McKenzie leads Canada to Jones Cup title

Add another title to the resume of Cape Breton University Capers women's basketball coach Fabian McKenzie.

McKenzie guided the Canadian Senior B Women's National Team to the championship at  the William Jones Cup Sunday, defeating Savage USA 80-56 to finish 5-0 in the five-day tournament.

"Today, we came out of the gates a little slowly and struggled throughout the first half," said McKenzie, who has manned the sidelines for the Capers for the past 16 seasons. "Our trademark relentlessness showed up in the second half and we cruised to a victory."

Canada finished the tournament with an unblemished 5-0 record, defeating Taipei B 70-63, Japan 79-58, Korea 67-57 and the Taipei Senior National Team 73-70.

McKenzie reflected on his experience leading the team.

"I am so proud of the efforts of our team since day one of training camp to the final buzzer today. This tremendous group of young ladies represented Canada in a first-class manner. I am thankful for the opportunity to coach them."

A five-time AUS Coach of the Year, McKenzie is no stranger to team success, having guided the Capers to five AUS titles, as well as a CIS silver and CIS bronze medal during his tenure. This was only the second time Canada has claimed gold in the William Jones Cup.

"We are extremely happy for Fabian and his team and congratulate them on their championship win," said John Ryan, CBU's Director of Athletics. "Fabian has achieved great success at the university level and now on the international stage and to have a coach of his calibre leading one of our teams is a great asset for Cape Breton University and Capers Athletics."

Now in his seventh season with the national program, the Glace Bay native continues to grow as a coach and takes pride in being able to help develop some of the top players in Canada.

"It has been a tremendous experience here in Taipei.," he said. "We played some very good teams and played a relentless style of basketball all week to secure the championship. When the final buzzer sounded there was an unbelievable sense of pride. It is an incredible feeling to win a championship representing your country. This group of ladies has been an absolute pleasure to coach and I am very excited about their future.

"For me personally, I am extremely proud to represent Canada, and Cape Breton, as I travel the world with Canada Basketball. I can't wait to get home and share some of the lessons I have learned with my own team and the young players on the Island."