Ontario’s Best: Grewal and Baric win U15

by Nishan Sodhi

 

It was a Pakmen Vs. Pakmen final at this years 15u Beach Provincial Championships, and Ashbridges Bay played host to yet another instant classic, as Harnoor Grewal and Jordan Baric defeated Pranshu Patel and Michael Kong in a three-set thriller.

 

Despite being good friends off the court, when it came time for the final match, both teams were looking for blood.

Pranshu and Michael struck first, narrowly taking the first set in a 21-19 victory. With match point in their favor three times in the second set, it appeared the duo would upset Harnoor and Jordan who’d been on a roll the whole season. But Harnoor and Jordan stayed focused and clawed back, winning the second set and then ultimately the third set.

 

“This was one of the closest games I’ve ever seen,” says Coach Jessy Satti. “It could have gone either way. Pranshu and Michael were on fire but Harnoor and Jordan were relentless and to them, losing was just wasn’t an option.”

 

Both teams served tough, passed well, and played excellent defense. At the end, it were the little things that made the difference.

 

This is Harnoor Grewal’s second provincial championship in as many years after winning the 14u Gold last year with former partner Pranshu Patel. When asked about the victory, he couldn’t help but beam in excitement.

“I feel amazing,” says Grewal. “We stayed together as a team and played clean volleyball. It was great having our coaches there to support us. Jessy, Aleks and Phil did a great job helping us achieve our goal.”

 

For Jordan Baric this win was a testament to the importance of staying calm and collected and remaining confident, even when down.

“We were down most of the game”, says Baric. “But we didn’t give up and kept the pressure on them the entire time. We enjoy playing them because our matches are always great matches, always close.”

 

Pranshu and Michael are looking forward to getting back to training and continuing to grow as a team. Despite the recent success, both teams are heading back to training this coming week. With the National Championships coming up in a few weeks, Patel and Kong are eager to avenge the loss.

 

Good luck at National’s boys! We look forward to seeing you show off your skills against Canada’s best!

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