On Tuesday the Robert Land Academy Loyalists travelled to St. Catherines to take on the Eastdale Eagles in a battle for a spot in the playoffs. With our top scorer, Thomas Uzan out due to an ankle injury, the Loyalists had their work cut out for them.
Pont guard, Reece Continelli stated prior to the start of the game: “We are not leaving here without a win today.” Fode Kaba followed that up by challenging the team to play together, as a team, pursuing one goal.
The jump was successfully defended by power forward, Ojortule Ogoh, who out-jumped the Eagles’ 6 foot-two centre to give the Loyalists a great first start and the Loyalists outscored the Eagles 14-8 to take commanding control of the first quarter. In the second the Loyalist defense kicked in for the lowest scoring quarter of the game, Loyalists 5 and Eastdale 4 points.
In the third quarter, Eastdale outscored the RLA squad in an attempt at a comeback but, thanks in part due to Vidhya Petit’s protection of Eastdale’s top scorer, it was not enough and RLA finished out the game with a 37-33 victory and a spot in the playoffs.
In addition to Petit’s triumphant effort at shutting down the Eagle’s top scorer, the Loyalists contributing scorers were: Gavin Yekmalian, 2 points, Dafydd Jenkins, 2 points, Edwin Ajaere, 2 points, Vidhya Petit 3 steals and 1 point. Ramiro Torres contributed 6 points, and four massive blocks, one that sent the basketball ricocheting off the glass backboard and onto centre court. Ojortule Ogoh contributed well with 5 big rebounds, 2 points and 2 steals; Fode Kaba stepped up huge with 9 humongous baskets, and Reece Continelli played his biggest game of the season contributing 12 crucial points to seal the deal for the Loyalists.
Unfortunately the Loyalists’ first game of the playoffs was just two days later, on Feb 16 and against the top seeded school, Stamford Collegiate.
Petit went to work once again containing one of Stamford’s top players, who eventually got ejected from the game. The Loyalists suffered multiple turnovers in the first half which made it difficult for the team to catch a break.
The RLA team also struggled to convert on the offensive glass, but did make a rally, although short-lived, in the third quarter. With some players missing from the bench, no point guard and some crucial mental errors, the Loyalists fell 67-36 to Stamford and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Despite the loss RLA’s coaches praised the team for always giving it their all and playing with heart.
