Bisons, Wesmen set for playoffs to tip off

Alberto Gordo didn’t know the first thing about Canadian university basketball when he joined the Winnipeg Wesmen, but the Spaniard was still confident that he would one day be one of the most impactful players in the country.

Fast forward four years, and the senior guard from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has achieved that goal for the No. 3-ranked team in U Sports.

Gordo, who held an important role for the Wesmen in each of the last three years, has elevated his play even further this season and will be crucial to the team’s success as the Canada West conference playoffs tip off this week.

“He’s a guy that we ask to do a lot of different things,” said Wesmen head coach Mike Raimbault. “I mean, sometimes we forget he’s still a fairly young guy. This is his fourth year, but he came from a long way away as a young guy. I think he was 17 when he showed up on campus. So he’s obviously matured in a lot of situations, and I think he’s got physically stronger this year, which has definitely helped him, I believe, at both ends of the court.”

Gordo averaged career highs in every major statistic, recording 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while playing the 10th most minutes of any player in the conference. His 78 total assists rank ninth, while his 87.5 make percentage from the free-throw line is the fourth best.

“I tried a couple different things during the start of the year, but I think it sort of clicked— I had a little bit of a mental reset during the Christmas break… and I think I came back with a little bit of a more aggressive demeanour, and try to give more and bring more to the guys, because I want to win, everybody wants to win. And I think the best way for us to accomplish that is by bringing in a little bit more of that substance, which I know I’m able to,” Gordo said.

Gordo is one of a talented Wesmen squad that was tabbed by voters to regress this season after graduating multiple key players, but wound up going 16-4 in conference play, tying a program-record.

A strong regular season earned the Wesmen the top seed in Canada West and a bye to the quarterfinals, which they will host.

They will have the luxury of watching Friday’s play-in game between Calgary and Thompson Rivers on their home court before facing the winner in the quarterfinals at the Duckworth Centre on Saturday (2 p.m. CT).

The Wesmen, who roster five players that average double-digits in points per game, are expected to be a tough out.

“To be honest, we didn’t really set a goal of where we wanted to be at this time,” said Raimbault. “We came together at the start, and we wanted to continually get better and try to play our best at this time of year. We do have some experience being able to host and watch the first game, and we have the experience of a year ago, but this is a different group and some different people in different positions.

“The reality of a single game elimination is you have to play your best on Saturday afternoon for us, and we’re just really focused on trying to do that.”

The Wesmen are looking to return to the nationals for the first time in two years. Gordo recognized that they have a chance to do what their men’s volleyball team did a year ago: win Canada West on their home court.

“That’s something that I also want to accomplish here,” he said. “ I loved what I saw last year when I was watching the games. I just want to follow the same steps that they did.”

Manitoba Bisons (men)

Tito Obasoto has big dreams as a future engineer.

The Bisons’ fifth-year guard hopes to one day return to his birthplace in Nigeria to build community centres and other sports facilities that provide youth with the same opportunities he had when he moved to Winnipeg as a teen.

In the meantime, Obasoto’s aspirations reside on the court, where he and the rest of the Bisons’ core group of fifth-year players will attempt a playoff run for the final time together.

The veteran Bisons, ranked No. 5 after going 13-7 in the regular season, are in Vancouver for what they hope is back-to-back games this week at the University of British Columbia. They begin with a rematch of their regular-season finale against No. 12 Brandon in the play-in on Thursday (7 p.m. CT).

The loser returns to Manitoba while the winner sticks around to face the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds in Friday’s quarterfinal (4 p.m. CT).

“It means the world. Currently, it’s like the house is on fire. Everyone’s go, go, go, and we understand the weight that we’ve, that we have being fifth years,” said Obasoto.

The Bisons fell one game short of a national championship berth last season after losing in the Canada West bronze medal game to Victoria. That followed a pair of heartbreaking results two years in a row, where the Bisons were among the top teams in the conference during the regular season but were sent packing early.

Obasoto said the Bisons have held onto those experiences to use as an advantage during the most important time of year.

“I think this is really our last chance at it, especially when we’ve been so close to tasting what nationals and being Canada West finalists, or medalist feels like,” he said.

“So we’re putting our all into it, even from the coaching staff and players getting extra shots and the attention to detail of practice and even stretching, even little things like watching film on our own — you can feel the intensity in the air even when we’re out of practice, and I feel like it’s gonna show.”

Manitoba Bisons (women)

It’s not every day that a first-year player immediately steps in as a key contributor, but point guard Taylor Schepp has been the exception for the Bisons this season.

The touted recruit out of Dakota — ranked No. 1 among female high school players in the province last year — started all 20 regular season contests and played the 12th most minutes of any player in the conference this season, suggesting the trust she quickly earned with head coach Michele Sung.

“She’s been super solid,” said Sung. “Consistent in her learning process, so that’s been obviously an asset to us as a team, for sure. Consistency, no matter what year you’re in, is hard, so to have a little bit of that in a few players has been nice.”

Schepp formed a dependable back-court with third-year guard Anna Miko while averaging 12 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and ranking third in the conference with 82.7 per cent free throw percentage during the regular season.

“I think on average, you’re always surprised when first-year players have a super impactful first year, but it was not surprising, knowing her as a person,” said Sung. “I think she’s been pretty hard, and she’s put a lot of work into the jump from high school to university.”

Now Schepp has a new challenge in front of her, as she prepares for her first university playoff game. The No. 11 Bisons, who went 8-12 in the regular season, will try their luck in Langley, B.C. in Friday’s play-in against the No. 6 Calgary Dinos (2 p.m. CT).

A win will keep them out west for another night, at which point they will then look for another upset against the hosting No. 3 Trinity Western on Saturday (10 p.m. CT).

“It’s super exciting. I mean, playoffs always come with extra pressure and stuff, but I think those are the games you want to be in as a player. For our group, I think it’s really exciting, because I think we’ve grown a ton over the year, and I think we’re playing our best basketball right now,” Schepp said.

After a slow start that saw them lose eight of their first 10 conference games, the Bisons have won five of their last six entering the playoffs. Its eight conference wins were the most by the program since 2019-20.

“I’m not sure if it’s because we’re going into playoffs or maybe there’s a different level of focus right now, but I feel like we’re more together right now than we were at the start,” Schepp said.

“Maybe that’s just people are clicking better with each other, and we’re kind of learning each other’s tendencies and stuff, but I feel like we’re playing really well as a team and together right now, so I think that’s really helping us.”

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