In an early morning 8:00 AM battle between two of Canada’s top AAU basketball programs, 16-year-old Jalik Dunkley-Distant (Hamilton, ON) put on a show to lead U16 CIA Bounce to an 84-79 overtime victory over UPLAY Canada.
Dunkely-Distant finished with a game-high 30 points, on 9-of-19 shooting and added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals in 25 minutes to help CIA Bounce Elite secure the much-needed victory over their inner city rivals at the 2022 U16 Nike EYBL Indianapolis session.
Saving his best for last, the class of 2024 guard got his teammates involved early on with a series of impressive passes and took over late with clutch 2-of-6 three-point shooting and strong takes to the basket leading to 10-of-14 free-throws to force the extra session.
An explosive athlete, the six-foot-six, Dunkely-Distant has the ability to make pinpoint over the shoulder passes with both hands and is a freighting sight on the fast break, as evident by this impressive alley-oop dunk.
Bounce Elite finished the 2022 U16 Nike EYBL Indianapolis session with a 1-3 record.
Dunkely-Distant was outstanding all-weekend long, racking up 20 points, 5 rebounds in an 83-65 loss to All Ohio Red. The Hamilton, Ontario native was equally impressive in the 84-72 defeat to hometown Indy Heat 84-72 and had some impressive moments despite only scoring 4 points and tallying 8 rebounds in the 65-39 blowout loss to Team Takeover.
The Bounce Elite guard who also plays with his twin brother Jahnai at Orangeville Prep for head coach Tony McIntyre is averaging 18.8 points, 1.8 steals per game is poised to pick up a heavy load of NCAA division I offers after an impressive showing this weekend.
The 2022 Nike EYBL with take its show to the state of Kentucky, when the third session kicks off in Louisville on Memorial Day long-weekend from May 28-30.