Reivers aiming for first place finish

East Kildonan

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This article was published 05/02/2025 (335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been an exciting season so far for the Kildonan-East Reivers boys’ varsity basketball team, and the best may be yet to come.

“I could talk a lot about this team. It’s such a special group,” said coach Lloyd Celones. “The combination of skill is high-level but the character of all these players is also high-level, which makes this so enjoyable. I’m trying to live in the moment and enjoy what I have here. It’s special.”

At press time, the KEC boys’ team was ranked second in the province. The Reivers were undefeated in both Kilcona Peguis Athletic Conference regular season play and tournament play, having won the Trojan Classic tourney, defeating hosts and defending provincial champions Vincent Massey 90-72 in the final.

“Expectations are a little higher this year,” said Celones, who has been coaching at KEC since 2012. He started with the girls’ varsity team, then switched to coaching the boys in 2014.

“We’re very fast and athletic. A lot of teams have described us as very aggressive. On the defensive end, we create a lot of turn overs. We’re dangerously fast. We use our speed to our advantage. We’re pretty athletic and long. Not a small team.”

This year’s squad features a mix of Grade 12 and Grade 11 players, and one Grade 10. Celones believes that point guard Rushawn Martin and shooting guard Adrian Lanoria, both Grade 12 leaders on the team, could find themselves on the provincial Top 10 list of varsity boys players at the end of the season, or at least in consideration.

“(Lanoria) has been shooting really well,” Celones said. “And Martin, his presence when teams try to make us panic, he has such a calming influence. He knows how to take control of the tempo. He’s always assigned to guard the best player on the other team. He does a little of everything on both ends and he does it well.”

However, it is two younger players that are making the biggest impact on the court: Grade 11 Settimo Yugu, a 6-foot-8 centre, and Terry Ogbeide, a 6-foot-5 forward, who is only in Grade 10. Not only does that bode well for the team’s chances this year but for the next couple, as well.

“What’s special about (Yugu), when we received him he was a great post player,” Celones said. “Our coaching staff see him playing at the next level, maybe more so wing or as a perimeter player. He’s pretty versatile — smart enough to play point guard, but we’ve been working on his shooting. He does a little bit of everything. I believe he’s probably the best player in the province.”

Next in line, according to Celones, is Ogbeide, who played on the U15 provincial team last year and was an all-star at nationals.

“I always reference him to an NBA player, to a young Lebron James,” Celones said. “He’s very athletic, very powerful, but at the same time very smart and a great finisher.”

While a team stacked with talent on paper doesn’t always come together on the court, Celones said that has not been a problem with this group.

“Our leaders and our core group, they all buy in and are all unselfish, even though they’re so talented,” he said. “That’s one thing I always look for, is to make sure no egos get in the way. But when your best players and core all care for each other and are unselfish, it all trickles on. It’s been an enjoyable season to watch.”

To date, the team’s only loss came at an invitational tournament in Saskatoon, Sask., earlier this year — against the defending Saskatchewan varsity boys champions. The boys will compete in the Nick Laping Memorial Classic at St. Paul’s on Feb. 13, and hope to continue their winning ways into March for the provincial tournament.

“As a coach, we’re always preparing for the worst, looking for weaknesses. There’s never enough time to tackle everything,” Celones said.

“Teams will look to take away our strengths and make us uncomfortable, by being physical with us or play an uptempo game or different zone defences. We’ve been preparing for that all season — to expect the unexpected.”