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Snuneymuxw Native Sons second in B.C. at basketball championships

Team was one win away from a three-peat at Junior All-Native Tournament.
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Snuneymuxw Native Sons player Jordan Gladstone, left, is defended by a Syilx opponent in Thursday’s semifinal of the B.C. Junior All-Native Tournament in Kelowna. (WAWMEESH HAMILTON photo)

The Snuneymuxw Native Sons basketball team was just one win away from a three-peat at the Junior All-Native Tournament.

The Sons finished second at this year’s tournament in Kelowna after winning the B.C. championship in both 2015 and 2016.

“We did quite well. The boys had a great run,” said Paul Wyse-Seward, one of the coaches of the Native Sons. “I’ll just say you can’t win ’em all the time.”

Snuneymuxw won its first four games at last week’s tourney, but lost in the final to Van City.

“We hung in there. It was quite the battle,” said Wyse-Seward. “We just lacked the endurance, I guess you could say, and we ended up playing their game and not our game. We just lost focus.”

Snuneymuxw started the tourney last Monday with a win against Maaqtusiis, then defeated Gitamadiik and Van City and then the host Syilx team in Thursday’s semifinal.

It set up a rematch Friday against a Van City team that had put together a bit of an all-star roster. Wyse-Seward gave full credit to the champions, but said “you’ve got four or five nations to come together to beat one team. That says volumes to who we are now. Everybody’s out to gun for this team.”

Jordan Gladstone and Qwammi Robinson were selected as tournament all-stars and Donovan Mitchell earned the tourney’s Sixth Man award.

Gladstone is the only Snuneymuxw player to age up and Wyse-Seward said the rest of the team consists of a good mix of players who can make an impact now, those who can contribute in the near-team and prospects who will have important roles down the road.

“I’m so proud of these young men, how far they’ve come in the last few years…” the coach said. “It’s just amazing their heart and their hard work on the court and off the court, working together as being a family, not just a team.”

He said the Native Sons appreciated all the support in Kelowna, from “parents and fans and the ones that drove up just for the final – grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents, brothers and sisters that all made it there. Hands up to them.”

sports@nanaimobulletin.com