The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 37 | Friday, April 10, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Holy Trinity high school student Ignas Brazdeikis was named to the national Cadet (under-16) men's basketball team Monday. Brazdeikis, who says his goal in basketball is to play in the NBA, will represent Canada at the U16 FIBA Americas tournament later this spring in Argentina. | Eric Riehl -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Local talent helps GTHL's Mississauga Rebels win OHF bantam AAA title Four Oakville teens won an Ontario Hockey Federation bantam AAA title last weekend with the Mississauga Rebels. Defenceman D.J. King, goaltender Christian Purboo and forwards Curtis Douglas and Harrison Rees helped the Greater Toronto Hockey League squad win all eight of its games at the OHF championships in Timmins. Purboo made 36 saves in Saturday's gold-medal game as the Rebels defeated the Thunder Bay Kings 4-1. King scored Mississauga's first goal of the game and Douglas drew an assist on the Rebels' third marker. "It felt great... for all our hard work to pay off and to reach our ultimate goal from Day 1," said Douglas, a 15-year-old Abbey Park high school student. The Rebels entered the OHF championships as the see Second on p.38 National basketball teamer aiming high by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Asked what his goal is as a basketball player, Ignas Brazdeikis quickly makes it clear that he's shooting high. "I want to make the NBA, of course," says the 16-year-old Oakville resident. Lofty ambitions, to be sure. But when Brazdeikis says it so matter-of-factly, it's difficult to roll your eyes. "The sky is the limit for him. When he says NBA, I don't think he's far off," says his Holy Trinity high school coach, Andrew Saulez, noting Brazdeikis was the first Grade 9 student to play for the Trinity senior boys' team. "He's always in the gym. His work ethic is unbelievable. He plays on a high-level team (Bramptonbased CIA Bounce), goes and trains on his own, trains fitness-wise. "He reminds me of (Nik) Stauskas (the Mississauga native now playing for the Sacramento Kings). Stauskas was such a hard worker... (Brazdeikis's) athleticism is improving, which is what Stauskas's did, and he's got size." U10 Venom boys, U11 Vytis girls earn provincial silver The Oakville Venom under-10 novice #1 boys finished second overall at the Ontario Basketball Association's Ontario Cup provincial championships recently in Burlington. Oakville went 2-1 in round-robin play -- its only loss being a 43-42 decision to Toronto Triple Threat -- but lost 38-19 to DCBA Central in the Division 1 gold-medal game. The Venom's wins at the tournament came over Blessed Sacrament (34-23) and Brampton Warriors #1 (33-27). The Venom's second novice boys' team added a silver in Division 4 competition. The Venom posted a 2-1 record in the round robin and narrowly missed gold, falling 25-24 to the East York Eagles in the final. Oakville Vytis also earned a silver in Ontario Cup play, finishing second in Division 2 at the U11 atom girls' championships in London. The Vytis was the sixth seed in Division 2 but surprised second-ranked London Ramblers #1 10-9 and thirdseeded Windsor Valiants 32-29, the latter victory in overtime, on its way to a 3-0 round-robin showing. Oakville lost the championship game 24-13 to the top-seeded Kitchener Waterloo Lightning. Members of the Vytis are Charlotte Kanalac, Claire Maloney, Emilie Ougrinov, Emily King, Janani Anandan, Katherine Tucker, Maddy Lowes, Mara Scodeller, Mia Ingaldson, Mheyna Steinauer, Sarah Malone, Tayea Steinauer and Vanessa Ougrinov. Gina Steinauer and Sylvia Ougrinov coach the team. Apparently, Canada Basketball is also high on Brazdeikis, a Lithuanian-born guard/forward whose family moved to Oakville five years ago after stops in Chicago and Etobicoke. Brazdeikis was one of 12 players named to the Canadian Cadet men's team Monday following a four-day camp at Humber College's north campus last weekend. Athletes were identified throughout the year in a series of identification camps and recommendations from provincial/ territorial organizations. The Cadet squad will represent Canada -- which is currently ranked third in the world in the FIBA men's age group rankings -- at the U16 FIBA Americas tournament June 10-14 in Argentina. "It's been a long process," says Brazdeikis, who has been on the national team radar since he attended a junior academy for elite talent in Grade 8. "I think they know me, how I play." How he plays, Saulez says, is as a scoring threat both in the post and on the perimeter. The Trinity coach also praises Brazdeikis's rebounding abilities and says the teen's defensive game has made great strides recently as well. "We're more proud of him than anything. I knew he had a chance... You just hoped he played up to his abilities and showed what he can do, and also that he was the right fit for the team," says Saulez, who Brazdeikis texted with the news immediately after finding out he made the Cadet club. "It's nice when they get rewarded, when the kid works that hard." Oakville residents D.J. King (left) and Curtis Douglas (right) show off the Ontario Hockey Federation bantam AAA trophy after helping the Mississauga Rebels to the title Saturday. Christian Purboo and Harrison Rees are other local players on the team. | Photo submitted