U SPORTS FINAL 8 HOOPS: Front to back, Avan Nava X-cels on the court
THE STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS
As the calendar approaches a rare palindrome day (20/3/2023), the St. Francis Xavier X-Men’s own palindrome hopes to lead his team to a long-awaited U Sports Final 8 basketball title.
Avan Nava, in his fourth and final year at St. FX, was finally able to fly an Atlantic University conference banner with his teammates on Feb. 26 after the X-Men dismantled the UPEI Panthers 104-54 in the AUS Final 6 championship game in Halifax , the first championship for the school in 17 years.
Now the X-Men set their sights on a national banner. St. FX is hosting the U Sports Final 8 tournament at the Scotiabank Center which started on Friday. The X-Men defeated Queen’s 107-98 in the Quarterfinals at 6 p.m. that night.
Since the X-Men won back-to-back national banners in 2000 and 2001, an Atlantic University conference team has not raised the WP McGee Trophy.
“The AUS title was a long time coming,” said Nava. “In my freshman year we lost to Dal in the final. The following season was the COVID year. And then we lost to UPEI in the semifinals last year. It was a journey. I’m so glad we won it with this team.
“But from day one we wanted to be national champions,” continued Nava. “But the first step was to win the AUS. It was important not only to get the banner, but also to have a good starting position at Nationals. It’s a different animal, but we’re ready for it.”
Nava, who is from Mississauga, joined Antigonish in 2019 after starring at TRC Academy, a prep school in Brantford, Ontario. His head coach there is his head coach at St. FX, Tyrell Vernon.
“St. FX was one of four schools that hired me,” Nava recalls. “I felt like I was underrecruited. I didn’t know much about school. But Coach K (legendary head coach Steve Konchalski) reached out to me and TV coached me at TRC, so I knew I wanted to follow him to Antigonish.
“He’s a great coach, a player-coach. I love him.”
Nava became a fan favorite, particularly from the Filipino community in Antigonish.
“You’ve been there for me since day 1,” Nava said. “I’m so glad they were there to support me and make me feel at home. You are at every game. Sometimes they bring me food. It feels like home to me. A home away from home.
“It’s my last year and I’m sad to leave her behind. But that’s a nice ending.”
This year’s tournament marks 30 years since St. FX’s national title run in 1993, the first of three for the program and for Konchalski, who spent 46 seasons as banker at X and won a Canadian college record 919 games. Coach K is the honorary chairman of the tournament.
Nava said the drought could end if the X-Men – who kept opponents at 73.8 points per game in the regular season – “firm their defenses.”
“We held Elijah (AUS MVP Elijah Miller of UPEI) to three points (in the AUS finals). It’s because of our defense,” Nava said. “Whatever the coaches say seems to be working. We just have to follow them and do our best in every game.”
Note: The 1973 CIAU-winning Saint Mary’s Huskies men’s basketball team reunites in Halifax to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their national varsity championship. Eleven coaches and players from the ’73 team are expected, including head coach Brian Heaney and all-Canadian players Mickey Fox and Lee Thomas. The team will be honored at the Scotiabank Center at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday before the semi-final pick.