U15 Ontario Earns the Gold…Cory Joseph Provides Added Spark!

TORONTO, ON–When a team portrays complete dominance over their competition, added motivation is someitmes necesssary to avoid complacency.

As Ontario’s star forward, and U15 Tournament MVP put it, “Coach said come with us, we have someone that we wan’t you guys to meet. We were walking through and all I see is Cory [Joseph].”

“I never thought I would get to see him, it was really great to see someone in the NBA, who started off just like us on the Ontario team, it really got me excited for the game,” Egi, passionately explained.

The San Antonio Spurs’ first-round pick, Canadian Cory Joseph sparkled the gym with his presence, and truly motivated the young players in attendance from all over the country.

Unfortunately for BC, Ontario came out of the gates hungrier than ever, despite complete domination of previous teams that had stepped in their way.

Chris Egi led the way for Ontario with a game-high 15 points along with three rebounds and five steals.

However, an Ontario player that hasn’t been mentioned often enough is 6’0 guard Russell Baker who was solid all week off the bench, providing instant energy, while sustaining defensive pressure.

Baker, along with Cory Johnson, chipped in with 10 points apiece for Ontario, respectively.

Once again, it was difficult for British Columbia to get into any sort of rhythm with constant full court bombardment. BC Lead guard, Jalen Jana had some success breaking the pressure, however the second or third wave of defense for Ontario was the defining factor that forced turnovers.

Adam Karmali led the way for British Columbia with a team-high 11 points and Buster Truss added nine points of his own.

Jana, who was selected as a first team all-star, recorded eight points, six rebounds and two helpers.

In the end, the unit representing Ontario was far too hungry and too determined to let anyone take what was eventually thiers…the gold.

6’6 F Brody Clarke told NPH, “The game wasn’t over yet, and we didn’t win the championship yet. We knew what we had to do and we kept going for it.”

TOP PERFORMERS

Ontario

• Chris Egi: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 steals
• Cory Johnson: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
• Russell Baker: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals

British Columbia

• Adam Karmali: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
• Buster Truss: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks
• Jalen Jana: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists