Eagles outlast Quest in rough, rowdy tournament action

Brighton Gbazaria, Eagles guard, competes with a Quest player for the ball during Kwantlen’s second game of the Blues Classic Basketball Tournament. The annual tournament, in its 14th year, was held at Capilano University this weekend. (Sandy Buemann photo)

Eagle Sam Asiedu, a first-year guard called it an ugly game. “There were bodies flying everywhere…it was scrappy, really scrappy,” said Asiedu.

The score was tied 50-50 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, and with three minutes to go and a score of 58-52 for the Eagles, the tension was palpable. 

Nick Lefleur, a guard for the Eagles, was able to bring up the score two points to 62 with 44 seconds left in the game to the delight of the cheering crowd.

First-year guard Omid Davani takes a tumble as a Quest player goes in for a shot during the game, which was described as scrappy by fellow guard Sam Asiedu. (Sandy Buemann photo)

Quest scored the first five points of the game but by the end of the first quarter the Eagles were one point up. 

The second quarter saw big gains and the Eagles were up eight points after a series of quick breakaways, but Quest came back, adding five points in a matter of minutes to chants of “defense” from the Kwantlen supporting crowd. Kwantlen then finished the period off with a shot, adding three points in a matter of two seconds. 

The third quarter saw a spectacular fall by Omid Davani, a first-year guard, and ended in a 46-46 tie after Quest added three points in the last 18 seconds. 

Coach Van Buskirk was hoping for three wins in the tournament, but the Eagles lost their game against Columbia Bible College, 71-64, Sunday morning.

The Eagles had won the first game, against Camosun College, by a one-point margin, 62-61.

Next week the men are off to the Douglas College Tournament.

Profile: Taminder Dhaliwal

(First in a series of occasional profiles of Kwantlen Eagles’ team members.)

Taminder Dhaliwal

Name: Taminder Dhaliwal
Number: 15
Position: Point guard
Age: 20
Zodiac: Cancer
Favourite basketball player: Michael Jordan. “I like Jordan because he makes everybody around him better.”

 

Taminder Dhaliwal of the Eagles basketball team is a third-year criminology student at the Surrey campus. Like every student athlete, she combines post-secondary learning with a demanding sports time table.

“I really don’t know how I do it, but I guess you have to take it day-by-day,” said the 20-year-old point guard, who worked vigorously on her game in the off-season.

“Our goal this season is to make a difference,” she said. The team looks to improve this season to match Kwantlen’ new university status, and improve on its record from last season.

Asked what to expect from her this season, No. 15 said fans should look for her jump shots and passing. “I have been working on my jumpers, and definitely would be setting up plays.” She also talks about being vocal and more aggressive on the floor to help her team. “We have a pretty good team, and if we continue to do the little things, there is no doubt we will go very far.”

She’s also looking forward to finishing her degree in criminal justice. “I want to work with the criminal justice system, and help shape the future of our youth.”

B’ball teams prepped for Sept. 26 openers

The Kwantlen Eagles are getting ready to hit the court on Friday, Sept. 26, when both the men’s and the women’s basketball teams will play the first games of the new season, at the Kwantlen gymnasium in Surrey 

The women will play an exhibition game against the Douglas Royals at 6 p.m., and the men will be playing a Blaze exhibition game at 8 p.m.

It is coach Gary Pawluk’s and assistant coach Ivan Adrian’s first season coaching the women.

“It’s been a terrific situation so far and hopefully it will continue,” said Pawluk in a phone interview.

The women have played some competitive teams in the off-season, said Pawluk. “Competition in the league is strong and getting the girls to compete is always a challenge.”

Pawluk has been coaching basketball for three decades, and is enjoying the challenges of coaching a new team.“We’ve got a good blend as far as personnel wise,” he said and one of the challenges is to “get that team work and team chemistry to get to the point where we are growing and developing and getting better.”

The women’s team has 13 players, five of them rookies and eight returning players.

The men’s team is also looking forward to the season.

Hugh Lynn has been the assistant coach of the men’s team for four years, along with head coach Bernie Love, who has been coaching for seven. Gino Missana and Kevin Van Buskirk are first-year assistant coaches.

Lynn said he would like the team to come together with a “winning, positive attitude and realistic expectations.” 

He would like the team, who he said was in the lower half of the league, to try and “move up the ladder,” so they can “make the play offs and do the best that we can.”

He said the first week and a half of practices have shown some pleasant surprises, such as returning forward Mike Davis and new-to-the-team guard Omid Davini, who is “looking awful good awful early.”

Davis, who is returning to the team after taking time off to travel, said so far the team has great chemistry.

“We are a young team…we are fairly new to each other still, and I think over time it will come together really well, there might be some growing pains, but we’ll be okay.”

Only three of the 13 players on the team are returning players.

Davis says he is looking forward to playing Capilano College. “They play a fast-paced game and it’s a lot of fun to play that way,” and that he would like the Eagles to make the playoffs.

The season will culminate with provincial championships, Feb. 26-28, 2009, at Capilano College for both the men and women.

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