Guelph CYO Knights U16's Take Amateur Basketball Syndicate Championship

This past weekend, the Guelph CYO Knights took the title of the Amateur Basketball Syndicate Championship (absbasketball.ca) by defeating the Etobicoke Thunder 64-44.  The win was made more impressive when you consider their "regular season" records in the league --- Guelph went 8-3 while Etobicoke posted a perfect 11-0 mark.

Here's a release that was passed my way regarding the game; you'll note many familiar "CWOSSA names" particularly from Bishop Mac and Guelph Centennial:

The Guelph CYO Major Midget Boys Basketball U16 squad are the Amateur Basketball Syndicate champions.  The Knights claimed the title with an impressive 64-44 win over Ontario Basketball Association Division 1 champions Etobicoke Thunder.  Guelph entered the game as underdogs but quickly established that they were focused and prepared to compete with the taller Thunder.  After a close first quarter the Knights use of a variety of zone defenses began to limit the Thunder’s inside game and Guelph held the edge at halftime, 31-27.  Guelph’s defense stepped up the intensity in the second half and the Knight’s got out in transition, using their team speed and passing to convert Etobicoke turnovers into fast break points.  The fourth quarter saw Guelph navigate through the Thunder’s pressure defense to build a 20 point lead and secure the championship.  Guelph was led by the scoring of Jake Chaput who netted 19 and was later named game MVP.  Chris Poloniato capped off an impressive season by scoring 19 of his own.  Poloniato was recognized for his efforts throughout the season, earning ABS League MVP.  Also scoring for Guelph were,  Evan Hosker 11, Jasmer Brar 10, Mark Shinouda 3 and Simon Chamberlain 2.  Contributing on the defensive end were Marcus Penaloza-Abankwah and Andy Ly.

The league featured several other CWOSSA teams and talents.  The Cambridge Centaurs finished with an 8-3 mark, while the KW Vipers posted a 4-7 mark during the campaign in the 12-team league.

Here's a link to the league stats page; Chris Poloniato was the league's leading scorer with an 18.3 PPG clip, while a couple other CWOSSA players were also in the top 5 --- Zubair Seyed (St. Benedict, 16.2); Justin Hardy (SJAM, 14.4) & Alex Douglas (SBCSS, 13.7).