Grit Pays Off: St. George’s Takes Third Place in 10th Annual Tourney

Argyle Pipers v. St. George’s Saints

December 13, 2025

Saturday afternoon at Handsworth’s gym in North Vancouver, we have the Argyle Pipers from Lynn Valley matching up against the St. George’s Saints. The winner of this one will take home third place in the boys 2025 No Regrets Tournament. While both teams no doubt wish they were playing for the championship, they’ve earned this opportunity to finish on the podium.

Both of these teams are athletic and thrilled to run the fast break and look for points in transition. With that said, the start of this game has been a defensive battle, with each side making life difficult on the other. Four minutes into the game, we’re tied 5–5. With the format of the tourney, this is the only game of the day for these teams, and you can see the freshness in their legs — both in the pace offensively, but also in their willingness to defend and challenge everything.

The Saints put together a nice run, highlighted by a left-handed three-point floater at the shotclock buzzer from #5 Urban, followed by an and-1 finish from #10, Siddoo, to extend their lead to eight. It took both teams a few minutes to settle into their offensive rhythms, but once they did, we got exactly what we hoped for: incredible pace, shot-making, and playmaking from all angles of the court. The Saints got the better of the Pipers in the opening frame, finishing with a nine-point lead.

End of first quarter: Saints 24 – Pipers 15.

#1 for Argyle, Maydan, has found his groove — using his length and athleticism to beat his defender off the dribble and get to the rim. And when the opportunity arises, he’s not afraid to stretch the floor and shoot the long ball. The Pipers also present a unique look with Maydan and #21 Szpak: both tall, both comfortable handling the ball. They’ll be looking to take advantage of occasional mismatches with that size as a counter to the Saints’ strong guard play.

These teams have been going back and forth, with that 10-ish point margin holding fairly steady. #3 for the Saints, DeCotiis, knocked down the latest three for his squad, followed quickly by #5 Urban finishing in transition to push the lead to 15.

Argyle is now testing out a 2–1–2 half-court zone on the Saints, and the change in look definitely forced St. George’s to pause and evaluate. It’s far less common to see a 2–1–2 compared to a traditional 2–3, and it presents different windows and driving lanes. #3 DeCotiis didn’t seem bothered at all, finding space on the perimeter and hitting another three. And #5 Urban decided to skip analyzing the zone altogether, soaring down the lane for a hammer dunk in transition to extend the Saints’ lead to 20.

Halftime score: Saints 45 – Pipers 27.

Halftime Fact: The Quinn Keast Foundation took over the North Shore Invitational 10 years ago, rebranded it under the No Regrets brand - and this marks the 10th year the Quinn Keast Foundation has run the tournament!

The Saints are looking to build on their momentum from the first half, and early in the third quarter #1 Simmons drives hard to the hoop and finishes nicely with the left hand at the rim. Not to be outdone, Maydan comes down on the other end and earns himself a pair from the line. #21 Szpak follows that up by finishing inside with a tough floater and drawing the foul.

The Pipers have picked up their play through the first five minutes of the third quarter and have trimmed the lead down to 14. Another strong take by Szpak ends with a crafty right-handed layup and a foul call, though he can’t complete the three-point play. In what felt like déjà vu, Szpak again attacks the hoop and rises up to finish with authority. Argyle is fighting hard, looking to pull this back into single digits — because once they’re there, anything can happen in the fourth. With two minutes to go in the quarter, it’s a 10-point game.

#12 Belsito gives Argyle a big lift, getting the friendly bounce off the front rim on a three-ball attempt, dropping it in to keep the Pipers within striking distance. But a quick run by the Saints to close the quarter pushes their lead back to 13 heading into the final frame.

End of third quarter: Saints 61 – Pipers 48.

Argyle continues to build on the positive momentum from the third, with a clear eye on that third-place finish in the 2025 No Regrets Tournament. A stretch of efficient, composed decision-making and shot-making cuts the deficit to just six with a little over five minutes remaining.

A great find from #3 DeCotiis to #1 Simmons in transition leads to an easy bucket that halts the Pipers’ run — at least temporarily. Then #5 Urban jumps a pass along the perimeter, pokes it free, and takes it the other way for a powerful finish at the rim. A huge swing in both score and momentum, restoring a double-digit lead for St. George’s.

Argyle responds by tightening their zone D, looking to double the ball handler whenever possible and force quick decisions. The Saints’ lead sits at eight with 1:29 remaining. After another Pipers bucket, it’s down to six with a minute to go.

Following his fifth foul, #5 Urban heads to the line for two free throws with 38 seconds remaining, going 1-for-2. St. George’s secures the offensive rebound, earning #10 Siddoo two free throws of his own.

In the end, we witnessed a great battle for third place — but the Pipers couldn’t fully erase the early lead the Saints built in the first half.

Congratulations to both teams on an incredible tournament!

Final Score: Saints 74 – Pipers 65.

No Regrets.