Andrew Wiggins bids farewell to Canada as OFSAA Champion
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LONDON, ON–The dominant season that the Vaughan Voyageurs witnessed in their 2010-2011 campaign was not yet complete until the precious OFSAA gold championship was captured.
It is now safe to say, mission accomplished! Vaughan defeated Oakville’s Loyola Hawks 76-63 in the much anticipated bout between the two heavyweights. Vaughan was the NPH #1-Ranked team in the land going into these provincial championships, while Loyola owned the #3 spot in the country.
Andrew Wiggins lived up to the hype, despite unreasonable chants from the Loyola faithful, referring to the phenom as “over-rated.”
The 6’7 standout shooting guard proved to those in attendance at Fanshawe College what exactly the Wiggins hype was all about en route to 25 and 14 rebounds.
However, it was not simply the Wiggins show on championship day as stellar point guard, Henry Tan led the offensive charge early, while registering 21 of his own. Tan has been a rock for Vaughan all year long, and it was no different on the big stage!
Head Coach Gus Gymnopoulos stated, “We worked hard all year and we earned this, man it feels great.”
On the other hand, Loyola was devastated after this championship loss, as the team representing Oakville walked into the changeroom with their hearts crushed.
This Hawks team certainly have nothing to be ashamed about as they exceeded everyone’s expectations and performed at a high level throughout the OFSAA championships. They are well coached, disciplined and play with passion.
Seniors including Mike L’Africain (Undecided) and Adam Prescutti (McMaster) will advance their basketball careers at the post secondary level.
Grade eleven standout Petar Rusic led the team registering 17 points. L’Africain and Prescutti added 14 and 13 respectively.
Shelby Taylor, who is also in grade twelve, played an instrumental role in the Hawks success. Taylor came off the bench with energy and really provided a spark for Loyola in each contest. It will be interesting to see if Taylor will be returning for another year and play a larger role to help the Oakville squad sustain dominance in Ontario basketball.
Conversely, young superstar Andrew Wiggins will more than likely end his Canadian high school basketball career at the tenth grade as he will make the jump to a prep school in the United States next season.
“We want him to be challenged…if guys like Myck Kabongo and Anthony Bennett and many others were still here in Canada, it would be different,” explained former NBA player and father of Andrew, Mitch Wiggins.
“Andrew will be heading to prep school in the States next season.”
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