Giants stand tall this season

Elmwood

The Elmwood Giants varsity boys basketball team is living up to its name this season.

In Winnipeg Tier 2 league play, the Giants were undefeated at press time, leading to the team being ranked the top AAA boys varsity team in the province.

“Coming into the season, we had a pretty young team,” coach Patrick Gadsby said, adding that the bulk of this year’s roster are Grade 11 players, with some Grade 12 and Grade 10 players in the mix as well.

“So far, they’ve been able to answer the call as far as showing a bit of progression and understanding the moment. They’re still young, so you get nerves and lack that veteran experience.”

Despite the lack of experience, the Giants have handled each challenge presented to them so far this season. On Feb. 7, Elmwood won its home tournament, the Mike Babb Invitational, defeating Gabrielle-Roy 106-82 in the final. The win marked the Elmwood boys’ second tournament championship this season, after winning the season-opening St. James Collegiate Varsity Boys Winter Classic on Dec. 12, beating Springs Christian School 119-81 in the final.

“It’s a pleasant surprise right now,” Gadsby said. “Our big goal right now is we’re focused on the league (and) trying to secure home-court advantage through the playoffs.”

Elmwood last won the AAA boys varsity provincial championship in 2024. Last year, the Giants took home the consolation prize at the provincial tournament after dropping a close one to the Linden Christian Wings 85-81 in the quarter-final. A trip to the provincial tournament and a chance to bring the championship banner back to Elmwood, is now top-of-mind for the team.

“It would be nice — and it’s the dream — we’re hoping to have a championship game here in Elmwood and have a chance to win a banner at home,” Gadsby admitted. “When those guys told me that was their goal at the start of the year, I laughed it off, but they’ve proven me wrong so far.”

With a younger team, which doesn’t feature many players who also play club basketball, Gadsby — who is joined on the coaching staff by Jesse Cousins and Alex Sannie — said the Giants rely on an unconventional playing style.

“It’s a super non-traditional style, and I take a lot of flak for it,” Gadsby laughed. “We rely on three-pointers and pressure defence. We try to get as many threes as possible and back it up with intense defence for the rest of the game. When it works, it works well and looks beautiful. To compete with taller or more athletic teams, we play inside the margins. We’re not gonna dunk but we create offence where we can. We try to adjust based on what we can do. It’s been working so far. I ask a lot of these guys. We’re trying to play full-court pressure for 40 minutes. That’s pretty taxing.”

With only a couple of weeks remaining before playoffs, the Giants will soon learn where the team really stacks up against the top teams in the province. Regardless, Gadsby said he is proud of his team, both on and off the court.

“This is a group of guys who are heavily involved in stuff we do off the court, giving back to their community,” he said. “There’s a bit of a stigma from Elmwood. But these guys are doing stuff to elevate the school and the community. These guys are doing a lot of things that are going to impact their community.”