South Sudan fuels Teny's tenacity

Maban Teny doesn’t have any first-hand knowledge of the South Sudan. But he does know the strife and hardship that have wracked the African country through a series of civil wars since 1962 led to opportunities for a better life in Canada for his family and fuelled his passion for basketball.

Teny and seven of his siblings were born in Canada after their parents fled the war-torn country in 1995 and settled first in Calgary, then in Coquitlam. An older brother remains in the Sudan.

Teny’s father isn’t really in the picture anymore and his mom, Nyaywal, doesn’t talk much about the conflict that chased her from her homeland. Instead, she tells her five sons and two daughters tales of her own childhood in a remote part of the country, chasing through the jungle hunting imaginary snakes.

Always, the message is the same: Work hard, persevere, things will get better.

Teny would take those lessons with him when he made the short walk from their home to the outdoor courts at Town Centre Park to play basketball with his older brothers, Jack and Dave. They played every night they could, from after dinner until the lights turned off at 10:45 p.m. Jack had the skills and fancy moves. Dave was bigger, more aggressive. But Maban knew if he stuck with it, he could incorporate the best of both of them into his own game, maybe even beat them someday.

Teny’s first real game, with a number on the back of his singlet and a school crest on the front, didn’t happen until he was in Grade 6 at Scott Creek middle school. He was nervous but when the referee blew the whistle, he knew he’d found his place on the hardwood.

As Teny developed his skills and confidence, he also found something within him: He loved to be the leader, to have the game revolve around him.

Making the step from middle to high school wasn’t easy. He struggled in the classroom through Grade 9 at Pinetree secondary, then transferred to the smaller, more individualized, self-paced program at Coquitlam Alternate Basic Education (CABE) secondary.

On the court, though, Teny stood tall as the genes of his grandfather — who’s 6’10” — took hold and he began towering over teammates and opponents.

With only 60 or so students, CABE has no sports programs, so continuing with basketball meant daily commutes by bus from Foster Avenue back to Pinetree, where his coaches could sense Teny’s growing maturity and quiet leadership, whose kindness off the court belied his ferocious desire to improve and win on it. This was the kind of kid they could work with to build a program that has struggled for years to find an identity, they thought. 

So they did.

They taught him how to be more selfish with the ball, to ask his teammates for passes and then take the ball to the hoop. They taught him to use his height to direct the game, his speed to dictate its pace.

Teny was a receptive student. He stayed after practice to work on his shooting, hone his footwork. And when he got home, he hunkered down to his homework to ensure he could stay on the team. His brothers, Jack and Dave, were forging their own path in the game — Jack at Capilano University, where he’s a freshman guard; Dave at BC Christian Academy, where he helped the small Port Coquitlam school win its first 1A provincial championship last March — and he needed to keep up. Maybe he can even surpass them someday.

But it’s not always easy.

When Teny has a bad game, he looks to Jack — who has taken up the mantle of man of the house and attends all his brother's games — for advice and some reassuring words to boost his confidence, and he thinks again of the lessons imparted by his mom: Work hard, persevere, things will get better.

It’s that mantra that drives Teny during practice in Pinetree’s Gym 3, running repetitive drills as his Timberwolves look to improve on their 15th-place standing at last spring’s AAAA provincials.

It’s a big year for Teny, his last in high school. He’s had some overtures from post-secondary programs, including one to play with his brother at Cap U. But it’s too soon to think about that.

Instead, he eyes light up as he plots the moves that will electrify the crowd in the dunk contest that is part of Pinetree’s first big-time basketball tournament, which begins Monday. He has worked hard, he has persevered, he can win it.

South Sudan may be another world, but its lessons are always with him.

• The 16-team Pinetree basketball tournament begins Monday when the host plays South Delta at 12 noon. The championship final will be played Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Pinetree secondary school.