The Richmond Colts are off to a solid start to the 2019-20 regular basketball campaign, including their Grade 11 standout stealing the show in the second half of a league-opening win over the McNair Marlins.
Six-foot-two guard Arminas Ilciukas, lit it up from beyond the arc to finish with a game-high 29 points, including 26 in the final 20 minutes half thanks to six three-pointers.
First year head coach Fayyaz Tejani, said when his top player (Ilciukas) wasn’t hitting his shots early on, other guys stepped up to keep the game close with the Colts taking a 33-31 lead into halftime.
“Both teams were pressing hard back and forth, and guys weren’t hitting shots early on. The crowd was loud, they were getting into my players ears then we missed a couple free-throws,” Tejani said.
The Colts turned around quickly after some miscommunications in the first half. The defending city champions went on to a 83-61 victory. The performance came on the heels of winning the Notre Dame Juggler Classic the previous weekend.
Tejani said he is aware of how competitive the Richmond senior boys league is because he has been coaching at the Bantam level up until this year. But he also acknowledges the talent on his own squad.
“We are going to exceed expectation this season, I think we’d be a top four, so we are definitely going to have a place in this league,” Tejani said.
Only two returning players were a part of the rotation last season. Graduating players this year are taking on the leadership role. The players to watch out for after sharpshooter Ilciukas are six-foot-six centre Lazar Stanojevic, floor general Jonathan Hu and captain Jason Zhong, according to Tejani.
The Colts will return to action Jan. 8 with an exhibition game against Lord Byng.
During the break, the Colts will aim to improve their defence and strive towards the team goal on keeping their opponents under certain points to start off a quarter.
“It’s a good sign to see that the kids are pushing themselves when they don’t reach their goals, instead of me giving them punishments,” Tejani added.
