Our Vanier basketball teams were all in action this past weekend. Our women’s team went on the road to Quebec City and beat Champlain St. Lawrence 81-73 in overtime. It was a close and exciting contest, but our women showed character to win such a game in a hostile environment. Our team was led by Yasmin Jean-Philippe with 16 points and 7 steals, and Heather Eason with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Arianne Duchenes had 15 points and 5 assists, and Magalie Beaulieu added 10 points. Our women’s team now has a 2-1 record in league play.

Our men’s AAA team did not have a league game scheduled, so they traveled to Lowell, Massachusetts to practice with and then play an exhibition game against UMass-Lowell, a very good NCAA Division 2 team, featuring our AAA alum Jerreh Saidybah. We lost the game 89-49, but gained some valuable experience for our guys. It was a great learning experience for us. Jerreh is doing very well and says hello to all the Cheetahs.

Our AAA teams will be hosting a doubleheader this Thursday evening, November 17th, against Ahuntsic, at the Vanier Sports Complex. The women’s game is at 7:00 P.M. and the men’s game will follow at 9:00 P.M.

Our AA men’s team had a very busy weekend with 2 games. On Friday night they hosted Heritage College and won 87-68. They took the lead in the 2nd quarter, led 40-28 at the half and never looked back. We had 5 players who scored in double figures, including Pierre Monuma with 13 points, Jomo Johnson with 12, and Kendall Lee and Devon Forbes with 11 each.

Our men’s AA team hosted Abitibi on Saturday, in what proved to be an intense, exciting contest. The teams traded baskets in the first half, with Abitibi pulling ahead 37-31 at halftime. The Cheetahs came back and took a 55-54 lead into the 4th quarter. With Abitibi ahead 73-72, Robert Gibbs hit a 3 with 15 seconds remaining to put us up by 2. Unfortunately, our guests were able to tie the game with 8 seconds left in regulation time. The teams again traded baskets in the overtime period, but we missed a last-second shot and lost 85-83. Our leading scorer was Jomo Johnson with 18 points. Robert Gibbs and Joel Borges added 13 and 11 respectively.

The AA Cheetahs are on the road for their next 2 games, at Lionel-Groulx on November 16th and at Dawson on November 20th. They then return home to play undefeated Brébeuf at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, November 24th.

Olivier Dupiton and Mark D'Agostino

Congratulations to our very own Mark D’Agostino and Olivier Dupiton, who last week signed letters of intent to play at NCAA Division 1 schools next year. Mark will be attending Delaware State University and Olivier will heat to Stetson University in Florida. For more details, you can see the whole story on the Vanier Athletics website. Just click here.

Congratulations also to AAA alum Pascal Jobin, who is the head coach of the new professional basketball team in Montreal, the Montreal Matrix. Pascal won his first game as a professional coach, on the road against the team from Harlem, and he also won his home debut. The Matrix currently have a 2-2 record. Best of luck to Pascal and the Matrix, who feature many local Montreal players on their roster. View Pascal's page from the Montreal Matrix website.

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