MOOSE JAW — The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Canada West Basketball Championship took place for the second consecutive year at the 15 Wing Community Fitness Centre in late January, bringing with it five military basketball teams from across the country.
Intense competition defined the tournament that resulted with and Moose Jaw placing second to secure silver.
“We had participation from… all the Western provinces, all the way from Esquimalt and Comox (in B.C.) to Shilo, Man., with Cold Lake representing (Alberta) and Moose Jaw (representing) Saskatchewan,” said Chantelle Rouault-Gibson, the tournament’s personnel support program, sports, and facilities co-ordinator.
Rouault-Gibson said national championships are held every second year, meaning this competition was on the regional level with no further advancements.
The championship kicked off with round-robin play. Esquimalt dominated to finish with a perfect 4 — 0 record. Cold Lake followed closely with a 3 — 1 record, while Moose Jaw and Shilo ended the round with 2 — 2 and 1 — 3, respectively. Comox finished at the bottom with a 0 — 4 record.
Leading up to the tournament, Capt. Dennis Gowen, coach of the 15 Wing men’s team and full-time air operations officer, said the team prepared mentally and physically ahead of the match.
“When I took over the team two years ago… we were a team that was frankly unorganized,” he said. “Morale was low and we finished dead last in the standings. Last year we did a little bit better. We’ve made it to the semi-final round, and then this year we made it to the final.”
On Jan. 23, the playoffs took centre stage. In the first semi-final, Esquimalt defeated Shilo 71 — 43. Lt(N). Owen Murphy was named player of the game for Esquimalt, while Shilo’s Cpl. Carlin Schulenberg earned this honour for his team. In the second semi-final, Moose Jaw triumphed over Cold Lake with a 67 — 62 victory.
Cpl. Norman Sigua was recognized as player of the game for Moose Jaw, and Cpl. Tyus Hamilton received the honour for Cold Lake.
The final match later that evening saw Esquimalt face off against Moose Jaw. Esquimalt emerged victorious with a 75 — 59 win to secure the gold medal. Moose Jaw’s 2nd Lt. Derek Haines earned player of the game for his team.
In the round-robin matches, Moose Jaw’s Capt. Peter Mallalieu was named player of the game in the team’s opening win against Shilo.
Esquimalt’s dominance was evident in the team’s crushing 104 — 44 victory over Shilo when Sub-Lt. Phillippe Foh was named player of the game. In the tight match between Comox and Moose Jaw, Cpl. John Tacderas and Cpl. Brandon Reaburn were named their respective team’s standout players.
The final day of round-robin play saw Esquimalt defeat Moose Jaw 81 — 50 with S1 Peter Iporoo earning player of the game for Esquimalt and 2nd Lt. David Fahlman earning the title for Moose Jaw.
Shilo secured a 68 — 51 win over Comox with Shilo’s Pte. Hans Librando and Comox’s Sgt. Micheal Lovatt named outstanding players.
In the last match of the round-robin, Esquimalt crushed Cold Lake 92 — 56 with S3 Isaac Bailey of Esquimalt and Cpl. Nathanael of Cold Lake acknowledged as players of the game.
Despite a 16-point loss in the final match, Coach Gowen remained optimistic, stressing that “It’s just basketball. (It’s)… about having fun.”
“The tournament was great,” he added. “We had a great turnout from the other bases. Again, sports is part of the military culture (and is) one of the benefits of joining the military. Hopefully, we can use this as part of a campaign to attract more recruitment in the forces.”
Until next season, Moose Jaw’s team of air traffic control officers, student pilots, and instructor pilots will continue to play with the Moose Jaw Men’s Basketball League on Sundays.
Gowen’s optimism was also shared by Rouault-Gibson. “This was a very good showing, and (we’re) very excited to have advanced to the final championship. We were silver medalists and that’s a strong showing to be able to build (on) next year.”
You can watch the recent tournament at ‘’ on Facebook.
