Brentwood College Earns Finals Spot in Win Over Handsworth

Handsworth Royals v. Brentwood College School

December 10, 2022

The windows along the south baseline of the new Handsworth gym are unique and provide great lighting for a day game in December. Spectacular! For those who may not know, Brentwood is an independent university co-ed prep boarding school (yes, that’s 5 adjectives) for grades 9-12 located in Mill Bay, 40 km. from Victoria on Vancouver Island. Next year it will celebrate its centenary. Brentwood’s motto is ‘De Manu In Manum’ which is translated to “from hand to hand” but, as Coach Gage told his boys, in basketball it means “No turnovers!”

These are two good teams with size and skill and the oft-seen delay in early scoring as the boys wake up on a Saturday morning is absent. Halfway through Q1 Brentwood led 14-9. Brentwood #10 Gage is going to make a difference in this game, not for the first time I’m sure. While not a fan of the yellow shoes, I love the left hand. Handsworth’s big man, Kieran Mullen is capable of the three as he jacked one towards the end of the Q which was a near miss but a gorgeous stroke.  On an unsuccessful scoring attempt by Brentwood, Handsworth launched a full-length pass (a la Scott Leigh to Quinn Keast back in the day) to a teammate for an easy layup. Good to see the long fast break is still in the Handsworth playbook. Nice arm too. Score 25-22 Brentwood at the end of Q1.

Started off with a Mullen block of a spinning Gage which always excites the partisans. After 3 unsuccessful forays into the opposition zone the next one was a beauty three by Gage followed by another on the next possession. 31-23 Brentwood. Those threes, they can hurt ya! After a few attempts Mullen hit a three. Love to see the bigs scoring from the perimeter. He followed it up with two made foul shots. Emerging hero? Then a nice lefty scoop layup by Handsworth’s McMullen (assuming no relation) and the same by Fiammenghi. Are these guys all lefties or just skillfully ambidextrous? Brentwood’s lead at 6. Beautiful assist by Mullen to Handsworth’s Sandor right thru the bottom of the key for the easy put up. The lead now at 3 with a stop by the Royals. Two made foul shots and the lead is 1 for Brentwood. Check this: teardrop by Gage for Brentwood misses, he gets his rebound, scores with an And-1. He does not play like a one-man team but hey, the circumstances required it. He made the foul shot by the way. Handsworth then drains a three from the top of the key which is the quickly answered. This is getting frantic.

Half time: Brentwood 45, Handsworth 45

Handsworth is a 4A honourable mention in the rankings and Brentwood is ranked #1 in AA. I note that the Lord Byng Grey Ghosts are ranked #8 in AAA. Dear to my heart. Okay, back to the game, now tied at 54. Scoring is coming from everywhere, ambitious passes are attempted and, while not always successful, cause the fans to gasp. Lust for Brentwood goes lefty and gains an And-1 and completes it. Brentwood by 5. His teammate Knight then contributed a three and Handsworth struggled to keep up, missing on too many possessions. Brentwood by 8 at end of Q3. Another full court pass by Handsworth in the dying seconds led to a fadeaway that rimmed out. Woulda bin awesome. 67-60 for Brentwood as Handsworth battles to try and reach its second consecutive No Regrets final.

Fiammenghi  for the home Royals looks like he would and could run through a brick wall for his team as he explodes down court taking no prisoners. Brentwood’s lead now at 9. A Handsworth turnover and the lead is at 11. To say that Handsworth needs plenty of safe and successful possessions against this very good Brentwood team is an understatement. A few thefts would help too. But Brentwood is skilled and always dangerous. Then, on cue, or Q, Fiammenghi hits a looong three but answered by Brentwood to push the lead to 13 when Gage takes it to 15 and Houghton to 17. Its all fallen apart for the hosts but not for lack of effort and courage.

Final Score: Brentwood 89, Handsworth 68

Player of the Game: Milan Pasquale for BCS with 18 points