Golden experience for Belanger at provincials

Coach Jan Peddle said participating in the Boys 2A division of the provincial basketball tournament was a great experience for the Belanger team.

Bringing home gold medals certainly wasn't bad either.

St. John's hosted the 40th anniversary "Hoopla" basketball tournament organized by School Sport Newfoundland and Labrador over the March 19th weekend.

The team from the Codroy Valley school participated in the same tournament last season but lost in the championship game. Peddle said there were a lot of returning players on this year's team, many anxious for a better outcome.

The Dunn Memorial team from St. Mary's was considered Belanger's competition in the 2A division, according to Peddle who added some people didn't give the west coast team much of a chance against Dunn.

He said Dunn used to be a 3A school but dropped down a level due to declining enrollments. The team has the opportunity to play against a lot of top quality teams due to their proximity to the Avalon.

The 2A division competition was an eight-team double round robin. Peddle said the team started off slower than he hoped but tightened their game each time they took the floor.

By the time they met Viking Trail Academy in the crossovers, Peddle said the team was playing well.

Belanger and Dunn met in the finals; each team had an undefeated record. The valley team pulled ahead early in the game, according to the coach, but twice the Dunn team pushed back.

"But our players really took control," said Peddle. "The boys were amazing."

Belanger came out on top with a spread of some 20 points, winning the gold medal. The final score was 75-58.

"Every one of the senior boys made huge contributions during the final," said Peddle.

He said Dunn had a lot of supporters as they were closer to the tournament location. However, Peddle said by the end of the final game, the smaller group of Belanger fans were out-cheering the Dunn supporters.

The team will rest for a week and enjoy their victory, but won't be off the court for long. Peddle said the junior members of the team, who will be returning next year, will start training again next week with some of the younger players at the school.

Players on the team are from grades 8 to 12, said Peddle, which means many of the players who participated in the provincials have several years to make the most of the experience.

The school sport association also presented one sportsmanship award to each of the 76 teams, from 45 schools all over the province entered in the competition. The winner from Belanger was Gerard Gale.

"We all realize the importance of sportsmanship, especially in school and youth sports, and the awards we presented were designed to draw important attention to the rewards that are generated by good sportsmanship," said Dennis Lush, association president. "We feel this was an important aspect of the tournament."

editor@gulfnews.ca