St. George's Saints March Past Killarney Cougars in Commanding Victory

St. George’s Saints Sr. Boys vs. Killarney Cougars

December 13, 2024

(photo credit: Ria Terins)

This mid-morning tilt featured a battle of Vancouver where private school powerhouse, the St. George’s Saints, took on the gritty public school from East Vancouver, the Killarney Cougars.

1st Quarter:

Killarney jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead after a few free throws, a layup and a knocked down 3.

Both teams exchanged mini runs early in the game as St. George’s responded with a 9-0 run capped off by a Willem Urban (#10 St. George’s) corner 3.

Killarney took a timeout hoping to stem the tide but Saints continued their strong play adding to their lead behind a beautiful step back baseline midrange from Dorian Glogovac (#1 St. George’s). Early turnovers cost Killarney at the Saints turn those live ball turnovers into easy buckets the other way.

As the 1st quarter rolled along the St. George’s Saints defensive pressure began to assert itself and Killarney Cougars struggled to get any rhythm or flow on offense. With 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter the Saints led 21-9.

A big takeaway from the early stages of this game was the defensive communication and connectivity of the St. George’s team. As the mantra goes “offense wins games and defense wins championships”. It is clear that the Saints have emphasized being a strong defensive-minded team that hopes to compete for a provincial championship come March.

The first quarter ends with a beautiful George Gervin-esque finger roll layup from Dorian Glogovac (#1 St. George’s) and the Saints seemed very much in control, leading by a score of 27-11.

2nd Quarter:

Both teams came out of their quarter break a little sloppy as St. George’s had a few quick turnovers and Killarney missed a layup and had a turnover themselves.

2 minutes and change into the 2nd quarter St. George’s has mounted a 20-point lead at a score of 31-11.

At the 7:17 mark of the 2nd quarter, a Killarney free throw gave them their first points in about 5 minutes of game play. Killarney’s overall team energy dropped significantly from the start of the game as they struggled to find their footing.

Halfway through the 2nd quarter St. George’s hung on to a 20-point lead, leading by a score of 35-15.

Roman Simmons (#23 St. George’s) showed some athletic flashes attacking the hoop hard for several layups both in transition and in the half court. Roman also had a massive block preventing what seemed to be an easy basket for the Cougars.

The St. George’s Saints kept it rolling as the quarter winds down and Dorian continued to showcase an array of finishes around the hoop. One time it’s a behind the back pass-fake lay up, like Rajon Rondo used to do for the Celtics and the very next possession it’s a running half hook like a young Magic Johnson. With 5.5 seconds left in the quarter Dorian finished a nice up and under for the and-1. This young man is really showcasing why he is widely considered one of the best players in BC.

At the half the Saints lead 51-21.

3rd Quarter

Killarney started off the 3rd quarter showing some fight chipping into the lead (55-29). I’ve always believed a true testament to a team’s character is how they act in tough situations or when facing a big deficit and it was great to see the team from East Van continuing to battle hard.

Sitting courtside has its perks as it allows me to hear the players’ communication on court. The Saints team continues to communicate with one another and hold each other accountable, which is the sign of a good team.

Timothy Trinh (#5 St. George’s) connected on back-to-back 3’s to extend the lead to 65-33.

Killarney decided to settle into a 2-3 Zone, likely because they were facing a bigger and stronger St. George’s team, but St. George’s shared the ball well and did a great job of finding high quality looks. Willem Urban (#10 St. George’s) connected on a left wing 3 to make it 3 straight triples for St. George’s.

Brent Lu (#35 St George’s) concluded the 3rd quarter with back-to-back jump hooks in the lane, the second of which beat the 3rd quarter buzzer. St. George’s Saints are up 75-39 after 3.

4th Quarter

Killarney’s Jason Sidhu (#17 Killarney) started the 4th quarter off with a quick 4 points on 2 straight layups.

At the 6:08 mark the Saints lead 83-49.

At this point of the game both teams were happy to have their bench players in to gain that valuable on-court experience. The writing was on the wall, and the game was all but done but it is great to see both teams continuing to play hard and competing to the best of their abilities.

As the clock wound down Innocenzo Decotis (#12 St. George’s) and Sehej Chaggar (#41 St. George’s) get their name in the box score as Innocenzo knocks down a 3 and Sehej gets a driving right hand layup.

I would like to acknowledge both coaches Guy DaSilva and Yash Zandiyeh who have been long time contributing members of the high school basketball scene. They have given thousands and thousands of hours to the local game. They have mentored so many kids and done so much for the BC basketball community. People like this deserve their flowers and we would love to give them a shout out.

 Player of the Game – Roman Simmons (#23 St. George’s).