A group of young basketball players from Saskatchewan are going for a tournament win this afternoon in Las Vegas.
Led by head coach and Unity native, Zenon Orobko, Team Sask 15U went 3-0 during the week at the Las Vegas Classic. Two games against international teams on Tuesday started the tournament off on a good note, and then a 37-26 win against the other Saskatchewan team in attendance gave them top spot in Pool B.
Now Team Sask is in Thursday's championship final against Vancouver's 3D U15 Girls ACADEMY. Orobko's team led the six-team group in point differential, and their finals opponents finished just behind in that category as both sides enter the final game undefeated.
The team will be sticking around Vegas for the weekend no matter today's result. After the Classic, is the Las Vegas Grand Finale running Friday through Sunday as Orobko's team will have to reset for a fresh set of competition.
The tournaments down south are a good primer for 15U Basketball Canada nationals coming up in August. Orobko's team will come back home to Saskatchewan for a short break, before heading to Oshawa for August 4-9.
The Vegas trip and upcoming journey to Ontario will be the culmination of tons of hours in the gym — and in the lab for Orobko and his fellow coaches, Keira Dyck out of Saskatoon, and Jaden Cook from Regina who each poured hours into making the roster over the spring.
Expect a full story with Orobko soon featuring comments from earlier this year talking about his preparation for the summer season.
Being a dedicated coach is in his blood, and bringing home a championship from Las Vegas would be another milestone for the family coaching tree.