U14 County Clippers hustle at tri-meet

Walcott (3), Pero (12), Doolan (11) and Veenstra (5)

The U14 County Clippers basketball team hustled at PECI during a tri-meet with the Belleville Spirits and the Kingston Cats.

Coaches Landon Burns-Keaney and Anne-Marie Corrigan are in their first year with the Clippers. Burns-Keaney played his early ball for the Pinecrest Lions. Team members Pero, Vincent, Smith, Johnson and Gilbert all hail from his alma mater.

“We were very proud of the hustle in both games,” the coaches said in their report. “We have been stressing defence and boxing out while rebounding and the boys did a great job of that. The team had great ball movement and were attacking the basket offensively.”

Reports from the coaches:
Game One – Clippers versus Spirits
It was a heartbreaker that went to overtime. Final Score 43 Spirits vs 41 Clippers

In the first game of the season (back in October) Clippers edged the Spirits by 1. Tables turned this time. But Clippers played a much more complete game at both ends of the court.
Miguel Pablo from the Spirits put up eight points in a row to get things close before they wrote up (during a time out) and set up Landon Brooks who sunk the three ball with seconds left forcing overtime. Pablo’s three ball bested Gilbert’s lone point from the line in spite of two trips there in the OT period. Clippers had final possession but could not get the basket. Miguel finished with 17. Brooks finished with eight, while former Clipper Joseph McIntyre dropped in six against his former teammates.

Owen Jones and Justin Johnson

For the Clippers
Jasper Gilbert (Cressy) lead the way with 15
Andrew Walcott (West Lake) 2
Harm Veenstra (Wellington) 4
Cameron Pero (Bloomfield) 3
Ross Maycock (Picton) 4
Justin Smith (Picton) 7
and Owen Jones (Cherry Valley) 6.

Owen Jones, Justin Smith and Jasper Gilbert all had some exciting blocks.
Game Two – Clippers versus Cats
32-60 Final for Cats
Cats were the better team, but the Clippers showed that the points were spread out with Wellington’s very own Ryan Doolan leading the way. Cats had tamed the Spirits 70-25 in the middle game. Clippers knew they had their work cut out for them. Matthew Sutton from the Cats dropped everything he shot to lead all scorers in both games.

Ryan Doolan (Wellington) 9
Andrew Walcott 7
Jasper Gilbert 4
Justin Smith 6
Harm Veenstra 5
Ryan Cunningham (Milford) 3

Others off the bench support came from:
Jonathan Snider (Bloomfield); Matthew Vincent (West Lake); Justin Johnson (Picton) all contributed minutes and assists.

The coaches thanked parents who kept score and PECI Senior Panther Wyatt Gilbert who spent his day volunteering and ensuring the time clock ran well.

Ross Maycock, Owen Jones and Jasper Gilbert