Of the 12 players who made Canadian basketball history last weekend, Winnipeg’s Settimo Yugu was perhaps the most unlikely to do so.
The 17-year-old had fallen on hard times in recent months. His debut season at the Bella Vista College Preparatory School in Phoenix was interrupted due to a pair of seizures he suffered for unknown reasons — experiences that were made worse without his parents being there to turn to for comfort.
Then, one month before the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup was set to begin, Yugu was released from the national team roster, leaving him to finish the rest of the school year and return home for the summer.
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Winnipeg’s Settimo Yugu (right) celebrates with a teammate.
While waiting for a connecting flight in Chicago, however, he received a call from Team Canada head coach Charles Hantoumakos, who re-invited the 6-9 forward to join the team’s training camp a week before the tournament started.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Yugu made good on the second chance, becoming a player that Hantoumakos couldn’t keep off the court during Canada’s gold medal run, which was capped by defeating the United States 67-65 in the championship game in León, Mexico.
It marked Canada’s first gold medal at the tournament.
“We made history. Playing beside my guys, it was a crazy experience,” said Yugu, who played three years at Kildonan East Collegiate and led the Reivers to the 2025 AAAA provincial championship.
Canada has reached the championship game three times (2014, 2016 and 2018) — losing to the United States each time — and claimed bronze in the last two tournaments.
The program was 0-9 all-time against the Americans in U18 competition entering the game.
“We did make a statement,” he said. “They always say Canada soft — this, that, this, that — and then we literally beat one of the best teams ever.”
As pivotal as Yugu was offensively for the Canadians — averaging 8.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists while making 50 per cent of his field goal attempts in 17.4 minutes of action off the bench— his biggest contribution came on the defensive end with the championship on the line.
Yugu put his body on the line in the dying moments of the game, drawing an offensive foul with six seconds remaining that gave Canada possession to close out the victory.
“It was kind of crazy, because I never thought something like that would happen. I never like thought about taking a charge to win the game,” said Yugu, who had four points and five rebounds in the contest.
“It was the biggest stop of my life.”
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Winnipeg’s Settimo Yugu prepares to take a shot.
Yugu has felt the love from every corner of the city since returning to Winnipeg.
On Saturday, he was reminded that he was not only representing his country on the international stage, but Winnipeg’s South Sudanese community, as supporters gathered to celebrate the young hoopster at the Sudanese Canadian Community Centre.
“It’s very great, because the basketball community in Winnipeg is very big,” he said. “Coming back home, just having people to celebrate me — ever since I got home from the airport, my aunts and my uncles come celebrate me, so it’s really special.”
Yugu has already come a long way. He was born in Lebanon, where his parents fled to in 1992 to escape their war-torn native country. He was 18-months old when they moved to Winnipeg in 2010, in search of more opportunities.
Their move didn’t come without hard times. His mother, Silvya and dad Batista struggled to make ends meet while supporting a growing boy who grew to have big aspirations on the court. Silvya worked two jobs, and Batista worked evenings while juggling Yugu’s practice schedule.
It was a difficult balancing act, but Yugu’s parents never wavered in their support and always found a way.
“I wouldn’t be here without them,” Yugu said. “Coming from the YMCA, playing there and having fun with my guys, and then that got more serious. It got harder for them, but they still ended up sacrificing because money was sometimes a problem, but they always found a way for me to play basketball — the thing I love.”
Batista, who made a name for himself on the courts of South Sudan around Yugu’s age, has always seen great potential in his son, who was destined to play.
“You will go to places I couldn’t reach, because I didn’t have the same opportunity in South Sudan,” Batista said.
Batista watched the first half of every Team Canada game before going to work, then would watch the second half during his breaks and sneak in the occasional trip to the washroom just to watch his son for a few moments. During the gold medal game, he begged his supervisor for a longer break just to watch it through.
“My emotions were tender because I could see the team is a good team,” Batista said. “That day, I was so happy. I could not sleep that (night), because the game was so tiring.
“I’m very proud. I’m very proud of my son.”
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Team Canada celebrates on the podium after beating the U.S. for the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup gold medal.
Sylvia was a coach from home throughout the tournament. She called Yugu after every game to break down his successes and mistakes. That lasted until the championship game, which she watched until the score was tied at 53-53, and her nerves got the better of her.
She went to sleep and waited to find out the score in the morning.
“I’m so happy, and I’m so glad,” she said.
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“I know we are struggling, but I wish him all the best in his life. I’m happy that he represented Canada, Manitoba and Winnipeg.”
Yugu played on Bella Vista’s secondary team last season but is hopeful he will be elevated to the main squad when he begins his post-graduate season in the fall.
He has garnered interest from 10 major NCAA Division 1 programs. Yugu’s story appears to have only begun.
“(Playing a big part in the victory made it) way more special, because I had to basically get it out of the mud,” Yugu said. “Very hard and very emotional gold medal.”
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Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.
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