Home
http://www.bramptonguardian.com/sports/article/961950--unlikely-broncos-claim-hoops-title
What seemed like a nightmare six months ago turned into a fairy tale-like ending for the Bramalea Broncos on Wednesday night.
Just last September, Bramalea Secondary had no intention of fielding a senior men’s basketball team. The school made the decision because of what was described as poor behaviour by the players the year before.
But things took a turn for the better at the beginning of November. A teacher, Alan Shaw, agreed to coach the team. And Jason Brade, a former professional basketball player, joined Shaw on the sidelines.
The program was reinstated, with conditions, and the Broncos reaped the rewards Wednesday night by capturing the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletics Association men’s senior Tier II crown with an exciting 52-50 victory over the Heart Lake Hurricanes, who also suffered some bleak moments this year, at the Brampton campus of Sheridan College.
“They (the players) learned their lesson and they deserve this,” said Shaw moments after the Broncos were awarded their gold medals and the championship trophy, the first senior men’s basketball crown for the school.
“We weren’t going to bend the rules for them,” continued Shaw. “No class? No practice. We held practices at seven in the morning. Once they were at practice, they had no excuse not to attend classes. It’s about accountability and responsibility, and they acted responsibly.”
“Hopefully, something positive like this sets an example for the rest of the school,” added Brade, who played in the Montreal Basketball League and also played professionally in the United States and France.
The Broncos, without a lot of practice time under their belts before the start of the regular season because of the uncertainty of the program, went toe-to-toe with the Hurricanes all night.
The Hurricanes, forced to forfeit three games during the regular season because they had an ineligible player in the lineup, pulled to within two points of the Broncos, 48-46, with 57 seconds remaining in the fourth period.
Bramalea captain Jeffrey Olafemi, a six-foot-three forward, made four clutch free-throws in the dying seconds to give the Broncos, who finished the regular season with eight wins in nine starts, the title.
“After what happened this season, I’m happy for our guys,” said Heart Lake coach Paul Notice, whose team finished the regular season with a 5-4 record. “This is a good group of guys we’ve got here.”
The Hurricanes jumped out in front 10-6 in the first period but the Broncos went on a 10-point run to start the second frame to grab a 16-10 advantage.
“That gave them (Broncos) momentum,” said Notice. “It changed the tempo of the game and we were playing catch-up.”
Even so, Bramalea only led by one point, 22-21, at halftime. The ‘Canes held a 32-29 lead going into the fourth period, but the Broncos fought back in the final frame and built up a six-point lead, 48-42, with 1:40 remaining in regulation time.
The Hurricanes scored a pair of field goals to pull within two points with just under a minute to play but Olafemi came through with his four points from the line to give Bramalea the win.
Guard Terrence Thomas led the Broncos scoring with 17 points. Olafemi had 15 and Eric Morrison had seven.
Heart Lake point guard Ryan Johnson was top scorer in the game with 18 points. Ben Odamtten had 12 points for the Hurricanes, including a pair of three-point buckets.
What seemed like a nightmare six months ago turned into a fairy tale-like ending for the Bramalea Broncos on Wednesday night.
Just last September, Bramalea Secondary had no intention of fielding a senior men’s basketball team. The school made the decision because of what was described as poor behaviour by the players the year before.
But things took a turn for the better at the beginning of November. A teacher, Alan Shaw, agreed to coach the team. And Jason Brade, a former professional basketball player, joined Shaw on the sidelines.
The program was reinstated, with conditions, and the Broncos reaped the rewards Wednesday night by capturing the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletics Association men’s senior Tier II crown with an exciting 52-50 victory over the Heart Lake Hurricanes, who also suffered some bleak moments this year, at the Brampton campus of Sheridan College.
“They (the players) learned their lesson and they deserve this,” said Shaw moments after the Broncos were awarded their gold medals and the championship trophy, the first senior men’s basketball crown for the school.
“We weren’t going to bend the rules for them,” continued Shaw. “No class? No practice. We held practices at seven in the morning. Once they were at practice, they had no excuse not to attend classes. It’s about accountability and responsibility, and they acted responsibly.”
“Hopefully, something positive like this sets an example for the rest of the school,” added Brade, who played in the Montreal Basketball League and also played professionally in the United States and France.
The Broncos, without a lot of practice time under their belts before the start of the regular season because of the uncertainty of the program, went toe-to-toe with the Hurricanes all night.
The Hurricanes, forced to forfeit three games during the regular season because they had an ineligible player in the lineup, pulled to within two points of the Broncos, 48-46, with 57 seconds remaining in the fourth period.
Bramalea captain Jeffrey Olafemi, a six-foot-three forward, made four clutch free-throws in the dying seconds to give the Broncos, who finished the regular season with eight wins in nine starts, the title.
“After what happened this season, I’m happy for our guys,” said Heart Lake coach Paul Notice, whose team finished the regular season with a 5-4 record. “This is a good group of guys we’ve got here.”
The Hurricanes jumped out in front 10-6 in the first period but the Broncos went on a 10-point run to start the second frame to grab a 16-10 advantage.
“That gave them (Broncos) momentum,” said Notice. “It changed the tempo of the game and we were playing catch-up.”
Even so, Bramalea only led by one point, 22-21, at halftime. The ‘Canes held a 32-29 lead going into the fourth period, but the Broncos fought back in the final frame and built up a six-point lead, 48-42, with 1:40 remaining in regulation time.
The Hurricanes scored a pair of field goals to pull within two points with just under a minute to play but Olafemi came through with his four points from the line to give Bramalea the win.
Guard Terrence Thomas led the Broncos scoring with 17 points. Olafemi had 15 and Eric Morrison had seven.
Heart Lake point guard Ryan Johnson was top scorer in the game with 18 points. Ben Odamtten had 12 points for the Hurricanes, including a pair of three-point buckets.
