Nik Goncin got a taste of Canada Winter Games glory four years ago in Halifax when he helped Saskatchewan win a bronze medal, their highest finish ever.
On Thursday, Goncin guaranteed his team will do better than that before they leave Prince George.
The 23-year-old from Regina was an unstoppable force picking up 41 points, more than half his team's offensive output, in an 81-57 semifinal win over Alberta.
"Nik's a super-talented player, he's on the national team, one of the greatest players in the world, and we tried to contain him and he was just on fire," said Ben Moronchuk, an 18-year-old from Edmonton who led Alberta with 23 points. "It's tough when he's shooting like that."
Goncin, who led his team in the preliminary round with 83 points in four games, set the tone Thursday with 26 of Saskatchewan's points in the first half and they carried a 40-26 lead into the intermission.
"It's not just me, my teammates make me open and they attack and that's how I get open," Goncin said. "You look at all the low (classification) players you can't see on the stat sheet, they're running the picks and doing all those little things that help."
Goncin played on the 2011 CWG team and with at least a silver medal assured he says this team is ready to take that next step in the final against Quebec.
"Last time we were super-happy with a bronze medal and I think here we have that opportunity to take the gold medal," said Goncin. "Practice makes perfect and if we win, we won it in the off-season. It will be a reflection of how hard we've been working the last two years."
An aspiring dentist, Goncin is now in his senior year at the University of Illinois and he'll graduate in May after four years on a full-ride scholarship to play for the varsity team.
Wheelchair basketball payers are classified based on their level of disability on a scale that ranges from 1.0 (most disabled) to 4.5 (least disabled or able-bodied). Goncin, despite having had his left leg amputated at age 15 after being diagnosed with cancer, has a 4.5 rating. He used his speed to get open and when he got double-teamed he knew where to put the ball to set up an open teammate. Goncin's speed led to more than a few sudden stops that turned his wheelchair into an ejector seat but he was unfazed by all those hard landings.
"I can't describe this guy, he's an amazing basketball player who works really hard for everything he's got," said Saskatchewan assistant coach Rob Sajtos.
Goncin's shiftiness and fast-cut pivots got one of Alberta's best players, Bradon Doll, in foul trouble and Saskatchewan took advantage when Doll was stuck on the bench to go on a nine-point run in the third quarter. Doll was held to 10 points, a total matched by teammate Arinn Young.
Mitch Bossaer had 20 points and forced two turnovers and Brody Jobh sunk 10 points for Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan finished atop the A pool at 4-0 while Alberta placed second in the B pool at 3-1.
"Saskatchewan has never been in the gold-medal game and it feels absolutely awesome," said Sajtos. "We've been building on this for a long time and made it to the junior national final last year and I think we're ready."
The stands at Duchess Park gym were packed with a noisy crowd of flag-waving fans, who took turns trying to outduel each other, drawing cheers with their courtside romps showing off their provincial colours - Alberta blue and Saskatchewan green. That rabid support has been there since the start of the tournament and it's not lost on Goncin.
"It's awesome, I don't remember (if) we've ever had these kind of fans," he said. "Usually you get more and more fans over the course of the week and people start checking out wheelchair basketball. Here it was full house, first day."
Quebec (5-0) booked its place in today's final with a 78-36 win over Prince Edward Island. William Gamache and Benjamin Palmer each scored 20 points to lead Quebec into the gold-medal game, set for 7 p.m. at Duchess Park. Liam Hickey led P.E.I. with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Westley Johnson and Jeremy Watts each shot 10.
Alberta, which won the first Canada Games gold medal in 1995 in Grande Prairie, will try for bronze today against P.E.I. at 5 p.m. at Duchess Park.
In placement games Thursday, B.C. defeated Nova Scotia 53-38 and Ontario edged Nova Scotia 60-56.
