The GSBA (Greater Sudbury Basketball Association) U12 Storm boys wrapped up the 2024-2025 season even more impressively than they started - which is saying something.
The local lads assembled an incredible season that saw them finish with a record of 33-3 and no losses on their resume since the start of the new year. With an increased emphasis on defense and protecting the rim, the Sudbury squad entered last weekend’s provincial playdowns with the skills required to excel at both ends of the court.
That was apparent right from the start as the Storm drilled home no less than eight three pointers while forcing the St Catharines Rebels to work for each and every bucket as the northern lads prevailed 46-34 in game one. Medric Raymond accounted for half of the baskets from beyond the arc as part of a game high 15 point performance, while Logan Martikkala zoned in for a pair of threes.
In their toughest encounter of the weekend, the Storm relied on relentless defensive pressure from the likes of Tejeda Gieselman, Hudson Blais, Rohan Saidi-Smith and David Olili to slip past GYBA from Guelph, 39-37. With ten seconds to play, Gieselman spotted Merick Nadeau, all alone, with the youngster calmly hitting for the game-winner.
With momentum clearly on their side, the GSBA reps had an answer for every push the KW Vipers extended, with Mason Kumutu, Niyam Patel and Ridge Maskovich netting the big baskets that constantly deflated the opposition as Sudbury rolled to a 53-38 victory.
Head coach Martin Nadeau and assistant coach Clare Gieselman had full belief that their troops were more than ready to complete their special run and they were not wrong as the U12 Storm boys toppled Orangeville 61-54 in the final.
"At the beginning of the season, a lot of our skill work focused on dribbling, shooting and creating offence - but it was time I needed to shift my focus on defence to better protect our rim," said coach Nadeau.
"We were giving up too many points in the paint. I wanted our defence to control the opposing team’s offence, to dictate the other team's offense."
Another notch in the belt of "defense wins championships", one could say.
