The Carman Cougars narrowly missed a podium finish at the Provincial A/AA JV Boys Basketball Championship hosted at Carman Collegiate from March 12–14.
Carman Cougars forward Wes Ballantyne earned player of the game honours for Carman in the semifinal against the Frontier Raiders
Carman opened the tournament with a strong showing in the quarterfinals on March 12, defeating the St.-Joachim Braves 72–59 to move into the semifinal round.
Head coach James Ballantyne said the Cougars executed their game plan well in the opening matchup.
“We played an outstanding first game defeating St. Joachim who had defeated us earlier in the year,” Ballantyne said. “The boys executed the plan that we set out and won that game 72–59.”
The Cougars then faced the Frontier Raiders on March 13, where Frontier pulled out a 68–62 victory to advance to the championship game.
Ballantyne said the semifinal was a tightly contested battle against the eventual provincial champions.
“We started out slow and were down up to 14 points before battling back to within one point in the final three minutes of the game,” he said. “We just didn’t hit our shots down the stretch.”
That loss sent Carman to the bronze medal game against the Souris Sabres on March 14. Souris controlled much of the contest and defeated the Cougars 67–51 to claim third place.
“In our final game we had a tough performance for the bronze medal game versus Souris and didn’t play up to our capabilities,” Ballantyne said. “We made a run to get the game to within six points but struggled to finish great chances throughout the game.”
Despite finishing just off the podium, Carman had strong individual performances during the provincial championship. Bravin Tshondo was named a tournament all-star and was also selected player of the game in the Cougars’ quarterfinal victory over St.-Joachim, while teammate Wes Ballantyne earned player of the game honours in Carman’s semifinal matchup against Frontier.
Ballantyne said Tshondo played a key role in the team’s success throughout the tournament.
“Bravin was a true offensive catalyst for our team throughout the weekend,” he said. “On the offensive end he is tough to stop and in transition his speed makes him a nightmare for the other team.”
Elsewhere in the tournament, the Rosenort Redhawks edged the Arborg Athletics 57–55 in the consolation final.
Frontier went on to win the provincial title later Saturday, defeating the Warren Wildcats 71–68 in the championship game.
Ballantyne said hosting the provincial championship at Carman Collegiate created a memorable experience for players, staff and fans.
“We were thrilled to have provincials at home,” he said. “Many of our players had the opportunity to attend provincials last year, but doing it at home in front of the school is special.”
From an organizer’s perspective, Ballantyne said the weekend ran smoothly thanks to strong support from staff, students and volunteers.
“We had an outstanding hosting committee and so much help from the staff and our students which made the event go very smoothly,” he said. “We heard many excellent things about the job our school did running the event and making it memorable for the athletes.”
The school also organized several extra events to enhance the provincial experience, including an opening ceremony, a come-and-go banquet and a skills competition for players.
“The players’ favourite was definitely the skills competition,” Ballantyne said. “We ran four different events where schools competed against each other in shooting and dribbling games and the kids had a blast.”
Ballantyne added that the strong support from the school community helped create an exciting tournament atmosphere.
“The school was buzzing throughout the weekend and we had great crowds for most games,” he said. “For our first home game we had the entire school out cheering the boys on which made for a memorable experience.”
He also credited the many volunteers who helped make the event possible.
“None of these events or teams could happen without the many volunteers who generously give their time,” Ballantyne said. “We are very fortunate in this community to have so many great people willing to step up and help.”
Eight teams competed in the three-day provincial event, including Carman, Warren, Souris, Frontier, Rosenort, Arborg, St.-Joachim and Immanuel Christian, with all games played at Carman Collegiate.
