By Isabella Disley
The BGC Thunderbolts celebrated a groundbreaking basketball championship on June 29 in Burlington, but this was a title won thanks to many late nights in the lounge at the Ron Kolbus Clubhouse.
Of course this victory doesn’t happen without many hours of dedication in the gym. But what set the Thunderbolts apart from others was the brotherhood formed between the players, who never wanted to leave the lobby at BGC late at night after practice.
Instead of less healthy options that could be found down the road, this group chose each other, and now they have a pair of trophies and a piece of history to show for it – the first back-to-back champions of the North Pole Hoops Showcase League for 2024-2025 and spring/summer 2025.
“We all take care of one another,” underlines 6’5″ guard Geoffrey Okol. “No other team that I’ve known, that I’ve seen, or that I’ve been on, really has a bond like we do on and off the court.
“We really are a family. We really are brothers, and the first person to initiate that family energy would be the coach, and we just carried that on throughout our lives.”
Kian Nejad planted the seeds for the BGC Thunderbolts’ growth into a respected force on the Canadian basketball scene when he gathered a group of youth starving for recreation during COVID and began crafting a prep-style program that would offer the chance for local players to pursue sport at the next level.
Read More: ‘It’s more than a sport’: Ottawa’s BGC Thunderbolts making big noise through basketball
Reflecting the mission of BGC Ottawa – which has worked for over a century to help many local children/youth, primarily from low-income communities and challenging backgrounds – it wasn’t all about winning basketball games for the Thunderbolts.
And when Nejad’s lineup of senior players graduating from the under-19 division recount their favourite memories from their time as Thunderbolts, their freshly-won championships aren’t really the first moments that come to mind.
For Okol, who’s been part of BGC since he was very young, it was the team’s first camping trip.
“It had nothing to do with basketball and had everything to do with just teamwork and us bonding together as a family,” explains the Thunderbolts player since Grade 7. “That’s what we always promoted: that we’re a family, we’re brothers, that we take care of each other.”
Eshander Belme remembers when he was a kid, he couldn’t wait for his birthday party to start so he could run to BGC and play basketball.
“Before, I didn’t really have friends to talk to, people to hang around with, or supporters,” he recalls. “I get to talk to staff to help with my homework, to help me with basketball, and to help me chase my dreams.”
Another favourite moment for Belme was when the Thunderbolts were staying at another BGC location for a tournament.
“We all made great memories, played so many card games that day, and went to go hoop in the gym, and all the guys were having fun. It was so great,” he recounts. “It was like a sleepover, and we got to go out to eat at other places and come back to play on our fields of five and everything. It was so amazing.”
The collection of memories culminated with an unforgettable 2024-2025 where the Thunderbolts accumulated a combined record of 30-1 through the fall/winter and spring/summer NPH seasons.
In the spring/summer championship game, the Thunderbolts struck gold with a 77-65 win over Hamilton Elite, while Ottawa Elite were the bronze medallists. Suber Bakal was named MVP of the final as he led BGC with 16 points, six assists and seven rebounds.
“It feels amazing for a team that’s been battling to win a championship in NPH for just so long,” Okol signals. “It’s very humbling, but it’s also very exciting, and for us to be doing it back-to-back is even a greater feeling. It just feels so surreal, and I’m grateful to be with this program.”
The Thunderbolts will play in one last North Pole Hoops event, the Canadian National Invitational Tournament from July 24-27, although they’ve finished league play as the first back-to-back U19 champions.
“It felt amazing because, at the beginning, we were losing. It was a whole four-year process,” Belme underlines. “No one really believed in us, except our own coach and the organization. Working hard every day was kind of like pressure, but we believed in it, and then we created history. It was so nice seeing the people we grew up with, and the competition we were beating.”
Savouring a championship with long-time friends made the triumph that much more special for the BGC member since age six.
“I’ve been loving this place since I was a kid. It meant everything to me,” Belme reflects. “I don’t know where I would have been without it, because I don’t think I would have been playing sports. It kind of opened my eyes to see all the competition I can face, and all the new people I meet with basketball and outside of basketball.”
Belme recently announced that he will be joining the Lakehead University Thunderwolves alongside fellow Thunderbolt Lucky Lubangi. The pair will be joining BGC alumni Keylian Coulibaly with the U Sports varsity men’s basketball team in Thunder Bay.
Logan Miller is another Thunderbolt heading on to U Sports basketball, set to join the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold in September.
“This is the year that we’re seeing a lot of our guys go to the next level. A lot of our players are going and choosing where they’re gonna go next,” highlights assistant coach Aryan Kumar. “I think my favourite moment is just seeing everyone as a collective making their decisions and making their journey and realizing what that next step is.”
After playing for three years with the Thunderbolts, Kumar is in his first year of assistant coaching and has seen BGC’s impact firsthand.
“I was one of those kids who kind of came to the team not really knowing them, the essence of a community and the sense of belonging,” adds the Carleton University student. “But coming to the team, I realized how much I grew, and all it made me want to do was just make sure that I’m another factor to help anyone else grow as well. I want to make sure everyone else is able to take away from the team what I took away from it.”
Kumar and Nejad are focused on building relationships, and helping players grow and develop on the court, but more importantly as people.
“We’re here to become men of the future and make sure that we don’t become bad role models for anyone else following up after us,” Kumar adds. “It feels great to see those guys kind of grow into that role and understand that it’s bigger than basketball for us. They really do care about one another and that’s a really rewarding feeling.”