Clash in the Clouds: Collingwood Cavs and Aden Bowman Bears Deliver a Thriller

Collingwood School v. Aden Bowman

December 11, 2025

Welcome to year 10 of the No Regrets Basketball Tournament! Buckle up for a thorough review of this game.

On an ominous fog-filled afternoon in the British Properties of West Vancouver, we are gearing up for a matchup with the hometown Collingwood Cavaliers taking on the visiting Aden Bowman Bears. The Bears have travelled in from a chilly -30 degrees in their home of Saskatoon, and the boys are thrilled to get a glimpse of that iconic Pacific Ocean during their few days in Vancouver. We can only imagine how much sweeter that Pacific Ocean experience would be coming off a W. Can they take down the Cavs in their own gym?

As is to be expected now after 10 years, Collingwood spares nothing in putting on a truly unbelievable (BRIT-esque…IYKYK) Spirit Game to kick-off the No Regrets Tourney. The bleachers are filling up with students dressed in their all-whites. The drummers are finding their places, the band is getting into form, and we may or may not be lucky enough to see a live anthem. Again, no expense spared!

All smiles from the Aden Bowman Bears as the Cavs get their final cheer in, and the packed gym gets ready for any final entertainment before the opening tip. There is almost no point in having an announcer, and that’s no disrespect to the Cavs announcer who is doing an incredible job, but the gym is so loud it’s truly impossible to hear anything in here! Alright, and with that - it's time for some basketball!

Both teams are looking to settle the nerves after all of the pre-game excitement, which has this game starting with a few uncharacteristic turnovers and some missed shots. With the first basket of the game, #12 on the Cavs - Peter Huang, knocked down a deep 3.  With the early jitters starting to wear off, both teams are working hard on D to make up for the inefficiency on the offensive end thus far. The Cavs look to increase that defensive pressure by coming out with some full court defence, which has been advantageous as the Bears are forced to speed up their decision making.  

During the Cavs timeout, a Collingwood teacher, Cruz, made sure the energy inside the gym didn’t drop by giving the crowd a pump-up trumpet solo, with the full band in the stands in support! Rumour has it Cruz has never lost an arm wrestle! #21 for the Bears, Blanch, has come to play - he has now hit 3 threes in the first 8 mins, netting out to 9 of his team's first 11 points! Aden Bowman has taken their first lead, up 12-11 with under 2 minutes left in Q1. A great first quarter of action - the Cavs will feel like they left some points out there after a handful of missed layups, but still able to pull back into the lead before the end of Q1. 

End of the first quarter: Cavs 15 - Bears 14. 

Collingwood came out with a level up on both ends, with their full court D leading to turnovers and easy buckets on the other end. An 11-0 run to start the quarter has them up 26-14 just 2 minutes into Q2. Huang, #12 on the Cavs, hit another 3 and followed that up with the rarely seen alley-oop floater to extend the lead to 15. #21 Blanch for the Bears stays hot, hitting yet another 3 - if the early parts of this game are any indication, they are going to need that hot hand to stick around for a while longer to keep his Bears in this one. The Bears continue to show fight, not wanting this lead to get out of hand heading into the half. They’ve cut it back to 10, thanks to #21 Blanch and the yin to his yang, #12 Dobranski—knocking down shots.

Halfcourt zone D by the Bears is changing the look for the Cavs, after they were finding comfort getting to the hoop in transition and breaking down their opponents from the perimeter. Just like that, we have a 4-point game with the Cavs holding a narrow 44-40 lead with a minute to go in the first half. 

Halftime: Cavs 44 - Bears 40. 

Halftime Fact #1: The Cavs’ height ranges from 5'10" to 6'4" - a tightly clustered data set that surely delights head coach (and Collingwood math teacher) Andy Wong, who’s enjoying a roster with a well-below-average standard deviation.

Halftime Fact #2: Aden Bowman Collegiate is named after local businessman Aden Bowman, a self-made entrepreneur who arrived in Saskatoon in 1907, built a successful repair business, and went on to serve the community as an alderman and long-time collegiate board chairman.

Collingwood made sure the crowd stayed entertained during halftime, with not one but two different dance and cheer teams performing!

Collingwood started the second half looking to give the Bears some of their own medicine - a halfcourt 2-3 zone D. I’m sure the halftime chat in the Cavs locker room went something like - “we are going to start in our 2-3 zone D, but do not, and I repeat do not, lose sight of Blanch in that zone.” After saying that, Blanch knocks down his 6th 3 of the game and has a heat check from real deep right after. The Cavs have quickly answered back by hitting three 3s in a row to build their lead back up to 12. #12 for the Cavs, Huang, has stayed consistent throughout this game so far - hitting his open looks and making sure his team’s lead is maintained. Eventually that halftime game plan came into effect for the Cavs, seeing their lead get to north of 20 with a few minutes remaining in Q3. 

A combination of the Bears’ shooting cooling down and the increase in pressure from Collingwood leading to turnovers and a lot of fastbreak opportunities - gave the Cavs a comfortable lead heading into the Q4. 

End of the third quarter: Cavs 73 - Bears 52.

Collingwood’s “Golden Boys” - with their drums, sunglasses, and front-row energy - have been wildly entertaining all game. And with No Regrets swag being thrown into the crowd between quarters, they’ve been a crowd-pleasing hit as well. 

I’ve truly lost track, but I believe we are now sitting with Blanch hitting around 7 or 8 threes after his latest make from deep. #5 for the Cavs, Harry Bell, has been a consistent presence for Collingwood - finding his opportunities to score, but also ensuring he controls the pace of play and creates opportunities for his teammates.  Aden Bowman is displaying an impressive level of grit in this game - not allowing the home team to run away with this and giving themselves a chance. With 6 minutes to go, they have brought this lead down to just 11. 

With another Blanch bomb, the lead is into single digits with the Bears down only 8 with 4 minutes to go. The Bears were operating in an aggressive 2-3 zone defence, extending out to the Cavs players on the perimeter and encouraging them to attack or make the skip pass.  Maybe the dagger the Cavs needed, #6 McNeil hits another three to push their lead to 13 points with a couple minutes left. The crowd is on their feet and have no interest in sitting back down for the finish of this game. 

We could not ask for a more entertaining game; combined with an incredible effort by everyone at Collingwood to create an unbelievable atmosphere for their spirit game - what an experience! Good luck to both teams for the remainder of the tourney!

Final Score: Cavs: 92 - Bears: 80

Player of the Game: Collingwood’s #6 E. McNeil

No Regrets.