“Our team is different”
The powerhouse Gee-Gees men’s basketball squad is ready to take on the defending champions Queen’s Gaels in this year’s Wilson Cup Championship. In the playoff race, the Gees have been crushing it, extending their winning streak to 18 games, beating out Laurentian by 31 points in the quarterfinals, and TMU by 33 points in the semifinals.
Whereas the Gaels have been barely sneaking by with both of their playoff games being won with no more than three-point spreads, a question to ask is do the Gaels have enough to stop the Gee’s momentum and extremely talented and experienced team?
During the regular season these two teams matched up against each other twice; in the first game the Gees would beat them 95-82 at home.
Then, it was Ankit Choudhary and Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta combining for 43 points, and an efficient offensive performance from Khalifa Koulamallah off the bench. Recently named First Team OUA All-Star Dragan Stajic turned in a great performance on both ends picking up eight assists with one turnover, and picked five steals.
Their second matchup in the closing of the regular season was a much tighter game with the Gees winning 89-84 thanks to a stellar performance from Justin Ndjock-Tadjore filling up the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
The imposing factor to the Gees in the second matchup was a gritty performance from the Gaels who had four scorers over 10 points, and Luka Syllas running the glass picking up 14 rebounds. With an almost game-determining stat, the Gaels were given a massive 31 shots at the charity stripe where they fell six made free throws short of a loss.
Coach James Derouin and the squad are pumped to regain the title from Queens. Derouin answered an interesting question after the Gee-Gees win over TMU — how does playing in the OUA East prepare the team considering its difficulty? Derouin said “Every night in that division you got four of the top ten teams, I think that really pays off.”
Derouin continued on to talk about being grateful to host and how much it means for the team, “We’ve had an incredible home game advantage for the past few years with all of our supporters, it’s a super knowledgeable crowd and they know when to get excited, the atmosphere is crazy here, we’re undefeated here and the players feed off that energy. It’s intimidating to our opponent and great for us, so it’s great to fill some extra seats here for the Wilson Cup game. Our team is different…”
Going into this Wilson Cup Championship the Gees will have to remain efficient on both ends, making sure to limit their fouls and securing defensive rebounds. The Gaels are without a doubt the strongest offensive team in the league averaging 92.1 points per game, however, the Gees are without a doubt the strongest defensive team in the league allowing 65.9 points per game,as the old saying goes ‘defence wins championships’.
Make sure to catch the Gee’s biggest game of the season where they look to steal the Wilson Cup from the current holders the Queen’s Gaels — this Saturday, March 8, on the Montpetit court at 8:00 pm. Tickets sold out Tuesday, but you can catch the game — even on a smart TV or phone — on CBC Sports.
