(BOYS FINAL) St. George's Tops Handsworth to Win Their First 'No Regrets' Title
St. Georges v. Handsworth (Boys Final)
Written by Scott Leigh, Handsworth Grad ‘06
Up at Collingwood in the British Properties of West Vancouver, we have the No. 6 AAAA ranked Handsworth Royals versus the No. 4 AAAA ranked St. George Saints in the No Regrets Boys Final! Handsworth is looking at a possible third consecutive No Regrets Tournament win (with a covid year in the middle), but the Saints would prefer to spoil that storyline tonight. The fans came out to support from all over for this one - Royals jerseys, as well as Saints jerseys are scattered amongst the stands. We even have a couple Saints supporters who have showed up with their drum set to cheer on their squad!
With only a few hours between finishing their semi-final games and starting the finals, recovery and nutrition are key. From a reputable source who has requested to remain anonymous, Tate Christiansen of the Royals had his usual pregame meal: tofu, rice and edamame, in addition to his go to smoothie, affectionately referred to in his household as the “No Dates for Tate Shake”. St. George’s is coming off a convincing semi-final win over Lambrick Park, and is looking to carry that momentum over from this morning into the evening matchup. Enough chitter chatter, let the games begin!
The tip went to the Saints, and we are underway. No shortage of energy with these teams off the start, with St. Georges connecting on a couple of tough finishes inside and #9 Gorospe for the Royals connecting from range. The big man, #23 for the Saints, Skeene, is using his physicality to set an early expectation for what it will be like to bang with the big boys downlow. After the early game jitters eased, the teams exchanged blows and kept this game within a possession of each other for the majority of the quarter. The big man for the Royals, #4 Eruera, is showing he isn’t afraid to step back and hit the long-range jumper - Handsworth takes a 5 point lead. Quickly afterwards, Eruera committed his second and third fouls, and has now found himself on the bench where you would expect him to spend the rest of this half. #4 for the Saints, Vandenberg, has made his way back to the freethrow line again by aggressively attacking the rim and forcing his opponents into difficult situations. #2 for the Royals, Christiansen, is putting that tofu to work with the Eurostep and-1 finish to bring the first quarter scoring to an end.
End of the First Quarter: Handsworth 21: St. Georges 18
#11 for the Saints, Highland, hustled back on D to make the big block as the Royals’ Gorospe tried to finesse his way to the hoop. Vandenberg has continued to be aggressive offensively, cutting his way through the D and finding ways to finish around the rim. A few minutes into the second quarter and the Royals hold onto a 1-point lead. Another layup for Vandenberg gave the Saints the first lead in a while, and that seemed to have ignited a spark on the bench. The pesky defense of the Saints has been effective - getting their hands in the passing lanes and forcing turnovers. With under 10 seconds to go, Saints are in position to hold the possession and try to take the lead heading into the locker room. Strong defense by the Royals cancelled those plans, and Handsworth held on to a 1-point lead at the half.
Halftime Score: Handsworth 33: St. Georges 32
Halftime Fact: St. George’s motto is Sine Timore aut Favore (Without Fear or Favour)
Halftime Fact: In one of the more memorable historic games back in 2006 between the Royals and the Saints in the BC Provincials semi-final, Handsworth edged out St. Georges before going on to win the Provincial Championship, with Quinn Keast being named the finals MVP.
2021 Fashion update - short shorts are in, and pastel-coloured shoes are mandatory. Also, the No Regrets themed socks are incredible!
The Saints must have had the halftime speech of a lifetime, as they have come out with a sense of urgency that is being felt by the Royals. They have quickly flipped this game around with a 10-0 run to start the second half. #11 for the Royals, Bennett, brought that run to an end with 2 made free throws. Handsworth is going to have to regroup as a team and find some composure in order to turn this game in their favour, and a tough bucket inside and free-throw to complete the 3 point play by Christiansen may be exactly what they need. After the big run by the Saints to start the half, the teams have exchanged buckets back and forth which is a trend the Royals will look to snap. Vandenberg continues to break his opponents down on the perimeter and finish with class on the inside. The third quarter was everything the Saints could have hoped for, and one the Royals wished they could roll back and try again.
End of Third Quarter Score: Handsworth 42: St. Georges 55
Handsworth has to focus on taking this one possession at a time, find ways to make stops on D and turn that into buckets on the other end. On the other hand, the Saints want to keep their pedal on the medal and do what has been working so well in this second half. As the midway point of the final quarter nears, the Royals are down 15 and it’s now or never. The lead has extended to 17 and it looks like that coveted threepeat honour will be just out of the reach for the Royals. Credit to the Saints - they have worked their tails off all game long and have not been discouraged when falling into scoring droughts. St. Georges’ play in the second half has been top-notch, and they have earned the honour of taking home Quinn’s golden shoe trophy in 2021.
Congratulations to the Royals on another great No Regrets tournament, and huge congrats to the St. Georges Saints on winning it all!
Final Score: Handsworth 59: St. Georges 72
Another successful tournament in the books - thank you to all of the sponsors, volunteers and host schools who made this possible. The No Regrets Tournament Organizing Committee is ecstatic that we could bring this tournament back to the gyms of the North Shore, and provide an opportunity for these great student-athletes to get back on the court.
No Regrets.