D2 Men’s Basketball: Regional Champions
On Sunday, March 29, 2026, the D2 Men’s basketball team became the RSEQ regional basketball champions. The men played against Dawson College and won 78 to 59.
However, for players Noah, Charles, Dzidula, Julian, and Alan, 17th, the team will be competing in the first round of the provincial championship. Dzidula, whose position on the team is a guard, shared: “It feels very good to be regional champions this season, but we’re not satisfied yet. Our goal remains to win the provincial championship. Job is not finished!” The same sentiment was expressed by his teammates who all have their eyes on the same prize: becoming provincial champions.
When I asked the group what the steps were to becoming regional champions, point guard Charles’ answer stood out to me: “2 words: Trust and unselfishness. We believe that trusting each other to do our roles is key to achieving success as a group. At the same time, we focus on playing unselfish basketball—making sure everyone is involved and contributing. Basketball is a team sport, not a 1 man show, so we prioritize teamwork and making sure every player has a role in every game we play.”
Backup shooting guard, Noah, spoke about the team’s work ethic and comradery: “[T]hroughout the year, we made sure to compete every practice to push each other to our limits. Which is what helped us become champions.”
Alan, who plays power-forwardcentre, used a different strategy: “[H]itting my team mates in practice shaped them for the playoff”
Along with being committed members of the team, all of the players are Vanier College students. Once the season is over, Charles plans on “shifting toward my academics. I want to make sure I stay on top of my studies and successfully pass all my classes.”
Noah intends to “rest up and get ready for a whole new squad of guys. Seeing that we’re losing 3 important big men, and the best defender in the league, our team will change a lot. [B]ut that’s not going to change our goals of being exactly where we are this year.”
Starting centre, Julian, provided a similar answer as Dzidula and Alan did when he wrote: “Go and win provincials”.
For some reason, when I asked the players to describe the season in three words or less, Dzidula wrote “belt to ass”. To this day, I am puzzle! For Noah, “historic” and “dominant” are the words he feels best describes the season – which I think is a more appropriate answer; and Julian answered: “undefeated”.
Head coach Scott Mawhinney, and assistant coaches Lukas Moreau, Ernie Rosa, and Craig O’Brien, are the people who managed the team to regional success.
To conclure the interview, I asked the athletes who they would want to shoutout. Can you guess who they mentioned?
Along with being committed members of the team, all of the players are Vanier College students. Once the season is over, Charles plans on “shifting toward my academics. I want to make sure I stay on top of my studies and successfully pass all my classes.”
Noah intends to “rest up and get ready for a whole new squad of guys. Seeing that we’re losing 3 important big men, and the best defender in the league, our team will change a lot. [B]ut that’s not going to change our goals of being exactly where we are this year.”
Starting centre, Julian, provided a similar answer as Dzidula and Alan did when he wrote: “Go and win provincials”.
For some reason, when I asked the players to describe the season in three words or less, Dzidula wrote “belt to ass”. To this day, I am puzzle! For Noah, “historic” and “dominant” are the words he feels best describes the season – which I think is a more appropriate answer; and Julian answered: “undefeated”.
Head coach Scott Mawhinney, and assistant coaches Lukas Moreau, Ernie Rosa, and Craig O’Brien, are the people who managed the team to regional success.
To conclure the interview, I asked the athletes who they would want to shoutout. Can you guess who they mentioned?
Noah: “I would like to shoutout our coaching staff. [T]hey used each of our skill sets to
create the best team with what they had. The mix of experience between them, and the newer coaching techniques of coach Luke were things many other teams didn’t have.”
Charles: “I would like to give a shoutout to our amazing coaching staff, to my teammates, and to all the families that came to support us during the season. And a special shoutout to Coach Andy for all the birthday cakes!”
Dzidula: “I want to give a massive shoutout to the entire team, the coaching staff, and everyone who has supported us this year.”
Alan: “[S]hout out to Saint Jean, Doudou, Luis, Tony, Francios, Joles, Maitre, Mouse, Oneshot, Punzalan, Lebron, Zerzer, Ryan, Rosa Snr, and the coaches. Also especially my parents for my shoes”
Julian: “I would [like] to thank the coaching staff and teammates.”
Asherah: I would like to thank Noah, Charles, Dzidula, Alan, and Julian for partaking in this interview. I wish them and their team all the best in the provincial championship game.
Pictures by: Antoine Longue, Vanier Sports, Siuxy Sports, or Samuel Ofori
