Historic win for Phoenix
Prior to the final of the 47th Annual Ontario Catholic Classic Saturday night at Denis Morris, a member of the Saint Francis senior boys basketball team implored his teammates to put the city on the map.
The fourth-seeded Phoenix ended up doing exactly that, knocking off the second-seeded Notre Dame (Brampton) Knights 68-59 to record the school’s first-ever Classic title. The Phoenix made their third straight appearance in the semifinals this year and their first final visit since losing to St. Mike’s of Toronto in 2015. They became the first Niagara school to win since Notre Dame in 2006 and the first St. Catharines school to be crowned champion since Denis Morris in 1979.
“This is an amazing school, probably with one of the richest histories in the Niagara region, and there are many that have come before me who are better than me and there have been amazing teams,” said Phoenix player Jack Ciocca, who led his team with 23 points in the final, including 18 in the first half. “Being able to make history is one thing we wanted to do and I wanted to do ever since I came here. This is one we haven’t got yet and it feels amazing to get it.”
The 6-foot-1 tournament all-star was delighted with the win but feels his team can be better.
“We are still trying to find what works for us. We definitely found something that worked for us this weekend and we still have a little bit to go. We have talent, we have togetherness, we have chemistry and at the end of the day we are a program. We love to come to play basketball. It is not a job, it is enjoyment.”
Ciocca picked a great time to have one of his highest-scoring games of the season but that wasn’t his focus.
“I am here to do whatever I can to help the team win. Sometimes it is on the scoresheet and sometimes it is on the defensive end,” the Grade 11 student said. “I came in today and they told me to guard No. 3. (Tafari Harrison). He had 27 this morning. I said, ‘I am here to do that’ and I achieved that. To put a couple of points up there was fun too and I hit some big shots.”
Phoenix coach Jeremy DelaCruz was thrilled with the win and told his players to check out the program.
“Look at all the great names and MVPs and great teams. You have NBA guys, D1 guys and guys who have played all over the world and now they are part of that history,” he said. “The last Saint Francis team to make a final was that great Abu (Kigab) team and they came up short. They made history today and it is such a legacy for the program and the whole region.”
Saint Francis was cruising with a 49-28 lead in the third quarter but a 20-6 run that spilled into the fourth quarter saw the Phoenix clinging to a 55-48 advantage with 5:31 left in the game.
“That Notre Dame Brampton team is so well-coached and so dynamic and we knew it was going to be tough,” DelaCruz said. “At halftime, I told our guys I knew we had got lucky with some shots and we were playing well defensively but we knew they were going to make a run. We just had to be mentally tough and figure out how we would overcome that.”
Andrews Ens scored 19 points in the final and was an easy choice for tournament MVP but it was Ciocca who was Mr. Clutch in the final. He hit a highly contested jumper to end the 20-6 run and make the score 57-48 and then, with 1:20 left in the game, he hit a buzzer-beating three-point shot to give his team a 64-54 advantage. The Knights cut the lead to 64-59 with less than 40 seconds left before Ens closed the game by going 4-4 from the line.
“We are trying to empower our players and we want them to shoot those shots. We want Jack to be more dynamic and I think this weekend he finally figured out how he is going to get to his spots and get those shots,” DelaCruz said. “I see only great things to come for Jack.”
The Phoenix were playing for head coach Jon Marcheterre, who missed coaching in the tournament because his mother passed away. Marcheterre came to watch the final game from the stands and posed for a team picture afterwards.
“It was a tough week for the guys and I know it pains Jono not to be here. He is such a great leader and they all look up to him,” DelaCruz said. “We had a tough week trying to figure out who we are without John but 95 per cent of the work was done. I’m just here to maintain that message.”
Also scoring for the Phoenix in the final were: Awab Ali 10; Elijah Quissua 10; and, Tommy Goodwin 6.
Top scorers for Notre Dame were Jahvon Givance with 20 and Jaiden Castada-Mandani with 17. Both players were named to the tournament all-star team. Also named to the all-star team were Assumption’s Luke McKinnon and St. Michael’s College’s Noah Pistilli.
PHOENIX 67 BLUE RAIDERS 65
Ens hit the winning shot late in the game as Saint Francis advanced to the championship game with a 67-65 victory over the St. Michael’s College School Blue Raiders in the semifinals Saturday afternoon.
Scoring for the Phoenix were Ens 22; Goodwin 16; Ali 10; Quissua 8; Nawaf Kigab 6; Ciocca 3; and, Jakob Labanowicz 2.
Leading scorers for St. Michael were Pistilli with 27 and Tobias Sealy with 18.
CONSOLATION ROUND
LIONS 63 IRISH 51
The Notre Fighting Irish made it to the consolation semifinals of the Ontario Catholic Classic before dropping a 63-51 decision to the Assumption College Lions from Brantford.
Scoring for the Irish were: Andrew Benko 18; Nicholas Capretta 10; Trent Groulx 6; Michael Ventresca 6; William Benko 5; Colton Kizlyk 4; and, David Babalola 3.
Top scorers for the Lions were McKinnon (22), Andrew McGarr (12) and Zagham Syed (9).
