Sisler ’ s Guinto Signs With Louisiana Tech By Scott Taylor , Photos courtesy Sisler Spartans head coach Michael Tan
Michael Tan , the head coach of the Sisler Spartans can ’ t quite come up with enough superlatives to describe Raizel Guinto .
Of course , to be fair , not many people can , and Tan knows her as well as anyone .
On the basketball court , there are few her peer . Off the court , she ’ s a model student and citizen that knows he will find almost impossible to replace .
Indeed , Guinto is leaving Sisler . At the end of this season , she ’ ll be off to Louisiana Tech to play NCAA Division 1 basketball for the Lady Techsters . On Nov . 9 , at a ceremony in Winnipeg , she signed her formal letter of intent to play at the Conference USA school in Ruston . La .
However , she still has some time to win herself , Tan and Sisler a thirdstraight MHSAA Girls High School Provincial Championship .
Guinto is starting her Grade 12 season at Sisler and if she stays healthy all season , it ’ s hard to fathom how good she might be . Last season she was the second leading scorer on a team that finished 33-1 with no loses to Manitoba competition . She helped the Spartans win a second consecutive
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Provincial Championship and a third straight conference championship . “ She was ranked fifth in the Winnipeg Sun annual Coaches Poll last season and was selected to the All-Manitoba team at the Manitoba Basketball Coaches Association Awards ,” Tan explained . “ During Raizel ’ s tenure with our team , she has helped lead us to an overall record of 80 wins and only two losses . In Grade 10 , she helped led the team to an undefeated season and the only loss we suffered last year was to an out of town team .”
In early September , Lady Techsters Co-Head Coach Scott Stoehr visited Raizel and her family and organized an official visit with Raizel and her parents at Louisiana Tech for early October . It was during that three-day visit Raizel and her family met Co- Head Coach Brooke Stoehr as well as current members of the Lady Techsters basketball team . On the final day of her visit Raizel gave a verbal commitment to Co-Head Coach Brooke Stoehr before leaving Ruston .
“ Although her school basketball record has been impressive , she has been outstanding at the Provincial level ,” said Coach Tan . “ Raizel has been a part of the Manitoba Provincial team since she was 11-years-old .
The Signing Ceremony with Raizel Guinto and her coach , Michael Tan
In 2011 , she was a member of the U-14 Western Canada Games team that captured a silver medal and was named to the 2nd team all-star team . She ’ s always been a great player .”
In 2012 she was a member of the U-15 Manitoba Provincial team that captured a silver medal . At that event , she was named to the second All- Canadian team . In 2014 , she was a member of the U-17 Manitoba Provincial team that won the National Championship . In 2015 , she was a member of the U-17 Manitoba Provincial team that captured a silver medal and was named to the First All- Canadian team . This past summer she was a member of the U-17 Manitoba Provincial team that placed fourth and , once again , she was named to the First All-Canadian team .
“ Her success at the school and provincial level has not gone unnoticed by Canada Basketball ,” added Tan . “ She has been invited to three National assessment camps and last year she was one of 15 girls trying out for the National Cadet team that competed in Spain for the FIBA U-17 World Championships .
“ Raizel has been regarded as the top point guard to come out of Western Canada . She has had interest from universities and colleges throughout the United States and Canada , and she was proud to formally announce that she will be the first Spartan basketball player to play Division 1 NCAA basketball .” •