Fierce Under Pressure

Last Friday and Saturday, the Brentwood Boys Basketball team set their hopes high on winning the Sooke Basketball Shootout, a tournament consisting of future senior players from each school and club. Although tough teams were competing, Brentwood did not flinch. With two games each day, Brentwood played four times in total. On Friday, we suffered a loss in the first game against a strong team from Denmark, which easily dominated the match with tall, talented athletes. Despite this early defeat, Brentwood did not suffer any loss to their confidence. With well-executed plays and a quick-transition defence, Brentwood next earned a comfortable win over Belmont. Saturday saw Brentwood start off their third game against the host team, the Sooke Storm. While our opponents played well, Brentwood won 61-25, with Matt G and Devin C leading the team in points. Brentwood's last game raised the bar of intensity with a contest that ensured the spectators in the gym were biting their finger-nails. Up against another solid, consistent team from Denmark, Brentwood provided everyone with an amazing contest. At the end of the fourth quarter, Woody L scored a jump-shot in the last few seconds to get us into overtime. With both teams determined to keep on fighting, this game went into triple overtime, apparently the first one in the tournament to do so. Both teams clashed like titans until the every end, applying great focus and energy to the quest for victory. Unfortunately, Brentwood tasted defeat at this point, losing 61-62 despite the game's leading scorer, Skyler R, doing everything he could and knocking down 3s whenever needed. Even though the last game was a disappointing loss for Brentwood, the final stand-off against a strong Danish team filled Brentwood with the hope that they could play better in the future, especially with more preparation. With Aiden C's and Matt G's solid defence, Skyler R's and Kaden R's sharp shooting, Devin C's stunning offence, and Woody L's and Sean M's control at the perimeter, the Brentwood boys’ basketball team left the gym with their heads held high, ready to prepare for the upcoming tournament at SMUS next week. Paul L, Whittall '15