Speed is the name of the game for Axemen

Three Oaks senior AAA boys win third tournament of the season

The Three Oaks Team One Axemen won the Amherst Regional High School Christmas Classic senior AAA basketball tournament on Saturday. The Axemen defeated Fredericton High 102-70. Members of the Axemen are, front row, from left: Arman Singh, Vlersim Musliu, Zach Blood, Charlie Turner and Ryan MacKinnon. Back row: Faro Halupa (coach), Jason Stefanuca, Spencer Rossiter, Jack Somers, Sean Matheson, Sahib Singh, Justin Caron and Ben MacDougall. - Dave Mathieson

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The Three Oaks Team One Axemen have made it a natural hat trick.

The Axemen have played in three senior AAA basketball tournaments so far this year and won all three. The latest banner to hang in the Summerside high school’s gymnasium is from the Amherst Regional High School Christmas Classic on Saturday.
"Everyone played well and it was a team effort,” said Axemen Grade 12 forward Ben MacDougall, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. “Everybody played together.”
The Axemen previously won the Bluefield and Three Oaks Christmas Classic tournaments. In Amherst, the Axemen posted three convincing victories – 94-48 over Amherst, 87-47 versus Middleton, N.S., and 102-70 against the Fredericton High Black Kats in the final.
“Offensively, we are close to where we want to be,” said Axemen head coach Faro Halupa. “We are still not shooting the ball as good as we hoped, but we are scoring.
“Our defence is a work in progress, but offensively we are trouble for teams because we can score. A big part for us is we play so fast it’s hard to keep up with us score-wise.”
MacDougall (18) and player-of-the-game Sahib Singh (16) were the Axemen’s top scorers against Amherst. MacDougall poured in 27 points and was the Axemen’s player of the game against Middleton.
Vlersim Musliu scored 20 points to lead the Axemen while Justin Caron sank 19 points and was selected the player of the game in the final for Three Oaks.
“We want to push the pace in a high-scoring game and still manage to play defence while we do it,” said Halupa. “That can be hard because you can get a little bit out of control at times.
“As crazy as it sounds, it’s almost like a little bit of controlled chaos when you are trying to do it. . . The key is making them pick up the pace so you have to dictate the play of the game. If you don’t, that’s where it becomes trouble. We want it to be fast.”
MacDougall said the Axemen’s offence starts with the team’s defensive play.
“Once we up our defence and we get out and running, that’s when we play our best when we are in transition,” said MacDougall, 18.
Next up for the Axemen is the Potato Barrell tournament later this week. This tournament is hosted by North Carleton High School, located just outside of Woodstock, N.B.