Blogust & Everything After

When most sports fans were glued to their TVs watching football, I was glued to a rock solid wood bleacher at Bedford Road and what a glorious experience it was. The Holy Cross Crusaders played amazingly in their semi-final game vs. highly touted Ross Sheppard from Edmonton. Their transition game and precision outside shooting helped them to pull away and stay ahead. This set up a big final against our provincial rivals Regina Campbell. Campbell had been very consistent in the tourney and looked scary because of their speedy big men. Holy Cross isn't a big team, they're a team that rely on speed but Campbell was big and fast. The game started off the worst way possible with Campbell scoring with ease and HC ice cold. HC's star player Kevin Hollman had a very slow start (that continued all game). Campbell got up by 10 and things didn't look good. They took a 9 point lead into the half and I was nervous. We weren't playing well and I was stressed. But in true HC form we came out blazing in the second half. We hit some shots and caused some turnovers with some relentless pressure D-fense. Despite Hollman's ability to score on the day he definitely brought it on the defensive end of the court. Brayden Elliot hit some crucial 3's and we were back in it. The game stayed tight until midway through the 4th quarter when Hollman and Brett Boechler started to hit some shots and Campbell fell apart. HC went up by about 10 and Campbell ran out of time to claw back.....the buzzer sounded and HC had become the first Saskatoon team ever to win back to back BRIT championships. What a great game.

Kevin Hollman took the MVP home and Brett Boechler was voted a tournament All-Star. I personally feel that those awards shoudl be switched around. Although Hollman is very valuable to HC's team he didn't play that well this weekend. Boechler hit big shots when we needed it and he was in there getting gritty on rebounds and defense. Special mention goes to: 1) Chris Bodnar. He's a grade 10 kid who has the composer of a veteran player out there. He knocked down some huge 3s, played great D, brought the ball up with confidence and made some great passes. 2) Simon Haimonot- He's a grade 12 player who comes off the bench and he was by far the 6th man of BRIT. Although majorly undersized he came in and outrebouned everyone. He was also the recipient of many great dishes but most importantly he was able to finish around the rim. He also brought some energy to the game with his passion to play and excitement. 3) Scott McHenry- Although he wasn't the offensive player that he usually is he still made an impact. He was on the boards, he was drawing fouls, he was hitting free throws, he was confident with his ball handling and he did hit some shots when necessary. The only suggestion I have is.....get a haircut.

Well that's my BRIT report for today....I need to get to class.