{"id":14648,"date":"2021-02-19T17:57:07","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T17:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=14648"},"modified":"2021-04-25T19:49:32","modified_gmt":"2021-04-25T19:49:32","slug":"from-humber-to-hogsbo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=14648","title":{"rendered":"From Humber to H\u00f6gsbo"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

Humber\u2019s Queen of Basketball hasn\u2019t missed a beat since turning pro<\/strong><\/h1>\n

In her third professional season in Europe, legendary Humber basketball alumna Ceejay Nofuente is still putting up monster numbers.<\/p>\n

Fresh off of a triple-double performance for H\u00f6gsbo Basket G\u00f6teborg in their most recent outing, Nofuente\u2019s game has transferred over very well to European basketball. Nofuente currently leads her team in 3-point field goals made, average minutes played, assists, steals, and a host of other statistical categories. \u00a0Now in her second season with H\u00f6gsbo, Nofuente has become instrumental to H\u00f6gsbo\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re 11-5 and we\u2019re doing well,\u201d says Nofuente. \u201cI got hurt so I had to sit out a game, and we lost that game.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating as arguably the greatest Canadian female college basketball player in history, Nofuente played her first pro season in Denmark before signing with her current club, H\u00f6gsbo Basket G\u00f6teborg in Sweden.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed Denmark but Sweden is definitely better competition,\u201d says Nofuente.<\/p>\n

In the midst of a great season on the court, Nofuente is also enjoying the regularities of life in Sweden off the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in a three bedroom apartment with two other teammates; two Americans,\u201d says Nofuente. \u201cWe all had our own apartments but we\u2019re saving money because of COVID.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t know how we were going to mesh and all that, but we all hang out and are good together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Culture shock has not been an issue for Nofuente and she acknowledges communicating with coaches has been smooth.\u00a0 A few of the food options, however, have taken some getting used to.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the Scandinavian countries are pretty good at English so there\u2019s no language barrier,\u201d says Nofuente.\u00a0 \u201cThe food is a little different here.\u00a0 We have a restaurant we get free lunches at and one thing they love is potatoes. Like mashed, boiled, scalloped, fried, any type of potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Nofuente has warmed up to the increased abundance of spuds in her diet, there is a Swedish candy that she continues to avoid.\u00a0 Sweden is home to the world\u2019s largest licorice festival, and Nofuente wants no part.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have big candy stores over here that are 50 per cent licorice.\u00a0 I picked up this salted licorice candy that was the worst thing I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d says Nofuente.<\/p>\n

While the sweets may be salty, life in Sweden appears to be as sweet as can be for Humber\u2019s former MVP and deservedly so.\u00a0 Nofuente\u2019s route to professional basketball has been unconventional and earned through tireless work.\u00a0 Nofuente developed her skills in Filipino house-leagues and didn\u2019t play representative level basketball until Grade 11.\u00a0 She overcame a bad ACL tear early in her college career that was so bad at one point that she wanted to give up. \u00a0She overcame a lack of exposure to talent scouts and has represented Team Canada internationally. \u00a0Her rise to stardom is the culmination of never giving up on herself and doing things, as she says, \u201cthe right way.”<\/p>\n

Nofuente describes her style of game as \u201ca pass first, shoot second guard,\u201d words she lives by on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy motto is I\u2019d rather get 10 assists than 10 points,\u201d says Nofuente.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m all for the team before myself. Before I\u2019m looking to score, I\u2019m going to set up my team so we can win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nofuente believes nothing in her career accurately encapsulates this self-description better than the final moments of the 2016 national championship game.<\/p>\n

Nofuente flawlessly recalls, \u201cYou can probably find it on YouTube, we\u2019re down by two with seven seconds left and a girl I fouled is at the free throw line for two shots.\u00a0 She misses back rim and has one more.\u00a0 She misses front rim and the ball lands in my hands. So, seven seconds to go, I do everything I can to get down the court to the basket and get double teamed. I make a pass to Ruth at the top of the three-point line and she just catches, shoots and scores. Most people go for two and the tie but this is exactly my point of \u2018I\u2019m going to pass first, I\u2019m going to make the best opportunity for the team.\u2019 But she made that shot.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZYw-foPLoMM?t=6600″ title=”Final Moments of 2016 CCAA National Championship”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Nofuente says that pass-first mentality extends far beyond her life in the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like doing things for other people,\u201d says Nofuente. \u201cIf my friends need help, I\u2019m going to assist them in anything they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nofuente is a selfless giver and having given so much to Humber\u2019s basketball program, Humber acknowledged her greatness and decided to give her roses while she could still smell them in a Humber uniform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision was made by our athletics director to retire Ceejay\u2019s number 24 jersey and of course I supported it,\u201d says long-time coach of Humber\u2019s women\u2019s basketball team, Ajay Sharma.<\/p>\n

Typically, when an athlete receives this high honour, their playing career has long passed and the full extent of their impact to the organization has been contextualized in hindsight.\u00a0 However, Nofuente is no typical athlete.<\/p>\n

\u201cCeejay was scheduled to play for Team Canada very shortly after our season was done and then likely going to play professionally in Europe the following fall,\u201d adds Sharma. \u201cSo, it was decided to do it during her last regular season home game. Ceejay is arguably the most decorated Humber athlete of all time. To me as well as our athletics staff – it was a no brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exactly a month removed from jersey retirement, Nofuente wrapped up her incomparable college basketball career with a win in the 2018 national championship game.\u00a0 The win marked Humber\u2019s second national title during Nofuente\u2019s tenure, adding to a resume that includes four provincial titles and three Canadian player of the year awards.\u00a0 Of all the awards Nofuente has received, she says one of her most important achievements can\u2019t be found in her trophy case.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s probably a tie between winning the national championship the first time and the relationships I\u2019ve made with teammates and coaches,\u201d says Nofuente. \u201cThat national championship was crazy because that same year, I won National Player of the Year and my coach won National Coach of the Year at the banquet before the finals.\u00a0 So when we won it was like, okay, this is meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strong relationships Nofuente has made through basketball also have a large influence on her aspirations for life after the curtain has closed on her playing career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve still got a long way to go but, once I\u2019m finished, I think I\u2019d want to go be a coach somewhere, whether it\u2019s a university or college,\u201d says Nofuente. \u201cI think I have the keys to Humber so, who knows, maybe that\u2019s an option.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Humber\u2019s Queen of Basketball hasn\u2019t missed a beat since turning pro In her third professional season in Europe, legendary Humber basketball alumna Ceejay Nofuente is still putting up monster numbers. Fresh off of a triple-double performance for H\u00f6gsbo Basket G\u00f6teborg in their most recent outing, Nofuente\u2019s game has transferred over very well to European […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":14650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[174,47,115],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}