Long before they set sail on a five-year mission with the UNBC Timberwolves men's basketball team, Saje Gosal and Anthony Hokanson were B.C. provincial under-14 teammates.
At that time, both were considered among the best of their age group peers. They had no idea their basketball futures were about to converge in strange surroundings in Prince George, where they would became T-wolves teammates, roommates and soul brothers.
"Tony and I came here together and it was a really special time for us, we've known each other since we were 13 years old," said Gosal. "We met each other when we were really young and we've been playing basketball together for a long time. We came the same school together and we've lived together the whole time since we've been here, so it's been really special to us to kind of grow up here together."
Hokanson, a forward, has been wrapping his mitts around Gosal's passes from the backcourt for five seasons and that all came to an end Saturday when the T-wolves wrapped up a non-playoff season with back-to-back wins over the Grant MacEwan Griffins at the Northern Sport Centre.
"I can honestly say that the five years here have been one of the best experiences in my life," said Hokanson. "Me and Saje have been part of the biggest firsts in the program's history. We were part of the team that won its first playoff game, we were on the first team to make the playoffs back to back and it's really been one of the most incredible rides I've every had."
That 71-68 win over the Winnipeg Wesmen two years ago in the playoffs in Winnipeg was the high-water mark for the both graduating seniors during their time as T-wolves. Although they were swept in the next round in a two-game series against Alberta, the T-wolves proved with their playoff win that a small isolated school set in the middle of province can produce a playoff contender.
This season was a rebuilding year, with just two starters and two fifth-year players both putting the finishing touches on their careers. The T-wolves started out 4-4, then went on an 11-game losing streak that finally ended when they took out the Griffins Friday in the first game of a two-game sweep.
"It's ups and downs whenever you have a young team - even when you feel you've had a breakthrough you take a step back," said Gosal. "But it's satisfying just seeing the growth from our young guys and seeing what they're capable of."
Hokanson attended Kitsilano Secondary School playing on a quad-A team in Vancouver. Gosal, a guard, came from a basketball family in Golden and played his high school career at the double-A level. Their basketball paths never crossed until the summertime, when Gosal came west to the Lower Mainland for play on the provincial team.
In their final game together as T-wolves Saturday night in a 99-80 win over the Grant MacEwan Griffins, Hokanson and Gosal put up their biggest numbers of the season. Hokanson hit for 23 points had nine rebounds and three assists while Gosal had a 17-point game with two assists and three rebounds.After five years as student athletes, Gosal is leaving UNBC with a political science degree and will study law next fall at UBC. Hokanson will have an accounting degree and is not sure what job that will lead to but they both plan on living in the Vancouver area.
"It's definitely been a grind but looking back on it I don't know if I could have done it any other way," said Hokanson. "It gave me access to a fantastic group of guys who really welcomed me and Saje with open arms and really showed us what it meant to be a UNBC Timberwolf."
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