Rebels upended by `neighbour'

Facing some of the top senior boys' basketball teams in western Canada, the Georgetown Rebels were denied a shot at the tournament championship by a southern Ontario neighbour at the 25th-annual REB Invitational at Jasper Place High School in Edmonton this past weekend. The Rebels, with a 9-1 overall record heading into the 16-team tourney, began the preliminary round with a 66-55 win over Edmonton's Archbishop O'Leary, followed by a 77-65 triumph over West Vancouver. But Georgetown's seniors then ran into eventual-champion Hamilton Cathedral, which prevailed 83-55 and sent the Rebels into the consolation final, where they downed host Jasper Place 82-74 in overtime. "It's funny that you go all that way to play and a team from next door beats us," said head coach Steve Pettit. "Cathedral dominated the tournament. They beat us by 30 and that was the closest game they had all week. But the whole tournament was a great experience for our kids. You put them together under strange circumstances like that and more often than not, they'll bond." It's the second time that GDHS has sent a team to the REB tournament, having last entered three years ago. Guard/forward Dalton Olinoski was named to the tourney all-star team in part for his 38-point effort in the consolation final, and 6-foot-6 centre/forward Brett Neumann placed second overall in the slam-dunk contest. Pettit added that about 2,000 spectators turned out for Thursday's opening ceremonies and a few hundred backers of host Jasper Place watched as their Rebels lost to Georgetown's Rebels for third-place honours. GDHS was also presented with the REB Invitational's sportsmanship award. "We always preach success as opposed to winning and this is a really good group, their marks in school, everything," Pettit said. The senior Rebels have four of the five starters back from last year's squad that made it to the Halton AAAA final and this Wednesday's home clash with Milton's Bishop Reding Royals, who were also undefeated in the North Division standings, promises to be a tough test. The Royals are led by provincial team member Al Alilovic and figure to be a contender for the Halton AAA title. Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m. in the GDHS gym. The Rebels have a busy schedule ahead and are even active through the holidays, traveling to the Syracuse, N.Y. area to play in a tournament. They are also signed up for elite-level events at Toronto's St. Mike's, Hamilton and London, and will participate in their annual exchange with a high school from Mishawaka, Indiana Jan. 19-20, with Georgetown serving as hosts this year.