Against all odds, the Rouge et Or are Canadian men’s basketball champions. A title as historic as it was improbable won in front of a fiery crowd, Sunday evening at PEPS at Laval University, in a 77-71 victory against the Queen’s Gaels.
Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on right now, summarized head coach Nathan Grant after the most memorable victory in his team’s history. The approximately 3,200 cheering spectators around him were visibly in the same state.
The Rouge et Or had never won the national men’s title, just as a team with a losing record had never done so. No matter, the Rouge et Or was carried by a magic like we had never seen in the last three days at the PEPS amphitheater-gymnasium.
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The celebrations continued until late in the evening on the floor of the PEPS at Laval University.
Photo: Rouge et Or of Laval University
Trailing 43-39 at halftime on Sunday evening, the locals never gave up against the Ontario champions. A reply came after virtually every big basket from the Gaels until Ismaël Diouf gave the Rouge et Or a 70-69 lead with just over a minute left in the game.
Diouf made the difference
I have no words. Winning the national championship at home is just incredible, exclaimed Diouf after a performance of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots which earned him the title of tournament MVP.
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Ismaël Diouf was crowned player of the match and tournament MVP.
Photo: Provided by Laval University
A well-deserved honor, according to Nathan Grant, who saw in his second-year center the hidden card to guide the team to this improbable championship. He was injured this year, but our three keys to winning at the end of the week were rebounds, our transitions and Ismaël Diouf.
If the latter obtained the title of player of the match, the supporters present at PEPS also deserved to receive flowers. Such a full house had not been seen since the Raptors training camp held in Quebec in 2019, and again, the electricity in the air was several amps from that of Sunday evening.
An atmosphere never seen before
I’ve never experienced that, admitted the head coach after the victory. Same story with playmaker Steve Joseph, who nailed the coffin for the Gaels with a big basket 27 seconds from the end of the match.
The crowd was the 6th player on the field with us. They pushed us until the end, greeted Joseph, who finished the game with 26 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
How did a team that had not won a single playoff game in Quebec for 14 years manage to knock off the champions of the West, the Maritimes and Ontario in quick succession?
We knew we had the potential, that we had the pieces to go far. We just had to go a little something extra, guard Sidney Tremblay-Lacombe tried to explain.
Quebec sends a message
Maybe it was a matter of trust. After all, no Quebec team had won the national title since the Bishop Gaiters in 1998.
We have just shown that Quebec is not to be taken lightly and that we can play against anyone in Canada. It’s just going to go up, predicted Tremblay-Lacombe.
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Appointed head coach of the Rouge et Or at the young age of 35, in 2019, Nathan Grant guided the team to the first Canadian title in its history.
Photo: Rouge et Or of Laval University
As for his coach, he doesn’t expect the rest of Canada to stop looking down on Quebec basketball. It’s up to the Rouge et Or to make them pay.
We have just established the standard for this program. As soon as I arrived, I said I didn’t care about the RSEQ championship. The goal was to work quietly to be able to play against the best in Canada, recalled Nathan Grant.
If we are able to keep our best Quebecers here, we will be able to relive what we are experiencing today.
A bronze medal for the women’s team
In the shadow of the champions, the Rouge et Or women’s team also concluded a memorable season, on the other side of the country, with a place on the podium at the Canadian championships.
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Léa-Sophie Verret and the Rouge et Or completed an almost perfect season with a third place at the Canadian Championships.
Photo : Louis Charland / Rouge et Or
Faced with the Queen’s Gaels like their male counterparts, coach Guillaume Giroux’s squad won 76-62 to get their hands on a well-deserved bronze medal in Edmonton. Player par excellence of the RSEQ, Léa-Sophie Verret once again led her team’s offensive with a tally of 25 points.
Undefeated in the regular season, the Laval women finally suffered their only defeat of the year in the Canadian semi-final.
2024-03-11 02:26:15
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