Finoro beat out a couple of other excellent players from teams that finished higher in the D10 standings, including Ryan Higgins (St. James) and Shamlo Saeed (JF Ross). However, it can be argued that Finoro was indeed the "most valuable" to his team --- Lourdes would have been in trouble without him holding down their backcourt, especially once rookie guard Chris Watson went down to injury early in the season.
Finoro helped the Crusaders to their first "AA" OFSAA appearance since the 2004-05 season, a moment that he described as the highlight of the season. Lourdes picked up a victory up in North Bay, which registered as the school's first-ever OFSAA win.
"It was something I hadn't experienced and a goal we had from the beginning of the year; to accomplish that goal and get Lourdes' first ever OFSAA victory was quite sweet," said Finoro.
"It was a culmination of all the hard work we put in and improvements we made as the season went on," he added.
The Crusaders definitely improved during the season, as they gave the eventual D10 champion JF Ross Royals all they could handle during their semifinal game before falling by 2 (Lourdes actually held a double-digit lead at one point).
At OFSAA, the Crusaders held a 34-22 halftime lead over #2 St. Basil of Sault Ste. Marie before falling in the second half.
Considering the relative level of youth on the Lourdes roster, this could mean some big things if Finoro decides to return next year for a 5th year of high school.
At this point, however, Finoro remains undecided about his plans for next season --- but he hasn't yet ruled out returning to Lourdes for a 5th year.
Congratulations, Mike!
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