim the championship.
“It was frustrating,” Said Vipers’ player Jacob Llewellyn in a reference to a couple of tall players on the Grizzlies squad. “We all worked as a team to get the job done and win it. We were working hard to just get out there and stop them.”
The Vipers claimed the Elementary School champion in a season the saw them go undefeated to end the year as the top team in the Dufferin Elementary School tournament.