Panthers flash potential as season momentum builds
- George Le Gresley
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
George Le Gresley
Sports Correspondent
Boys Junior Basketball
As noted previously, the Junior side is composed mainly of Grade 9 students with little or no experience playing organized basketball. At the beginning of the season, they looked lost on the court, while their coaches screamed reminders about how to handle situations the boys had never encountered. Last Thursday, the Juniors faced the 7-1 Assumption Lions, and I was surprised by how much they have improved on bringing the ball down the court, their passing, and defensive play. The Juniors remain winless in the standings, but their progress reflects the coaching and players working hard to learn the game. The team roster includes Ryan Maher, Al-Hameen Yakub, Blake Cruikshank, Rex Savage (the team’s leading scorer), Ali El-Agha, Kevin Walter, Calvin Passos, Jaskaran Mahil, Dominick Souliere, and Eesa Ansary.
Last Monday, the Panthers travelled to BCI and took a 68-35 loss. Blake Cruickshank and Calvin Passos led the scoring for Paris.
Boys Senior Basketball
The Panthers travelled to BCI last Tuesday and defeated the Mustangs 68-56. Canaan Sherbino led the scoring with 26 points, followed by Nathan Brewster with 11 and Dexter Quesnel with 7. With the Tuesday game done, the second-place Panthers had a Thursday matchup against the undefeated Assumption Lions on their home court. The first quarter’s scoring for both teams was tight, with Paris at the end of the quarter, leading the Lions 14-11.
The second quarter was similar to the first, with the Panthers holding a slight lead throughout and ending the quarter with a slight 24-23 lead. Elliott Schiedel was outstanding, catching rebounds both on the defensive and offensive boards.
With about six minutes left in the third quarter, Assumption took the lead and ended the quarter with the Panthers 39 and ACS with 48. In the fourth quarter, Paris couldn’t sink their shots, lost the ball on rebounds, and couldn’t stop Assumption from stretching their lead to end the game, beating the Panthers 67-47.
If all goes well, these two teams may meet in the AABHN North final, and the coaching staff will have to find a way to free up Canaan Sherbino, who scored what may be a season-low 5 points, and to slow down the Lions' offence.
Girls Volleyball
The Junior Panthers only had one game last week, losing to Assumption.
The Senior side had two games last week, the first on Monday at home against BCI. The Panthers started the first game leading the Mustangs until the Mustangs tied the game at 16. After that, it was a seesaw battle until the game was tied at 23, and Paris couldn’t earn a point, dropping a close one, 23-25. Nora Kovacs, Sydney Kipp and Rowan Worrall led the team with their serves.
The Panthers started off slow in the second game, allowing BCI to take a 5-0 lead. Finally gaining a side out point off BCI, the team won three straight points on Aliah Kingswood's serves. The Panthers kept battling until the game was tied at 26, when BCI won the final tie-breaking point to take the lead and lead the match 2 games to none.
After losing the first two games, the Senior Panthers put in a great effort, earning points on their serves and with booming spikes by Aliah Kingswood and Nora Kovacs, leading to a 25-21 win.
In Game 4, the Panthers collapsed, losing 25-28 and the match 3-1. On Thursday afternoon, the Seniors travelled to Assumption and seemed to get their game on, defeating their opponents three games to 1. With three games left in the season, these young ladies might be the underdogs that could upset teams during the playoffs!