It was a radiant night for the Maaqtusiis Suns girls 13U basketball team from Ahousaht First Nation.
With 10 seconds left on the clock and a comfortable 18-point lead over Lax kxeen United from Prince Rupert, Suns fans started to drum and sing their Victory Song.
“When I heard that Victory Song, I was excited,” said Suns coach Robert Stanley. “I really don’t know what to say. I’m still at a loss for words. I’m super proud of them. I was happy because our girls worked so hard. They’d done it.”
Emotions ran deep as Eva Thomas received the game MVP shirt, and the following day at the awards ceremony on March 21, she was named Junior All Nation Tournament (JANT) MVP for the girls 13U Silver division.
Every fan from Ahousaht was saying, “She plays like her dad.”
“Her dad is my oldest brother, Travis Thomas,” said Stanley, referencing an Ahousaht member who went missing from the remote Bartlett Island in the summer of 2018. “She trains every day. She trained every day to get where she wants to be. We didn’t force it upon her to train, she took it upon herself and that’s exactly how her dad was. Her dad was a work horse in and out of the gym and that’s how my coaching is…You work for what you want and we reward you with the court.”
Maaqtusiis Suns were undefeated, winning three games in the round robin and three playoff games. Coach Stanley said they opted to enter the Silver division instead of the Gold to give their younger players a chance to play.
“Our mentality was to take it one game at a time,” he said.
The Suns practiced twice a week, and many players jogged and ran stairs every morning in preparation for JANT.
“We learned in Terrace, you know, morning games are going to come out of nowhere. We ended up with an 8:30 a.m. game at the start of our playoffs and the girls’ legs were ready to go. They started off strong,” said Stanley.
“The morning runs paid off. You can see the difference in our girls in the first game. Our girls’ legs were ready to run and they were ready to shoot. They were full of energy,” he continued.
Suns players Ellenore John won a First Team All Star and Aliyah Williams picked up a Second Team All Star.
Ahousaht Guardians boys 13U made the championship final for the second year in row, but failed to defend their title from 2024, conceding 58-50 to Coastal Pride from Prince Rupert.
“It was a challenge for our kids. We had a younger team this year compared to last year,” said Guardians coach Luke Swan Jr. after the awards ceremony at Kelowna Secondary School.
The Guardians beat two, tough rival teams from Haida Gwaii to earn their spot in final; Skidegate Saints fell 61-33 and then they ousted the Jr. Haida Raiders representing Old Masset by six points.
“We worked our butts off. We ran hills, we ran the water and we were in the gym four days a week,” said Swan Jr. “Our goal was to compete and let them have fun. In saying that, I think our program is just growing and getting bigger, not only for our teams, but for all the teams. The competitive level is getting better.”
Ahousaht, the largest Nuu-chah-nulth nation with over 2,000 members, sent a whopping seven teams to JANT this year. Most of the Ahousaht players that went to JANT live in the village of Maaqtusiis located on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound.
“The village was pretty quiet,” coach Stanley laughed.
“Basketball is life here,” Stanley told the Ha-Shilth-Sa. “It’s something we as adults can’t take away. Basketball is the life of the children today. Everybody deserves to play. It got tough at the very end, competing against other teams fundraising, but we were able to pull it off with the help of a lot of donations.”
Stanley played his last basketball game for Ahousaht at the 2005 All Natives. He walked away with an All Star.
“The skills I was taught are not mine to keep. That’s why I hand them off to our younger generation,” he said.
Coach Swan Jr. added that the ‘Ahousaht way’ means opening the gym for all teams.
“We try help each other out in Ahousaht. Nothing is closed door other than team meetings. Our goal is to make everybody better, not just my team. This is not political. This is for the kids. I’m just excited for the opportunity to be here with them,” said Swan Jr., who mentors 25 players from Ahousaht’s 13U and 17U boys’ programs.
Guardians player Christopher Hernandez scored the ‘Mr. Hustle Award’. Jordan Francis and Mason Mallette (George) were named First Team All Stars.
Ocean Storm, Ahousaht’s other 13U girls team in the Silver division, was named ‘Most Sportsmanlike Team’ at JANT 2025.
