Our 14U teams took to the court on Saturday for their last OVA tournament of the regular season, the Bugarski Cup.
The Walezi competed in a Championship tournament in Woodbridge. After winning their pool in the morning, the team battled through the playoff rounds to make it to the gold medal match, ultimately falling to a worthy opponent that outplayed our young Walezi squad. A well deserved second place finish and a few more ranking points to boost the team’s overall ranking for OVA Championships in April.
Across town, our Inkemba brought their talents to a Trillium tournament at Skillz Basketball Lab – a less than ideal venue to host volleyball as there is minimal opportunity for spectators to watch the kids play due to the poor layout of the courts. With that said, the venue did not phase the girls and their play on the day. After landing in third place in their pool due to tiebreaker rules, the Inkemba battled through the always tricky “play in” game by winning in three sets to advance to the quarter finals. After taking two straight off of the top ranked team in the quarters, the team secured another win in the semis by going the distance with Niagara Rapids United winning the third and deciding set 15-13. In the Gold medal match, their opponents brought their “A” game, handing the Inkemba their first loss in the playoff rounds of the tournament, thus giving the team a Silver medal for their efforts.
In Georgetown, the Billao squad entered their Championship division tournament as the 8th seed. Billao, too, had to compete in the “play in” game at the start of the playoff rounds after placing third in their morning pool. Falling in the “play in” match to Grimsby, the team then entered the consolation bracket, won their first match in three and then beat the Jr. Gryphons in two straight sets to secure a 5th place finish and collect more ranking points as they head to Provincials in April.
Congratulations to all three teams for some great results in their final regular season tournament. All teams will continue to train hard and play in some friendly matches and tournaments as we inch closer to the OVA Championships in less than two months!
