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Flight Games Recap

Published by Ali Ahmed on July 30, 2011

The 6th annual Canadian Flight Games (CFG) took place Thursday night at Ryerson University’s Kerr Hall Gymnasium. The event, which was organized by Christoff Kyere Entertainment, showcased the GTA’s top high school talent as they competed against a US select team. “Canadian Flight Games unites the best basketball student-athletes from Canada and the United States to showcase their talents. In previous years we have had many successful participants including Cory Joseph who now plays for the San Antonio Spurs and Tristan Thompson who plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers,” says Christoff Kyere, who is also the event organizer for Flightunit.com. The CFG strives to spotlight success and excellence among student athletes in both athletics and academics. The event also looked to reach out to local charities by serving as a food drive for Toronto’s Covenant House.

Canada vs US – Under 15 Game/Under 17 Game

The Flight Games kicked off with the Canadian and US Under-15 squads competing against each other in an action packed game. The Canadian team opened the game on a 12-0 run thanks to some production from their 6’3 guard Anthony Pate and 5’10 guard Nevell Provo who finished the game with 11 and 6 points respectively. With less than 3 minutes to go in the first half, the US select team managed to cut down the lead to single digits with some good production from their back court. The momentum suddenly shifted to the Canadians when 6’4 forward Justin Jackson checked into the game having not played in the first portion of the game. His presence was felt on the boards and even more on the score sheet as he finished the game with an impressive 10 points. The highlight of the night went to 6’3 forward Jamar Martin who took off on a breakaway to the basket but slowed down just enough to posterize his defender with a vicious dunk. The flood gates opened when Canada took charge and built up a 19 point lead 3 minutes into the second half. Canada cruised to an easy 92-58 victory with Anthony Pate and Jamar Martin being named the co-MVPs. When asked about how the Flight Games impacted the Canadian basketball scene, Jamar Martin responded “I think its great for Canadian basketball because it provides great exposure to colleges and coaches”.

After the conclusion of the Skills Competition and the Slam Dunk Competition, the much anticipated senior game was set to begin. The game featured some highly touted high school players, notably Shaquille Keith(Slam Dunk Winner), Nick Stauskas, and Tre Boutilier. The game started out very close as each team traded several leads until 6’6 guard Nick Stauskas heated up while cleaning the boards for easy put backs and also by hitting a couple 3-pointers. The first half came to an end with Canada leading 35-25 getting good all-round production and leadership from Stauskas and Keith. The teams traded baskets down the stretch as Canada maintained an 11 point cushion with under 4 minutes to go in the second half. Canada capped off the game with some highlight reel dunks from Stauskas and Tremique Sutherland and handed the US select team their second loss of the night with a 72-57 win. Nick Stauskas led all scorers with 20 points, Dinjiyl Walker had 9 points, and Tre Boutilier finished with 8 points.

Eye Catchers…

Nick Stauskas – Nick was arguably the best player for the U17 squad and it almost seemed effortless to him. His knack of crashing the boards and his limitless range was a nightmare for the US select team. Apart from racking up 20 points in the senior game, Nick went on to have great showings in the 3-point contest (which he went on to win) and the Slam Dunk competition in which he pulled off a stunning between the legs reverse dunk. His performance last night definitely earned a spot on this list.

Nevell Provo – The U15 game was overshadowed by touted players such as Jamar Ergas and Anthony Pate but players like Provo showed that they deserved to be in the company of such names. Provo had a superb game and was the driving force behind the Canadian team. His tenacity on the boards and scoring touch had some people wondering if he could potentially be the MVP of the game.

Justin Jackson – When Justin entered the game midway through the first, no one had made a bigger impact on his team in such little time. His shot blocking and rebounding had the US select team second guessing their offensive schemes. He put up a solid 10 points and grabbed a couple of key rebounds. As we knew coming in, Justin is definitely a promising forward to keep a very close eye on.

Anthony Pate – Anthony was a player on a mission last night. The mission; Prove to all the skeptics that he does have a long range shot. From the beginning of the warmups I saw that Anthony loved stroking it from deep. That didn’t change in the game as he drained a couple 3’s and had some highlight worthy assists. He also seemed to have emerged as more of a team leader and facilitator.

Notes:

- I had a chance to speak to Anthony Pate and he mentioned that he had some interest from colleges, notably Marquette and Virginia Tech.

- Nova Scotia native Mandrez Downey says he’ll move to ontario for his final senior year…has REDA as a strong option

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