Hoops in spotlight
Welland Centennial, A.N. Myer tip off 39th Review Tournament favourites
Basketball bragging rights are on the line when the “unofficial city championship” for high schools in Niagara Falls tips off Thursday.
Before the 39th Niagara Falls Review High School Boys Basketball Tournament wraps up the following night, eight teams will have honed their hoops skills heading into the playoffs by playing three games each.
A jam-packed bracket featuring one game on Day 1 and two on the second day is a boon for teams as far as playing time is concerned. Jamie Coull, chairman of the committee organizing the tournament, said high schools can play as few as one game per week during their regular-season schedules.
Once again, all of the action takes place at Westlane Secondary School, which has hosted the tournament exclusively since it was resurrected in 2006 following a 13-year absence.
A.N. Myer had been a home to the tournament for “many years” before the mid-season showcase went into hiatus. While there has been talk among committee members about bouncing some preliminary-round games to other high schools in the city, in the end the limited scope of the competition didn’t justify such a move.
“With just the eight teams, we felt we could manage it here at Westlane and keep everything here,” said Coull, head coach of the senior boys basketball team at Westlane.
Some discussion has also taken place about doubling the field to 16 teams and following the format used at the Standard and Tribune tournaments.
However, Coull doesn’t see such an expansion on the immediate horizon.
“I don’t know if we want to go that big,” he said. “It’s sort of an unofficial city championship.”
The eight high schools in The Review’s readership tournament – five in Niagara Falls, three in Fort Erie – have first refusal for tournament berths. Invitations are only sent to out-of-the-area teams when there are openings.
That’s the case for this week’s tournament. Berths opened up after defending champion Saint Paul opted to compete at a tournament featuring some of the top Catholic high schools in Ontario and Ridgeway-Crystal Beach decided not to enter a team.
Coull’s first call to round out the field went to Welland Centennial, which since the Review Tournament’s resurrection has been its strongest supporter among outof-the-area schools.
“Centennial has always been the team that’s filled in for us as that extra team,” Coull said. “They always seem to get an invite each year just because they’ve been so good about coming here.”
The Welland school’s support for the Review Tournament is attributed to Phil Mosley, head coach of Centennial’s senior boys basketball team and a one-time teacher and coach at Westlane.
“Coach Mosley has ties to Westlane, and he coached in the city for a number of years.”
Rounding out the field this year is Sir Winston Churchill, which got the nod after Eden, the first team to express interest, encountered scheduling conflicts.
With Saint Paul not returning for another title run, a new champion will be crowned after Friday’s 7 p.m. tournament final.
Centennial comes into the tournament as the favourite, with Myer a “close second.”
“Myer and Centennial have had some really good games,” Coull said. “The last few games they have been separated by less than 10 points each time.”
The Westlane coach rates the chances of his Spartans as somewhere below the top two.
“We’re kind of a middle-of-thepack type of team,” he said. “We have a good mix of youth and experience, we have an equal mix of (Grade) 11s and 12s.”
Marty Mancuso, a retired teacher who formerly coached at Westlane as well as at Welland Centennial, was instrumental in putting the Review Tournament back on the basketball calendar. Since 2006, the event’s popularity has validated Mancuso’s efforts on behalf of high school hoops in Niagara Falls.
“Last year was an amazing final with Myer and Saint Paul,” Coull said. “It went down to the last shot of the game.”
“Stands were packed and we had to get extra chairs for the stands.”
The Review Tournament’s importance isn’t limited to the action taking place on the hardwood. Advertising in the tournament program funds bursaries that over the years has been averaging between $300 to $500 per student.
“The ultimate goal of this tournament is to not only demonstrate some city talent, but to help local athletes pursue further education with player bursaries.”
Bursaries are awarded based on need, and the tournament committee endeavours to ensure no applicant is left emptyhanded.
“We try to give something to everyone who applies,” Coull said.
More than $28,000 in bursaries have been awarded since 2007.
The ultimate goal of this tournament is to not only demonstrate some city talent, but to help local athletes pursue further education with player bursaries.”