Although winless on the hardwood, Team Territories were winners in terms of national media exposure.
The pan-territorial men’s basketball team, featuring players from Canada’s three territories, went 0-4 at the 2010 Juvenile Under 17 Men’s National Championships, which wrapped up over the weekend at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
However, while at the tournament a CBC miniseries called This Week In Canadian Sport, which promotes Sports Day in Canada (September 18), aired a two-and-a-half minute mini-documentary on the team.
The short piece aired nationwide Saturday before the Toronto FC soccer match.
“The story was the fact that we had come so far as a group and had a couple kids from Nunavut - small communities in Nunavut - and NWT, and were competing at the national tournament,” said Team Territories head coach Tim Brady, from Whitehorse.
“It’s an honour just to be there and compete against some of the best players and all of our guys certainly appreciated that.”
The team began the tournament with a pair of lopsided losses, playing New Brunswick and then Quebec, who went on to win the championships. But the territories bounced back from losses and ended their stay in Winnipeg with a pair of closer contested battles against Newfoundland and PEI.
“We got pretty well handled by Quebec - they were in a different class,” said Brady. “Against Newfoundland, I think we lost by about 20 points, but we cut their lead down to eight at one point. But it was our best game and our most competitive in the tournament.
“All our coaches and players had a positive experience; they all learned something from going.”
On the team were Whitehorse players Peter Hanson, Logan Boehmer, Jake Jacobs, Soleil Stimson and Tanner Coyne, plus a couple from Hay River, two from Yellowknife and individuals from Iqaluit and Chesterfield Inlet.
“I think we played better as the tournament went on,” said Brady. “Our last two games were our best games, against Newfoundland and PEI, that we generally were more competitive with.
“The team competed hard, gave a great effort and all the guys got better and improved over the course of the tournament.”
To view the documentary, visit CBC.ca/video and follow the sports link.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com