Topflight gets over big loss by winning national title

A week before defending its Canada Preparatory Association championship, Canada Topflight Academy took a licking in Virginia — beaten down 101-56 by Oak Hill Academy, one of the most prolific basketball programs in the U.S.

Driving 13 hours to play a team that has an alumni list that includes Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Durant was a lesson in humility for a team never comfortable with losing in its two years of existence. After hanging their heads for a bit, the Canada Topflight Academy boys got right back at it. On Sunday in Brampton, the Ottawa-based team won another national championship.

“Playing Oak Hill was an eyeopener,” said coach Tony House. “They kicked the crap out of us, but it got us prepared for what we had to face at nationals. It could have gone really bad and deflated the guys. It did that to some degree, but it also gave them a feeling that we were ready for whatever else we faced.”

Topflight Academy is based out of Notre Dame High School. The Ottawa team went into the tournament ranked third — its only blemish on an 11-1 season a loss to Central Tech in January.

“This is a good league,” House said. “That loss, that was another good wake-up call. We knew we’d

Playing Oak Hill was an eye-opener. They kicked the crap out of us, but it got us prepared for what we had to face at nationals.

have to put three really good games together. There were seven or eight teams who could legitimately win this thing.”

Minus fifth-year sharpshooting guard Khaleem Sarazin, who tore his ACL, Topflight beat London 7370 in the quarter-finals, then beat Central Tech 83-70 in the semis and GTA Prep 83-78 in the final.

Topflight was led by point guard Aiden Warnholtz, the league’s academic player of the year with a 97 per cent average, second-team all-stars JD Muila and Lual Akot, Jevon Westcarth (who came up huge in the quarter- and semifinals), Alston Harris, Atik Gilao and 15-year-old Muon Reath, a 6-7 defensive beast.

“We finished 20-11,” overall in Canada and the U.S., House said. “We didn’t play any cupcakes. We played top-end talent. We knew we had the bull’s-eye on the back. We were the hunted, not the hunters, so we knew we’d get everyone’s best shot.”