(Orangeville, On) 22 of the top girls and 20 of the top boys in Canadian basketball competed on Thursday evening to kick off the seventh annual BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Games. The Nike Regional Girls Futures and Boys Futures Games feature Canadian student-athletes in their freshman and sophomore years of high school.
GIRLS FUTURES GAME
Team White Roster
| # | Name | Height | School |
| 4 | Mikaela James | 5’8 | King’s Christian Collegiate |
| 1 | Amaya Robinson | 5’6 | Royal Crown Academy |
| 2 | Ayla Corrigale | 5’6 | Orangeville District Secondary |
| 3 | Maya Foz | 5’9 | Fort Erie International Academy |
| 3 | Silvana Maldonado | 5’8 | Excel Hoops Prep |
| 6 | Tyanne Adderley | 5’9 | Crestwood Prep |
| 7 | Believe Tshibangu | 5’11 | Royal Crown Academy |
| 8 | Jordyn Wheeler | 6’0 | Niagara Prep |
| 9 | Chanté Murray | 6’0 | Excel Hoops Prep |
| 10 | Deniya Prawl | 6’1 | Fort Erie International Academy |
| 12 | Ava Bluhm | 5’11 | Lincoln Prep |
Team Black Roster
| # | Name | Height | School |
| 0 | Kaylen Sta. Maria | 5’8 | Crestwood Prep |
| 3 | Keyarah Gregory | 5’4 | Fort Erie International Academy |
| 4 | Lita Sutor | 5’7 | Niagara Prep |
| 5 | Ava Porter | 5’11 | Crestwood Prep |
| 6 | Katie Firth | 5’11 | Orangeville District Secondary |
| 7 | Brooke McLeod | 6’1 | Bill Crothers Secondary |
| 8 | Kiyla Fowler | 5’6 | King’s Christian Collegiate |
| 9 | Juliana Rodger | 5’10 | Bill Crothers Secondary |
| 10 | Carletta Bennett | 5’8 | King’s Christian Collegiate |
| 11 | Mildred Dibua | 6’1 | King’s Christian Collegiate |
| 12 | Cearah Parchment | 6’2 | Fort Erie International Academy |
Team White appeared to have the win in the bag heading into the fourth quarter. Up 78-65, they were just 10 minutes of good defence away from winning the 2023 BioSteel Girls Futures Game. No problem. Team White’s defence had been solid for the first 30 minutes. But against all odds, Team Black completely unraveled them and snatched the dub in the game’s closing seconds.
Cearah Parchment, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, was essential in the late comeback. The momentum seemingly swung in Team Black’s favour after Parchment secured a defensive rebound, took the ball coast-to-coast, and faked a pass across the lane to freeze the defender for an easy layup. Still, with 3:47 left in the game Team Black was still down 87-80.
BioSteel Futures Girls Team Black MVP #12 Cearah Parchment 22pts (Photo courtesy Fifis Visuals)
For her late game efforts, Parchment of Fore Erie International Academy (FEIA) was named Team Black MVP. She stands at 6’2” and was the tallest player in the game. She has a houndlike nose for the ball, and uses her long body and power to beat everyone on the boards and finish underneath the basket with ease. Those same tools also make her a formidable defensive presence in the paint. She had a total of 22 points to go along with her many rebounds and blocks.
After a made free throw by Team White, the two sides were knotted at 92 with just 11 seconds remaining. Keyarah Gregory dribbled the ball across the timeline and drove into the defence, spinning and making hard contact with help defender Ayla Corrigale before kicking it out to Kaylen Sta. Maria for a near buzzer-beating triple to give Team Black the 95-92 win.
BioSteel Futures Girls Team White MVP #10 Deniya Prawl 18pts (Photo courtesy Fifis Visuals)
Crowned Team White MVP was another FEIA player Deniya Prawl. She’s a fluid athlete with an advanced handle and scoring package for her age. She’s particularly adept at attacking the rim and drawing contact to earn trips to the line. Like her teammate, she has good size standing at 6’1” and she pairs it well with her strong defensive instincts to get steals and go coast-to-coast. She had 18 points in the game.
Prawl and Parchment are the third pair of girls to win Girls Futures MVP honours, putting them on the same trajectory as D1 players Emma Koabel of Duke University and Cheyenne Rowe of James Madison University. Both Koabel and Rowe have represented Canada in international competition.
BOYS FUTURES GAME
Team White Roster
| # | Name | Height | School |
| 0 | Zachary Walker | 5’10 | Orangeville Prep |
| 1 | Jordan Charles | 5’11 | United Scholastic Academy |
| 2 | Janoy Walkes | 6’1 | Brampton City Prep |
| 3 | Elijah Patterson | 6’3 | Orangeville Prep |
| 4 | Kamai Samuels | 6’1 | Loyola High |
| 5 | Godson Okokoh | 6’7 | Royal Crown |
| 6 | Kymani Walters | 6’2 | Inspire Academy |
| 7 | Vlad Popa | 6’6 | Hodan Nalayeh Secondary |
| 8 | Bennett White | 6’6 | Crestwood Prep |
Team Black Roster
| # | Name | Height | School |
| 0 | Javion Tyndale | 5’3 | Royal Crown Academy |
| 1 | Jaylen Simmons | 5’11 | Crestwood Prep |
| 2 | Caleb Roberts | 6’0 | Ursuline College Chatham |
| 3 | Rokiem Green | 6’2 | Inspire Academy |
| 4 | Quinten Ethier | 6’4 | Brampton City Prep |
| 5 | Emeka Ikeazor | 6’2 | Hodan Nalayeh Secondary |
| 7 | Ehikhueme Ehikhametalor | 6’7 | Royal Crown Academy |
| 10 | Ehikue Asemota | 6’2 | Orangeville Prep |
| 11 | Lukas Jendrusiak | 6’4 | Orangeville Prep |
| 12 | Trust Odia | 6’6 | Inspire Academy |
The Boys Futures game was another nail biter that went down to the wire. In the final minute, Team Black found themselves desperately fending off a Team White comeback. Team White was down by 13 at halftime and hadn’t held a lead since the game was 22-20 just nine minutes in, and yet, here they were knocking on the door to victory at the 2023 BioSteel All-Canadian.
Up 115-112 with possession and just 23 seconds left to play, Team Black only needed to break the full court press and bleed the clock as much as possible before getting intentionally fouled. The speedy Javion Tyndale was tasked to bring the ball into the front court, but had it poked away from behind by Janoy Walkes as he was sprinting in. Walkes immediately took the ball the other way and attacked the basket to earn a couple free throws. He calmly made both to bring Team White within one.
BioSteel Futures Boys Team Black MVP #3 Rokiem Green 42pts (Photo courtesy Fifis Visuals)
Unfortunately, Team White had only one team foul in the final 10 minutes of the game and had just 12 seconds to commit four fouls to send Team Black to the line or get a steal. Walkes was determined to do the latter, getting a hand on an inbound pass and tying up Caleb Roberts for a jump ball and possession with a second left.
Out of their timeout, Bennett White threw an inbound pass to Jordan Charles near the left block. Charles managed to get off a fadeaway jumper on time, but the ball went astray and hit the side of the backboard as the buzzer sounded. Team Black just held on for the 115-114 victory.
Rokiem Green of Inspire Academy was bestowed Team Black MVP honours in recognition of his 42 points in the game. Green is a three-level scorer with a pretty jumper and arguably the greatest range in his class. His combination of handles and speed makes him hard to deal with, particularly in transition.
BioSteel Futures Boys Team White MVP #3 Elijah Patterson 30pts (Photo courtesy Fifis Visuals)
Orangeville Prep’s Elijah Patterson had 30 points and was named Team White’s MVP. He’s more of an interior scorer relative to his MVP counterpart but is nonetheless a versatile player in his own right as a playmaker and off-ball defender. His superpower is that he seemingly always plays under control and at his own pace, enabling him to routinely make tough shots that require a more delicate touch.
These players follow in the footsteps of Canadian Senior Men’s and New York Knicks wing RJ Barrett – the inaugural Boys Futures MVP winner in 2015.
For Biosteel All-Canadian Futures Game Photo Gallery by Fifis Visuals click HERE.
