SPORTS
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COMOX VALLEY RECORD ♦ SPORTS EDITOR: EARLE COUPER ♦ THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2013
B9
Canada advances to round of 16 at FIVB tourney Record Staff Canada, with Courtenay’s Brad Gunter in the lineup, was swept by the U.S. 25-15, 25-15, 25-22 in its final round-robin match Monday in Izmir, Turkey at the 20-country FIVB U21 World Championships in men’s volleyball.
Canada ended the round r o b i n with two wins and two losses and r a n k s third in Group C BRAD GUNTER
to advance to the round of 16 playoffs. Serbia won the group with a perfect 4-0 mark while the U.S. and Tunisia, also with 2-2 marks, ranked second and fourth. It actually went down to a third tie-breaker between Canada and Tunisia for third spot. Both countries
were also tied in points and sets ratios. The third tie break was the match between the two teams which Canada won last Thursday. Rwanda went 0-4 for fifth spot. Against the U.S. Stephen Maar of Aurora, Ont., led Canada with 13 points while Gunter added nine.
Canada opened the tournament with wins over Tunisia and Rwanda before falling to Serbia on Sunday. “We are obviously not happy with the result (against the U.S.),” said Canadian team captain Milan Nikic of Calgary. “In the third set we started competing at our highest
level.” Canada faced France on Wednesday in the round of 16, with result unavailable at press time. The French were second in Group D with three wins and a loss. Follow Gunter and team Canada at www.fivb.org and www.volleyball.ca.
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Sehr gut! Milburn to play in Basketball Bundesliga Don’t be surprised if Keenan Milburn asks how to say ‘pick and roll’ in German in the coming weeks. He’s just preparing, as usual. The former point guard for the SAIT Trojans men’s basketball team has signed a one-year contract with BBV Hagen, a B-Division club team in the Germanbased Basketball Bundesliga (Federal Basketball League). “I’m very excited. Can’t beat going over there, and basically getting paid to play the sport I love,” said Milburn, a graduate of the SAIT Polytechnic Business Administration program. “It’s just something new. I’ve never been over to Europe. It’s a great opportunity.” Hagen is listed as the country’s 39th largest city, and is located approximately 60 kilometres east of Dusseldorf - a long way from home for the Royston, B.C. native. Milburn starred at SAIT for three seasons (2007-10) after being plucked out of Mark R. Isfeld High School by Trojans head coach Mike Stevens. “Excited for him, happy for him,” said Stevens about the first player he ever recruited for SAIT. “(Keenan) is a good example of when you take some talent, work hard, and go after your dreams.”
GERMANY IS THE next stop for Keenan Milburn as the Royston native continues to pursue his passion for basketball.
The SAIT Trojans men’s basketball Rookie of the Year in 2008 and team MVP in 2009 admitted that Stevens was the only coach to recruit him out of high school, and that if he hadn’t, the chance to play professionally overseas might not have happened. “He’s one of the best coaches I ever had,” Milburn said. “Anything I wanted, he was there for me. He was always honest with me about improving my game.”
Improving his game was important to Milburn, and that became evident to Stevens from Day 1. “He really is a coach’s dream,” said the Trojans bench boss. “He came in, he was quiet his first year. He worked hard, he did whatever was asked, and then he started to get ambitious in wanting to know what it was going to take for him to be considered a great player. In 2010, Milburn ended his successful stint in SAIT silks with a runner-up sil-
ver finish at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national championship. The following year, he started a two-year run with the University of Calgary Dinos, and in 2012-13, Milburn split time playing with the city’s American Basketball Association team, the Calgary Crush, as well as helping out Stevens as an assistant coach on the Trojans’ bench. Now he is ready for even more.
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Milburn equated his impending move to Germany like the one he faced moving from the small town in B.C. to Calgary - daunting. But, early on in his first year with the Trojans, he earned a starting role, which assured him that he made the right choice to move to Alberta, and more importantly, that his abilities played on a bigger stage. “I think it really showed when I made the jump to CIS when I went from SAIT
to the (University of Calgary),” he said, looking back fondly at his time with the Trojans. “Mike really kind of gave me the go ahead and the confidence I needed to play at the next level. He really let me do whatever I needed to do on the floor, within the confines of the offence. It was such a good experience.” BBV Hagen has turned into somewhat of a landing spot for former Dinos players. U of C alum Chris Harris and Chris Wright, a Crush teammate of Milburn, also spent time with the club, and together, their recommendations helped land the six-foot-one guard a one-year deal. The 23-year-old leaves for Germany on Sept. 4, and has been spending his time leading up to his departure where else, but on the court practising. When talk of expectations come up he takes a second to collect his thoughts, like a point guard slowing down the play to see what his best options are to score. “If I can move up, get a new contract and make some more money that would be awesome,” Milburn said. “And if I only get a year out of it, and get to travel the other side of the world, then I’m happy with that, too. Really, right now I’ll be playing it by ear.” – SAIT Trojans
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