BC AA Boys Provincials - Championship 2018 Preview
It was all smiles for Brentwood College during their semi-final contest after destroying the Seycove Seyhawks on their way to their 2nd consecutive Championship final.
Brentwood will play #3 provincially ranked King George Dragons in Saturday’s championship game. It’s uncharted territory for the Dragons and Coach Darko Kulic. The Dragons booked their ticket to the championship after impressive victory against the Westsyde Whundas.
“We treat every game like a championship game” said coach Kulic, who also played for the Dragons back in the days.
Established in 1923, Brentwood College is one of Canada’s best boarding schools, an independent university preparatory boarding school for boys and girls in grades 9 through 13 on Vancouver Island in Mill Bay, BC. Back to hoops, Brentwood defended their AA Island Championship title by defeating Shawnigan Lake, and now has the opportunity to defend their AA Provincials Championship. Brentwood’s path to hoisting the trophy won’t be an easy task against the Kind George Dragons, who are ready to prove themselves.
King George Secondary is one of many public schools in BC, located in the West End of Vancouver, BC. Founded in 1914, and currently enrolls under 500 students, King George is committed to developing responsible citizens through intellectual and global awareness. The Dragons are also fresh of raising their own championship banner, defeating the Britannia Bruins for the Vancouver City Championship.
The Road: Brentwood destroyed Grand Folks 94-30 in the 1st round, edged Shawnigan Lake with a 4th quarter run too win 75-55 in the 2nd round, and dominated the Seycove Seyhawks with ease to a 95-57 win. Brentwood defeated their opponents by an average of 40 points heading into the championship game. The King George Dragons average margin of victory during their run to the championship game was 30 points. The Dragons beat the Sa-Hali Sabres 93-43, handled the Britannia Bruins with a 72-43 win, and earned their 61-50 win over the Westsyde Whundas.
The X-Factors: For Brentwood, keep an eye on Nathan Pasloske who has been solid, in many categories. Leading assist man and averaging about 16pts. His ability to create and dish the rock can cause some trouble for the Dragons. Brendan Sullivan has been battling an ankle injury but has still found ways to have an impact each game, but his speed and scoring punch will be key for them to win. Big man Somoto Dimonachie will be a size issue for the dragons. Both Grant Dillard and Ian Grabher have both been impressive on the stats sheet as well. Look for the playmaking of Brentwood guards, their transition game, their rebound strength and inside presence to be concerns, but was has been impressive, is their active defense. Forcing teams to panic, push them out of their offensive sets and force turnovers. For the King George Dragons, watch out for smooth operator Seyoung Choi to control the tempo, penetrate Brentwood’s defense, knock down some deep ones and at times be a pest defensively. Seyoung has been their top assists man and top scorer the entire championship run. Nikola Guzina can light it up from deep. Both Dhol Baboth and Raz Gugasyan will have to continue their solid play for the dragons, both offensively and defensively, with both dancing with double doubles in their previous games. Mohad Mundadi has been fiery defensively; leading the dragons in steals with almost 5 shoplifts per game, and adding some scoring punches as well.
The Outlook: While Brentwood and King George are, indeed, different teams, they mirror each other quite a bit in terms of personnel – both teams have great guard play, their ability to shoot the long distance ball, penetrate other opponents’ defense, use the ball screen effectively, and are long and athletic at multiple positions. Brentwood wants to get out and run constantly if they can, but the Dragons have their own transition tricks up their sleeves. Can the Dragons compete with the speed and athleticism of Brentwood, it remains to been seen, but the Dragons feel they can compete. Everyone knows that this is familiar territory for Brentwood and unfamiliar to the Dragons.
Can the Dragons disrupt Brentwood’s transition and prevent them from dominating the glass? Or, can Brentwood push the Dragons out of their comfortable tempo and disrupt their offense? Will Brentwood’s experience help them repeat or will the Dragons heat things up go home victorious?