LEOMINSTER ‒ When Jeff Bercume, the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster, was looking for a way to celebrate the amount of talented athletes in the North County, creating the North Central Mass. High School Basketball Showcase was an easy decision. So on Saturday, August 15, many of those athletes took part in a wonderful day of basketball on the outdoor court behind the building. "We wanted to have an event that brought the community together that put kids at the forefront of the work that we do," said Bercume, who is also an assistant baseball coach at St. John's, where he graduated from before playing college baseball at Merrimack University and signing a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics. "And so with the help of local high school coaches, they nominated their players and we got the best ... to be here today." So, Bercume and his team surveyed local coaches for talented players and split them up into two teams, Team Fire and Team Ice, each with around 10 players. "More or less, if the town itself touches Fitchburg or Leominster, we wanted that town to be represented here," Bercume said. "So we just introduced ourselves to those coaches and asked them to nominate their best players, and those players got selected to be on the roster." Bercume provided pizza, pasta, meatballs and salad for everyone in attendance and even invited the Leominster/Fitchburg All-Star cheerleaders to pump up the fans.
The girls teams kicked off the event, with Team Fire defeating Team Ice, 54-43. Team Fire included Leominster seniors Kendal Hattabaugh and Reagan Murphy, Fitchburg senior Iris Andino, Monty Tech sophomore Sadie Neseran, Clinton junior Aniyjha Morales, Lunenburg junior Leah Harrington and senior Madison Lane, Oakmont seniors Olivia Martin, Grace Hill, Lucie Horgan and Jada LeBlanc and Nashoba senior Sarah Quinn. They were coached by Oakmont's Tina Seabury and Brian Thanas. Team Ice consisted of Leominster junior Anaiah Kassenge and senior Abby Yankey, Fitchburg sophomore Nilesha Figueroa, Clinton junior McKenzie LeBlanc, St. Bernard's sophomores Anna Comeau, Julia Comeau and Anna LeBlanc, North Middlesex sophomores Sophia Hopkins and Chloe Hobart and Nashoba sophomores Sydney Prybyla and Natalie Sanborn. They were coached by St. John's John Ginnity. "It's very special. I'm honored that (Leominster girls' basketball coach Ashley Smith) chose me." Yankey said. "It was really cool meeting all these new girls and getting to play with my opponents." Team Fire led, 10-6, after the first quarter and eventually built a 28-17 at the break. Team Ice implemented a press and used to climb back and cut the Fire lead to three. Team Ice trailed, 36-33, after three, but Team Fire found a way to beat the press and pulled away for the win. "It's really cool," Horgan said. "I know a lot of these girls from playing against them, but it's fun to play with them." On the boys' side, Team Fire topped Team Ice, 62-51. Team Fire consisted of Leominster seniors Rocco Spinelli and Eli Rivera, Clinton junior Jayden Ogando, Monty Tech senior Aiden Lemay, St. Bernard's senior Jonny Mendez, Lunenburg senior Nasa Jarret, Oakmont senior Silas Roy, Nashoba seniors Rudy Apollon and Abasi Semakula II, Wachusett senior Ty Briggs and Joe Halloran, and senior Ty Green. They were coached by Monty Tech coach and New England Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Baltier. Team Ice was made up of Leominster senior D.J. Maynard, Clinton senior Grady Frisch, Monty Tech senior Malik Karane, St. Bernard's senior Daniel Kenney and sophomore Yaniel Zapata, Oakmont senior Brayden Nally, Nashoba senior Gavin Cotter and junior Dawensky Saint Valliere, Wachusett sophomores Owen Walsh and Billy Henrickson, Fitchburg sophomore Stephen Slewion, and Oakmont junior Donovan O'Shaughnessy. They were coached by former St. Bernard's Hall of Famer Josh Ferreiras. "Really grateful for the opportunity," Hendrickson said. "I think it was a lot of fun. We couldn't come out with the win, but it was a great experience." Defense ruled the first quarter and Ice led, 12-6, after one. The Fire offense came to life in the second quarter. They used a 7-0 to take the lead and led 33-19 at the break, thanks to their sharpshooting. Team Fire maintained a lead throughout the third quarter, but Team Ice nailed three free throws at the end of the period to cut the Fire lead to five. The Fire's offense returned in the final quarter and they rode it to victory. The players were grateful for the opportunity to play with other great players from the region and they will take the skills they learned from their experience to their own teams. "You learn to adapt," Yankey said. "You learn how to meet new people and meet new players. We all come from different schools. We play at different speeds with different people, different heights. We're mostly short, the other team is mostly tall, so it's really about adaptation, learning how to play with the girls that you got and appreciate them for their skill level." —Contact Michael Shattuck, at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @MikeShattuck This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Area athletes shine at North Central Mass. Basketball Showcase