History of the SBA
By: Robert Clement
In the 1980’s and 1990’s there were a number of basketball programs operating in the City of Scarborough mostly on a regional basis. Two of the more prominent basketball organizations were the Toronto Blues and the Galloway Lancers. The former club had such coaches as Peter Gain, Gord MacLean, John Albert and myself while the latter club had Mervyn Busby and Craig Walker as its coaches.
The Toronto Blues operated on a very limited basis at what are now the Major Bantam “U15” and Major Atom “U12” levels based around the local schools with which the above-named coaches were affiliated. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, the coaches found their teams often to be the uncrowned champions of the Province. For example: the Toronto Blues had a 4-0 record against the eventual Provincial Champions from Mississauga. The Blues however did not have the funding to enter the Provincial Championships. That situation was to be alleviated with the founding of the Scarborough Basketball Association (SBA) “Blues” program in 1996. Sam Moncada (one of the co-founders and the present-day Club President) had been seeking an umbrella under which these disparate Scarborough organizations could be united. The answer was the creation of the SBA.
In its very first year of operation the “Blues” was successful in winning a Major Bantam “U15” Championship under the partnership and leadership of Sam Moncada and myself. That team featured, among others, Raymond Montaniel and Derek Joseph. The team captured the Championship at Pearson Collegiate in 1996. The following year we lost a very close final to the Mississauga Monarchs under Nick Christian, one of the most respected coaches in the history of the Province.
In the early days of the program, Coach MacLean also had great success working mainly at the Major Atom “U12” level. Coach Albert was instrumental in getting the girl’s programs up and running. From those not-so-humble beginnings the Blues program began and what has now become a multi-faceted organization with house leagues, summer leagues, winter and summer camps and close to thirty plus rep teams.
Through this entire process, great credit must be given to Sam Moncada as the person whose foresight, persistence and vision made the founding of the Scarborough Basketball Association (SBA) “Blues” a reality.
My apologies if there are those whose roles have been diminished or omitted.
