KW YBA Online - 2008 ICG Games

RESULTS: July 15, 2008

INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES 2008 SAN FRANCISCO, USA - CITY OF KITCHENER DELEGATION

The Kitchener team's hope for a medal at the ICG in San Francisco crashed today when they lost a heartstopping quarter final game to Raanana, Israel 31-30 on a last second buzzer beater. The game was hard fought right from the beginning, and Kitchener had to adjust to the physical type of defence shown by international teams. They were pushed, shoved, grabbed and physically manhandled off the ball, but we overcame that. The game was close throughout with neither team being able to get more that about a 4 point lead. With 27 seconds left in the game, Kitchener was up by 1 point and on the line shooting 1 + 1. Unfotunately, we missed and Raanana came down and tried to score but our defence kept closing any gaps. Finally, with time running out, the Israeli player spun around and put a shot up over at least 2 sets of defenders' arms. The horn went and the ball fell through and the game was lost.

Hopefully these young guys will recover in time to have some fun on the rest of the trip as they took the loss very hard. In all, they should be congratulated for the effort that they put forth, and their 5th place finish at the ICG. The players are:

Andrew Mwagi (Ressurection CHS & Midget Viper)
Brad Kibbe (Waterloo CI & Midget Viper)
Alex Galea (KCI & Midget Viper)
Paul Anderson (Forest Heights CI & Midget Viper)
Ron Bougram (Huron Heights SS)
Stefan Cucak (Cameron Heights CI & Midget Viper)
Patrick Connors (Waterloo-Oxford SS & Midget Viper)

Thanks to all the parents and the K-W YBA for all of their support.

Mike Quigley, Coach

Block: WYSIWYG

RESULTS: July 14, 2008

INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES 2008 SAN FRANCISCO, USA - CITY OF KITCHENER DELEGATION

The boys remained undefeated at the ICG winning against Kumasi, Ghana by a 49-15 score. The Ghana team was fairly big and very athletic but could not play basketball very well.

With the victory, our team won their pool but then were seeded #4 out of the 6 teams making the playoffs. Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire was (4-0) #1, San Francisco (4-0) was #2 and Florence, South Carolina (3-1) was #3, but their loss was to Abidjan.

The quarter-finals are scheduled for July 14, 2008. We will play Raanana, Israel at 9:00 am. If the boys win, then they would face #1 Abidjan in the semis. They are all really tall, really athletic and can play pretty well, so we will have our work cut out for us.

The boys are having a great time and its a wonderful experience.

Good luck to our team!

For more information about ICG games, please read below.

Updated July 14, 2008

Block: WYSIWYG

WHAT THE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES 2008 SAN FRANCISCO, USA - CITY OF KITCHENER DELEGATION IS ALL ABOUT:

The KW YBA is proud to announce that we will be sending a team of 7 male athletes to the 2008 International Children’s Games (ICG) in San Francisco, July 10 to 15 to represent KW YBA and the City of Kitchener.

The boys will be part of the City of Kitchener Delegation which is comprised of a girl’s soccer team, a boy’s basketball team and a girls swim team.

These are the 42nd Games to be hosted by cities around the world. The purpose of the Games is to promote peace and friendship through sport in the world's youth. The goal of the ICG is to enable, develop and advance the meeting, understanding and friendship of students from different countries and to advance the Olympic idea.
The basketball team will be coached by Mr. Mike Quigley, YBA Treasurer and Director of Coaching Development. Mr. Quigley is volunteering his time for our team.

The City of Kitchener has participated in 4 past International Games. This is the first time that a basketball team has been invited to be a part of the Kitchener Delegation to the Games.

The team members were selected on the basis of an application to the local ICG team selection committee, a 250 word essay, references, skills, involvement in the community, and academic standing.

There will be 1500 athletes and coaches from 100 cities around the world. For the first time, cities from Ghana, Mongolia and Australia will participate.

Please visit these links to the City of Kitchener ICG website (http://kitchenericg.com/) and the San Francisco ICG website (http://www.sficg2008.com) to track the team’s travels and results.

Good luck! Enjoy meeting other athletes from all across the world.

The Chair of the Selection Committee, Kevin Harrington, and Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr are pleased to announce the members of the City of Kitchener Delegation to the San Francisco 2008 Games.