Just five short years ago, the Greater Sudbury Basketball Association (GSBA) was born.
One of the very few groups which unearthed gym time as the global pandemic slowly loosened its grips on the use of school venues and such, the GSBA initially featured a small handful of competitive teams along with a larger recreational foundational base.
This past Sunday evening, the GSBA squeezed some 300 or so athletes, coaches, administrators, parents and guests into the upper hall of the Caruso Club for the year-end banquet, with 17 rep teams part of the festivities.
With the Storm boys fielding multiple teams in four different age brackets, numbers on the second team could run somewhat tight – though complaints of lack of playing time were completely non-existent.
The truth is that some of these additional teams created the setting for a coming out party for some athletes who previously might not have cracked the top team roster. Which just such an opportunity presented, Jerry Tatho was able to shine, recognized as the Most Valuable Teammate on the U15 Boys (coach Ray / Jacob) crew.
“I was thinking of playing last year but didn’t try out because I didn’t think I was good enough,” said Tatho, a grade nine student at St Benedict Catholic Secondary School. “I wasn’t confident.”
That has all changed as the natural left-hander has worked hard to create a threat with the ball in either hand, driving through the lane as is his propensity. “I was a better shooter (this year) and I can get to the rim easily; that’s my strength,” said Tatho. “I don’t really think when I go to the rim.”
“I just go and absorb the contact.”
Part of a U15 squad that pieced together an 11-game winning streak to close out the year, capturing gold in the Division 5 grouping at provincials, Allyson Ouimet is thankful to have stumbled across a sport that is now her passion.
“I started playing soccer when I was younger but in grade 7, I found I had an interest in basketball and started to pursue it,” said Ouimet, a 15 year-old grade 10 student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School. “I still play soccer to this day and like playing both, but the people in basketball really make it fun.”
And with having far less ground to cover on a basketball court versus a soccer pitch, Ouimet is able to narrow down her peripheral focus of all that is happening as she looks to impact the game. “In soccer, I really have to read what all of the other players are doing,” she said.
“In basketball, you still have to do that too, but there are less players and so you have more of a chance to do it yourself.”
As for the team hitting their stride midway through the winter, Ouimet suggested there is nothing new about the formula for success that the U16 Storm girls employed. “We started playing more together, passing the ball more and seeing each other more,” she said. “Communication with whoever is on the court, especially when we are in zone, and having that trust that they have that side helps a lot with good defense.”
Welcoming four new faces to the club basketball scene and assembling athletes from three different clubs in order to put together a U19 boys entry this year, the lads under the tutelage of coach Tony Church closed out their club careers in style, capturing a bronze medal at provincials.
The Sudbury reps defeated the eventual gold medal winners in round robin play to earn a shot at the podium, overcoming key injuries and an obvious lack of familiarity to still finish in the top half of the field.
Team members included: Keelan Donnelly, Dean Pandi, Greyson Seifert, Zeb Aulenbach, Will Church, Cade Kirwan, Keiran Adams, Brayden Legendre, Adama Krubally and Keenan Eristhee.
The U12 Storm girls ended the 2025-2026 OBL season ranked 58th in a field of 58 teams – only to improve almost 30 slots this year, finding themselves right in the middle of the pack as the season came to a close.
Following is a listing of the individual awards that were presented at the banquet – based on teams that provided the necessary information:
U17 BoysMVT – Lunden Runia-Campbell
Defensive – Judah Brohart
Improved – Noah Wilson
U15 Boys (coach Dave)
MVT - Kaleb Parent
Defensive - Carter Brunet
Improved - Mathis Larochelle
U14 Girls
MVT – Madison Houle
Defensive – Olivia Poirier
Improved – Kristen Kutchaw
U19 Boys
MVT - Will Church
Defensive - Brayden Legendre
Improved - Adama Krubally
U13 Boys (coach Glen)
MVT – Gordon Perry
Defensive – Hudson Blais
Improved – Caleb Laplante
U10 Boys
MVT - Finnegan Mitchell
Defensive - Charles MacDonald
Improved - Wyatt Aubrey
U12 Boys
MVT – Clark Sauve
Defensive – Gryphon Berti
Improved – Leo Nguyen
U12 Girls
MVT - Lorelei Shonwise
Defensive - Ivy Blouin
Improved - Kaiyah Comtois
U16 Boys (coach Noah)
MVT – Leland Daviau
Defensive – Xander Duncan
Improved – Walter Sherman
U14 Boys (coach Derrick)
MVT - Emmett Shonwise
Defensive - Hunter Lavallee
Improved - Zach Roy
U13 Boys (coach Marty)
MVT – Ridge Maskevich
Defensive – Nehemiah Esmie
Improved – Sawyer Kerr
U11 Girls
MVT - Maija Zwolak
Defensive - Riah Venkadesan
Improved - Aubrey Paul
U15 Boys (coach Mike)
MVT – Carter Larochelle
Defensive – David Tehere
Improved – Finn Cromwell
U15 Boys (coach Ray/Jacob)
MVT - Jerry Tatho
Defensive - Eli Purdy
Improved - Ondre Harris
