World championship debut bittersweet for Amihere Canada‘s quarterfinal defeat "devastating," but local teen pleased with her personal performance By Steve LeBlanc CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF Laeticia Amihere glances up at the clock, and a ~plit second later â€" with no time remaining and a mass of flailing bodies under the net â€" snags a loose ball and blindly heaves it up at the net. "I saw we were out of time, so I couldn‘t really gather it up and think about it. Everyone was in the key... it was crazy," recalled the 6â€"footâ€"3 Milton forward of the nailâ€"biting finish to the June 29 FIBA Underâ€"17 World Championship quarterfinals in Zaragoza, Spain. "But yeah, it was a shot I could have made." Not an easy admission, given the 38â€"56 heartâ€" breaker suffered at the hands of the eventual silver medalist Italians, who‘d just recently eclipsed them on a buzzer beater in exhibiâ€" tion play. The world championship rematch saw Canada draw within a basket of Italy four times in the final quarter before being vanâ€" quished. "We had such a talented team and knew we deserved to win," noted Amihere, whose Caâ€" nadians went on to place seventh â€" beating France 58â€"53 in the classification game July 2. "It was devastating." But Milton‘s newest basketball standout â€" who moved to town from Mississauga in Janâ€" uary â€" gained plenty of confidence from her world championship debut. And for good reason. As the youngest member of Team Canada and one of just a handful of 2001â€"born playâ€" ers at the 15â€"team tournament â€" who only turned 15 on Sunday (July 10) â€" Amihere wasn‘t even sure she‘d be a regular starter in Spain. She didn‘t just secure that role, but finished atop the team â€" and in a couple of cases the entire international field â€" in every major category. Her 78 total rebounds and 20 blocks put her first for the tournament, while she tied for eighth overall in pointsâ€"perâ€"game {12.5) and sixth in assists per game (1.8). "It (world championships) helped my deâ€" velopment a lot... seeing that intensity and level of competition," said Amihere, who 9n 14 P w41 o :â€T!‘-"t‘ Laeticia Amihere goes up for a shot against Mexico during the U17 world champlonshl 5. Photo courtesy of helped Canada capture gold last summer at the Americas U16 tournament and this past fall â€" as a high school freshman â€" led King‘s Christian Collegiate of Oakville to OFSAA ‘AA‘ supremacy. A somewhat late starter to competitive basâ€" ketball â€" in her Grade 7 year â€" the local standout led the Brampton Warriors to an unbeaten season and the JUEL league chamâ€" pionship this past spring. Amihere was particularly productive in the world championships‘ preliminary round, netting 20 points and 16 rebounds against Japan and 18 points and 21 rebounds versus Latvia. She now joins fellow Miltonian Lauren Boers on Team Ontario‘s U17 team for the remainâ€" der of the summer, with highâ€"end U.S. tourâ€" naments and the national championships in Regina on this month‘s slate. "That‘ll be great," said Amihere, one of the a country‘s top ranked players for the class of & 2019, who‘s now in her third year with the provincial program â€" having claimed naâ€" tional gold with Boers last summer and silver 8 Aing Aepsuny1 | g§ NOIdWVHI NVIGVNYWI NOLTIW | TOZ ‘vT i W & W 3 o in 2014. "Lauren and | know each other reâ€" 3 ally well and she was great with the team last year." Steve LeBlanc can be reached at sleblanc@milâ€" toncanadianchampion.com or on Twitter @ MiltonOnSports. sroveco Your Smart Shopping App + View Plyers Prom your local retailers + Create custom shopping lists + Earn cash back on groceries Get the best price, always! mmm ‘ AppStore & 4g vise WagJag.com avel » more! activitios » ovents »1 estaurants «» U