Goulbourn Hornets Major Midget Boys Win Gold at Ontario Cup Provincial Championships

The Goulbourn Hornets Major Midget Boys basketball team racked up five straight victories to earn Ontario Cup Provincial Division III gold medals on the weekend of May11-13th, 2012.

The Hornets were slated to play the Durham City West Bulldogs in the opening draw on the Friday evening. In a previous meeting in late March, Goulbourn had earned a hard-fought six point victory. At tip-off time the Hornets had neither an opponent to play nor a functioning score clock. Once the score clock issues were resolved, the Durham team had finally arrived at the gym. The Hornets came out hard and never looked back. They defeated the Bulldogs by a convincing 62 to 29 – a tremendous start to the tournament.

On the Saturday morning the Hornets met local rival Ottawa Next Level. In March the Hornets had beaten the Next Level squad by nine points. However, this time a determined Goulbourn squad earned a decisive 58-36 victory. Sitting at 2-0 the Hornets were determined to win their last game of pool play to set up a favourable match-up in Sunday semi-final action. The Caledon Cougars gave Goulbourn all they could handle. The game was tight from tip-off to final whistle with the Goulbourn squad earning a 4 point victory (49-45) and first place in Pool A.

Goulbourn’s clean sweep in pool play set up a semi-final game versus the Etobicoke Thunder on the Sunday morning. Both Etobicoke and Goulbourn came out hard and the battle began. The score remained tight until late in the game. Goulbourn’s smothering defense had the desired effect and a worn-out Etobicoke team began to falter. Goulbourn prevailed 62-50, but lost forward James Anderson late in the game due to a gash over his right eye which sent him to the emergency room.

Next it was on to the championship game versus St. Catharines CYO. Anderson returned ready to compete for gold, with five stitches over his right eye. All the Hornets were determined to make good on their first ever appearance in an Ontario Cup final. The Hornet’s pressure defence resulted in numerous turnovers on which Goulbourn capitalized at the other end. The Hornets gradually pulled away as the game progressed and walked away with a 53-35 victory and Ontario Cup Division III gold medals!

The Hornets are coached by John Johnson and Pat Stoqua and are managed by Colin Anderson.

Front Row (L-R):Head Coach John Johnson, Sean Edgecombe, Jacob Dupuis, Daniel Currie, James Anderson, Corey Johnson, Lucas Mahony, Ben Mahony, Assistant Coach Pat Stoqua

Back Row (L-R):Carroll Long, Ben Streatch, Brendan Stoqua, Akshay Rishi, Camille Musuakala