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By Isabella Disley
Having three players injured within two weeks of the biggest tournament of the season wasn’t ideal for the Ottawa Next Level under-14 boys’ basketball team. But it ultimately didn’t stop the local crew from pulling off three upsets to reach their Ontario Cup championship game.
The beautiful sounds of bouncing basketballs and squeaking shoes echoed nonstop throughout the entire May 1-3 weekend at Algonquin College’s Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre, which hosted the top two divisions of play.
Many more gyms throughout the city hosted a total of 24 divisions, as Ottawa welcomed 183 teams for Canada’s largest youth basketball tournament.
“The atmosphere is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” marvelled ONL player Brody Joyce, who began playing basketball in house league when he was seven years old. “This is probably the highest division most of us have done. It’s a completely different atmosphere.”
Felled by an Achilles injury, Joyce was one of the ONL players forced to the sidelines as his mates competed in the second division.
“Injuries are part of the game, but we haven’t had any injuries like this all season,” lamented ONL head coach Shamir Kanji.
Seeded seventh of eight teams in their division, ONL were already underdogs before the injury bug hit. Despite a sluggish start in the first half, ONL found their rhythm to prevail 54-44 in their opening contest against Eurostep.
The lowest-ranked team in Pool B then took down their next two opponents, Scarborough and Toronto Triple Threat, 65-62 and 56-40, respectively, to advance to the championship game against the top-ranked Durham Rising Suns.
In the battle between the unbeatens, ONL struggled to keep up with Rising Suns’ offensive momentum and ended up chasing most of the game. The hometown boys were unable to solve their opponents’ defence, settling for the silver medal in a 68-47 loss.
Although the gold medal was out of reach, with one minute left, Kanji called for substitutes, and all three injured players were subbed in to enjoy one final on-court moment of the season. In what would usually be a heartbreaking moment of losing a championship game, it became a heartwarming one.
“Just give them a touch (of the basketball),” Kanji, who’s coached for ONL and the Kanata Youth Basketball Association for a decade, urged as his players passed the ball and dribbled down the court.
The players’ parents were pleasantly surprised by Kanji’s gesture and joked that they’d initially been terrified that their injured sons were being called in to try to launch an impossible comeback. Despite the sting of defeat, there was plenty to celebrate in the unlikely silver medal performance for a squad that had previously competed in division six. After the final buzzer, the team, family members and former players embraced each other with tears in their eyes.
“I was crying in the huddle,” Kanji highlighted, “because they created this love that we have for each other and for the game. This is what community basketball is all about: having these kinds of moments where you’ve been working in and out with every player for nine months.
“They are not an extension of your family; they are your family, in every sense of the word.”
Joyce carried similar reflections on the season.
“My favourite thing about basketball is the journey and the people you meet,” he explained. “The bond of this team is really strong. Coming into the season, most of us already knew each other, and as we spent more time together, that bond grew even stronger. It’s the best season I’ve been in for sure.”
ONL finished their season with a record of 48-7. With most of their games being in the Greater Toronto Area, playing at home for provincials was a nice change.
“Since we travel so much, it’s spending those times in the hotels, going for dinners, which is something that really builds chemistry,” indicated assistant coach Wilsen Choi. “It’s really great to have a whole crowd here, friends and family. We had a court that we’re kind of used to, and obviously, when you have a crowd and some home support, you kind of get a little extra energy from the crowd. It definitely feels awesome.”
ONL earned the highest finish out of local teams at the event. Ottawa South enjoyed a similar unanticipated run as the lowest-ranked team in division four. They missed out on a spot in their gold medal game on tiebreaker following a three-way tie among 2-1 teams, but earned the bronze medal with a 59-49 win over Ancaster.
Nepean won bronze in the sixth division, as did the Ottawa Shooting Stars in the eighth, while another Shooting Stars squad topped the 19th, Ottawa South took bronze in the 20th and West Ottawa won the 21st.
Local teams have scored many more prizes in tournaments for other age groups, headlined by the Ottawa South U13 girls.
Read More: Ottawa South girls’ U13 basketball team attains goal, strikes Ontario Cup gold
At the end of the day, Kanji and Choi said their big focus as coaches is on building the team’s communication and resilience.
“Even though we’ve had such a great record, I would say at least half the games have been very, very close, with us pulling it out at the end. The resiliency is about life as well, right?” Kanji underlined. “Not everything goes the way we want in life. There are always challenges, there are always things that we think are gonna go bad, but you’ve got to be resilient to deal with whatever life throws at you.
“I know that this is a moment that will make them stronger and hungrier, and they’ll be ready for the next gold medal game and the one after that, and the one after that. They’ve got a big future ahead of them wherever they decide to play.”
The U14 boys’ tournament is the biggest of three Ontario Cup events hosted in Ottawa this season. The U12 girls competed from April 17-19, while the U17/U19 boys are coming to town May 29-31.