U14 MUSKOKA BREAKERS BASKETBALL TEAM WINS SILVER AT ONTARO CUP IN OTTAWA

ROGER BIRD | Special to MuskokaTODAY.com

The U14 South Muskoka Breakers basketball team came home with a silver medal from the Ontario Cup finals this past weekend in Ottawa.

The team of players from Gravenhurst and Bracebridge battled to beat the DK Dragons of Bowmanville, the Cambridge Centaurs and the Thornhill Thunder to face the Ancaster Magic in the gold medal game on Sunday. Though the score was tied 21-21 at half and the Breakers surged ahead by 11 points in the third quarter, the chance for a gold medal slipped away in the fourth quarter as the Magic gained momentum and stole the game with a final score of 49-44.

“We are thrilled with coming away with a silver in our division,” said head coach, Mandy Dart.

“It is hard for the players to celebrate and truly recognize their accomplishment after a tough and close loss, but I am absolutely delighted with the grit, hustle and basketball IQ that both our veterans and rookies put on display throughout this challenging season and final tournament.”

The team’s assistant coach, Jacob Hills, a 2022 graduating student from BMLSS, started coaching in the 2019/2020 season which didn’t quite get finished, and rejoined the coaching team this season alongside coaching newcomer, Sarah Hiscox, while Dart has been coaching a core group of the players since the 2018/2019 season.

Dart says all three coaches “are in awe of the time, practise and personal development players put in on their own during the pandemic — effort that helped get us into the gold medal game in our division this year and left us with extra special memories of the 2022 OBA Ontario Cup.”

Muskoka Breakers U14 silver medalists: Back left: Mandy Dart, Alex Rasmussen, Desmond Gauthier, Bishop Turnbull, Lucas Szczerbak, Cameron Bird and Jacob Hills. Front left: Bennett Clayton, Alexander Wark, Lucas Holm, Lucas Hills, Om Patel and Maxx Davidson. (Photos by Scott Turnbull)
Lucas Holm scrambles to beat his opponents for a loose ball at the U14 boys basketball championships in Ottawa on the weekend.
Cameron Bird goes up for a basket against four defenders in an impressive outing and season wind up for the young Muskoka Breakers team with players from Gravenhurst and Bracebridge.