In the 1990s, a number of basketball programs operated in the City of Scarborough. Two of the more prominent basketball organizations were the Toronto Blues and the Galloway Lancers.
Sam Moncada, an SBA co-founder and its present-day President, desired to unite the many disparate Scarborough basketball organizations. Thanks to his foresight, persistence, and vision, he was able to achieve his goal in in 1996, by creating the Scarborough Basketball Association’s “Blues” program. At the time, the SBA operated on a very limited basis at what are now Major Bantam “U15” and Major Atom “U12” levels based out of local schools.
In its very first year of operation, the Blues captured a Major Bantam “U15” Championship at Pearson Collegiate, under the partnership and leadership of Sam Moncada and Bob Clement. That team featured, among others, Raymond Montaniel and Derek Joseph.
In the early days of the program, Coach Maclean also had great success working mainly at the Major Atom “U12” level, and coaches Albert and Merv Busby were instrumental in getting the girl’s programs up and running.
In 2011, a new development occurred as a result of the formation of two JUEL girls’ teams (JUEL and JUEL Prep) that played their games throughout Ontario against other high-level girls’ teams.
From its not-so-humble beginnings, the “Blues” program has developed into a multi-faceted organization with house league programs, select teams, winter and summer camps, and over thirty-five rep and AAU teams, with a population of over 1,500 boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 19 playing basketball.
Thanks to the aforementioned coaches and organizers, and its present-day officials, the SBA has developed a quality basketball program as a non-profit member of the Ontario Basketball Association. What does the future hold for the SBA? We will have to simply wait and see!