The South East boys and girls basketball teams finished the Estevan 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games on a winning note.
The South East boys team overcame a 15-10 deficit after the first quarter at Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) on Wednesday morning to beat Team North 47-33. The South East girls team also overcame some first half troubles to defeat Team Parkland Valley 43-36 at ECS shortly after the boys left the court.
Gavin Fleck, a 13-year-old wing on the South East boys team, said the first quarter deficit came down to three lucky three pointers and a deuce by Team North’s Sonny Merasty and in no way reflected their play. He said they got their offence back on track after the opening frame by sticking to their game plan and everything went their way from then on.
South East ‘s Blake Anderson and Lindon Smith quickly got their team back to within one at the beginning of the second before Zachery Ashworth nailed two foul shots to put them ahead 16-15. By the half, Team South East had the game firmly in hand leading 29-18.
“The last game together is great having to finish with a win,” said Gavin. “Wins are what you’re aiming for, so I just love playing with this team and I think we did really great.”
It was back-and-forth action that highlighted the South East girls team’s game against Team Parkland Valley. The two clubs were tied at 12-12 after the first quarter, thanks to a buzzer-beating two from in the paint by Haylee Jones, and Team Parkland Valley held a 20-18 lead at half.
“We just worked harder than we were,” said Team South East post Anna Cushion, 13, about how they were able to control the play in the second half. “We got the rebounds and we were getting more shots up and just playing hard.”
Team South East’s Ruth Pecson helped lead the charge offensively after the half draining two deuces and a trey to help bring the score to 34-26 at the end of three quarters. The play evened up once again in the fourth quarter, but a three-point play where Anna notched a two and the foul kept Team South East firmly in the lead.
“We did very well and the best that we could and we played very hard as a team,” said Haylee, 13, who played small forward for Team South East. “It feels really good because we haven’t won our past two games.”
The South East girls team finished in fifth at the Saskatchewan Summer Games beating Prairie Central 72-17 and losing 50-31 to Rivers West in pool-play on Monday before falling 51-35 to South West on Tuesday to secure a spot in the fifth-versus-sixth game. The South East boys finished seventh losing 50-40 to Lakeland and 56-42 to Parkland Valley on Monday before beating Prairie Central 55-50 Tuesday morning.
“Both games we played (early on) were within our grasp, no doubt, and sometimes it didn’t click,” said Gavin. “Our last two games we played great as a team and I think we’ve played the best we’ve ever played.”
