Sometimes videos can bring with them an Aesop's Fables style lessons. The lesson from the video you see below is to be sure your team has actually won before rushing the court … particularly if it looks like your opponent just won the game at the buzzer.
As covered in great detail by the Vancouver Courier, the British Columbia Lower Mainland AAA boys basketball championship between Kitsilano (B.C.) High and St. George's (B.C.) High came down to a disputed, buzzer beater tip-in by St. George's forward Milan Mitrovic. The 6-foot-7 star's shot went through the net as time expired, sending Saints fans tumbling on to the court to celebrate what they assumed was a 58-57 victory.
In the midst of that delirium, Kitsilano players began pleading their case that the clock had actually expired before Mitrovic's shot was released. The Blue Demons players and coaches argued that they saw at least one referee blow the game dead and stopped playing before Mitrovic corralled his final rebound and released his game-winning outback.
After absorbing complaints from players and coaches, the three game officials huddled together to discuss the game's final stages. That sent the Blue Demons fans charging on to the court as one of the Kitsilano players assumed that a congregation of the officials would find that the game had ended before that final bucket was scored.
The result was pure bedlam, two sets of fans and two teams celebrating one victory, both feeling that they were in the right. And then, amidst the maelstrom the three referees walked right out of the gym, meaning that the final scoreline was official, handing St. George's the win.
While the win will probably be remembered for it's final act, and perhaps the one before it -- Kitsilano players rushed on to the court celebrating a go-ahead bucket with around five seconds remaining, a premature celebration if ever there was one -- it also may have set the stage for another heated battle in the rivalry in the coming days; While St. George's will enter the provincial playoffs as the event's top seed, there is no reason why the Saints and Blue Demons can't meet each other again.
Perhaps next time, no one will rush the court, just to be safe.
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