A nine-team bracket in the middle of three U13 divisions provided plenty of variety in terms of opponents for the Sudbury U13 Storm Boys at the recent IEM Tournament in Newmarket, Aurora, Keswick, King City and Bradford.
In the end, none were able to topple the talented northern lads as the Storm rode a five-game winning streak to a championship banner, with their next event set for December 6th and 7th in St Catharines (CYO Rebels Tournament).
With some nerves in play as three newcomers to the team (Nehemiah Esmie, Sawyer Kerr, Reid Manella) took to the floor with this crew for the first time, the Sudbury lads overcame a 19-11 halftime deficit, rallying to slip past the JCC (Jewish Community Centre) Maccabi Warriors 35-32.
Team defense, in particular, played a big part in leading the second half charge as Nehemiah Esmie (10) and Niyam Patal (8) paced the Storm on the attack.
Learning from their mistakes in the morning encounter and limiting their turnovers, the GSBA (Greater Sudbury Basketball Association) reps improved to 2-0 thanks to a 58-38 victory over Maple Basketball.
Ball movement was key as every single player on the roster hit the scoresheet, with Ridge Maskevich and Rohan Saidi-Smith leading the way with eight points each while Mérick Nadeau and Médric Raymond both drained a pair of three-pointers from beyond the arc.
A full court trap took IEM Aurora out of the game early as the Storm remained undefeated, bolting out to a 22-2 lead on route to a final score of 54-24, with David Olili, Mérick Nadeau and Logan Martikkala all topping the point parade with eight.
Olili and Mason Kamuntu were relentless defensively, creating the turnovers that lead to basket after basket in transition as coach Martin Nadeau and company continued to roll.
Needing a fourth straight win to secure their berth in the championship encounter, the U13 Storm left nothing to chance, dominating Ottawa South Basketball in the paint and outscoring their adversaries from the nation's capital, 53-27.
Sawyer Kerr (8 rebounds), Reid Manella and David Olili controlled the boards for Sudbury while playmaker Tejada Gieselman was handing out assists like leftover Halloween candy, helping to get all of his teammates into the action.
In a well-matched final, Tejada Gieselman upped his game, earning MVP honours and leading the Storm to a 58-53 win over Legacy United from Oakville.
The punch / counter-punch affair would go back and forth from start to finish, with Gieselman (13) and Ridge Maskevich (11) leading the Sudbury crew that registered a key defensive stop, it would seem, every time they needed one.
Joining Nadeau on the team staff are assistant coaches Clare Gieselman and Kevan Saidi and manager Danielle Paquette-Raymond.
