NO. 1 PACIFIC ACADEMY 80 NO. 2 SUMMERLAND 69
By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – I’ve written this before, but my good friend Howard Tsumura can write lyrically on this website about any number of ways that basketball can be a metaphor for life and a conduit to bring together diverse groups of teenage hoopsters.
But sometimes, there are bigger, more meaningful things at play than basketball.
And so it is that less than 20 hours after capturing a first ever 2A provincial title for their Surrey-based school by beating the Summerland Rockets 80-69 on Saturday, half the Pacific Academy roster and co-head coach Joel Ashbee are headed to the Dominican Republic for a two-week mission to the Caribbean country.
It doesn’t leave much time for celebration.
“Crazy timing, but I’m just glad we got it done,” said Grade 11 guard Judah Ashbee after a 34-point, seven-rebound performance helped him win well-deserved MVP honours.
Judah’s dad, Joel, a co-head coach said mission work, no matter what time of year, is part of the program at the Pentecostal Christian school that promotes its academic excellence and spiritual growth. Joel and half the senior boys team and half the senior girls team will be on the trip to the Dominican Republic.
“Literally, the world is cheering on PA,” he said with just a hint of hyperbole. “We’ve sent away eight to nine mission teams across the world. We’re going to the Dominican Republic and it feels incredible.”
After the heartbreak of losing 70-60 last season in a semifinal to eventual champion Collingwood and the heartache of being relegated to the losers bracket in previous years, to finally win a championship in the 6,000-seat Arena Bowl at the LEC is rewarding for those all down the line at Pacific.
“We’re used to playing in the East Gym at 9 a.m. on Saturday,” said Joel Ashbee. “This program has been built over a decade and a half. We’ve got alumni here from years and years ago that are crying because we all share in this. This is for last year, but also for the last 13 years.”
“I’m so proud of our guys. This is beyond anything.”
As a father, he’s also immensely proud of his son, who he called “a lifer at PA, ever since kindergarten.”
Judah is just 5-foot-11 – at least according to the program – and looks slight enough to be knocked over by a whisper of wind.
“Everything he does, he’s earned,” said Joel. “He’s not very big, he’s not very strong. And he’s maybe not relatively quick. Everything he’s doing has been hard work, every single day. Nobody loves basketball like he does. This is also 16 years in the making (for him.)
Judah had just three first-quarter points as Summerland took an 18-14 lead. But he got hot after that, scoring on a succession of pull-up jumpers, courageous drives to the basket and a quartet of timely three-pointers.
“This is a crazy feeling,” said Judah. “To do this with this group of guys, it still doesn’t feel real. Hell of a team, man, hell of a team. Best team in PA history and I think it’s setting the tone for teams coming up. This is what we do.”
With Summerland struggling to keep Pacific within reach, Judah drained back-to-back treys in the third and then converted on a short running jumper to put the Breakers up by 10.
In the face of a stifling Pacific defence, Summerland couldn’t cut into the margin by any significant amount to make the final few minutes count.
Rugged guard Jack Campbell led the Rockets with 20 points before fouling out with four minutes to go, while the talented Ducheck brothers combined for 32 points with Grade 12
Desmond tallying 18 while adding 21 rebounds and six assists.
“Desi is an incredible player,” said Joel Ashbee. “We know it would take our whole team to get in front of him. You can’t shut that kid down, but I think we made it a little harder for him and that was really, really big.”
Earl Akene had 21 points for the Breakers while using his solid 6-foot-4 frame to create havoc at both ends of the floor.
“As a coach, you just hope your players care as much as you,” said Joel Ashbee of the emotional Grade 12. “Earl maybe cares too much. I want to bring his care level down a little bit because he has his whole heart in there. He showed so much leadership. He’s led our team here today. He’s so strong physically, but also emotionally as well.”
Grade 12 forward Elias Ogbes had six points, a team-high four assists and 12 rebounds for the Breakers.
Asked about the key to turning the game turning around after a slow start, Ogbes didn’t hesitate to point a finger in the direction of Judah Ashbee.
“He gave us a spark, kept us in the game. Earl as well. Those guys are beasts.”
“We’ve been talking about winning (the title) since the beginning of the season,” added Ogbes. “This is exactly where we wanted to be. Our seniors definitely deserved this. It’s part of our legacy now. It’ll be up in our gym forever.”
The banner raising might have to wait a couple of weeks, though. At least until Coach Ashbee, Judah Ashbee and a few others return from that most important mission to the Caribbean to help those less fortunate.
