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The Vanier Crusaders hosted a basketball double-bill last Friday at Vanier Catholic Secondary School.

The first game saw the Vanier Junior Varsity team fall to Tim Brady鈥檚 Canada Games team 69-53. The game was close through nearly three quarters (13-13 at the end of the first; 29-28 Wolf Pack at the end of the half), but then the Canada Games team started pulling away. Vanier actually led 38-37 with 3:48 left in the third, but the Canada Games team took over, surging to a 48-40 lead at the end of the third period and never looking back.

High scorers for the Canada Games team were Kiiwaadin Swan with 23 points, John Musiime with 15 and Ben Bonilla with 12 points.

Crusaders high scorers were Ethan Wilks with 19 and Isiah Cabiso with 14 points.

According to Crusaders coach Sean McCarron, it鈥檚 been a while since the Crusaders have seen game action.

鈥淥ver two years since we鈥檝e seen Crusader jerseys on an official gym floor like this, playing games,鈥� stated McCarron.

鈥淪o nice to get the first one out of the way. I鈥檝e got lots of boys that want to play, so we鈥檙e not overly worried about a win or a loss at this point. For some of these kids, they鈥檝e never actually played basketball formally before, or at least they haven鈥檛 played since Grade 7 or Grade 8, including some of the Grade 12s. So a lot of nerves out there, lots of turnovers, some guys still not sure where they need to be on the floor, so the next three weeks, four weeks, wherever we鈥檙e at, it鈥檒l be fun to see if we can teach them a few things based on what we saw tonight. But super-fun to see them out.鈥�

The Vanier Junior Varsity (JV) team is a mix of players.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a bunch of Grade 11鈥檚 on there, so juniors, but we had Grade 12s out there, we had a couple Grade nines playing as well. So I鈥檝e divided my team into our Varsity and our JV, but some guys are going to be switching between teams, depending on how many more games we play, and that way, everyone can get just a few more minutes.

鈥淎nd playing Canada Games is pretty fun, because some of those guys are Vanier guys and some of those junior boys from F.H. (Collins), I鈥檓 coaching right now. So I get a chance to see them in action. Some of those kids played really well. When you鈥檙e playing against Kiiwaadin (Swan) 鈥� he鈥檚 one of the best young players in town, so he鈥檚 a handful. He鈥檚 an excellent player 鈥� he did a lot of good things.鈥�

Swan is a guard on the Canada Games team.

Overall, McCarron thought that it was a good challenge for his young charges.

鈥淚siah (Cabiso), our Grade nine player, played really really well. Ethan (Wilks) fouled out in the third quarter. He鈥檚 our most experienced player. So all things considered, the last six minutes got out of hand, score-wise, but we鈥檙e only down five at that point and Coach (Tim) Brady is doing a great job with that Canada Games crew 鈥� that training squad 鈥� they play good defence, they took care of the ball and they鈥檝e got some really good players. So it was a really nice challenge for my JV squad and hopefully we鈥檒l get them next time, but we鈥檒l see. If not, we鈥檒l learn.鈥�

Canada Games coach Tim Brady said it鈥檚 the first game they鈥檝e played in a while as a team.

鈥淚t is. We have a training squad ... these boys are on it. And then there鈥檚 boys that are playing in this game (Vanier Varsity versus Porter Creek) that are on it as well. So we took our younger boys in that training group and played just now and then some of our older guys are playing right here.

鈥淲e have practices and training sessions and play a little four-on-four we call it five on five to five and we work our training like that, but kind of the first semi-game we鈥檝e had that was kind of like a game, was officiated.鈥�

Brady said his bunch does have some recent playing experience, though.

鈥淭hese guys play all the time in the Filipino leagues and in the Whitehorse men鈥檚 league, so they鈥檙e playing games, but 鈥� this group was selected in the middle of February, so this is our first game. We鈥檙e actually going out in May to play in a tournament with 22 boys in our training squad. We broke those down into two teams. We鈥檙e playing in a tournament in May and then one in July, maybe one in-between. But we have to select our top-12. We still haven鈥檛 done that. We鈥檙e still working through that.鈥�

Brady鈥檚 group is putting together a team for the Canada Games August 6-21 in Niagara Falls (and St. Catharines).

Brady offered analysis of the game.

鈥淚t was a little rusty. We had a system that we wanted to work on, and we did. We were trying to get the team that we played to push the ball up with their left hand 鈥� we call 鈥榣ock-left鈥�. We got some good work at that. The back end of that defence can improve, but that鈥檚 why we play, to see what we can do better and what we need to work on. So we鈥檒l be back at it tomorrow at practice and we鈥檒l have some of that stuff from this game in mind to work on in our session.

鈥淥ther than that, it was good. I know all the players. They鈥檒l all been 鈥� I run the Wolf Pack program for basketball and all of those boys, on both teams, have been in that Wolf Pack program at one time or another. It鈥檚 always good to see them and to get 鈥榚m playing, especially this year; the seasons were shortened and pretty well cancelled.

鈥淲e took out some teams through Wolf Pack in September to play in the B.C. club national tournament. We took 48 boys to that, so we had four teams,鈥� he added.

鈥淚t went really well. And we took a girl鈥檚 team. We took a women鈥檚 team as well. So that was the last time I鈥檝e been on the court like that, outside of today.鈥�

鈥淣ext is the Victoria Day tournament in Calgary and then we鈥檙e on a regular four-a-day practice training session where we go during the week, work on different things, do some different things on the court 鈥� some skill, some system stuff to work on. We just sort of keep going,鈥� related Brady.

鈥淪o we鈥檙e in the second quarter of our training. Our first quarter just ended. The next four or five weeks is our second. And we鈥檒l be kind of refining some of the things. We hope to get all of our guys out for that, because we鈥檝e got 鈥� like I said, if you watch this game, five or six of those boys are with us as well.鈥�

The second game saw the Vanier Varsity team dominate a team from Porter Creek 118-71. Gage Sweeney poured in 36 points for Vanier. Angelo Coringal chipped in 24.

Top scorers for Porter Creek were Arlow Walker with 30 points, Navaya Webb with 13, and Fynn Ritchie, who netted 11 points, mostly with 3-pointers.