Common knowledge. Repeating is hard to do. That's a lesson the Lajeunesse Royals learned at the OFSAA A tournament in Welland. "Obviously we are extremely disappointed not being able to defend our title," said head coach Goeff Parent whose team took the gold a year ago. "Everything was in front of us."
#1 Lajeunesse opened the tournament with a 72-34 romp over Sainte-Trinite and beat #3 Notre Dame before beating #9 White Pines in the quarter-finals.
They faced #4 Nicholson Catholic of Belleville in the semi-finals losing 58-50. "We blew a chance to repeat in that semi playing a team we had beat earlier in the year which I believe played a part in our boys' confidence level going in," Parent said. "Nicholson played a hell of a game though and they deserved to win that one."
Lajeunesse tipped off against #17 Monseigneur J Pereyma from Oshawa and won 57-55. "I couldn’t be more proud of the energy and effort our guys showed especially after that let down in the semi," Parent said. "It is not always easy to compete for the bronze especially when you’re expected to win. The guys showed a lot of heart and a lot grit to be able to pull that one out and come away with the bronze medal."
"Jacy Zhang and Lucas Kwapisz were again our standout players the entire tournament. They play hard regardless of the situation and they really carry a heavy load. David Yengo Kabuya was the one who finished with the game winning basket."