By Ben Okazawa
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AN AMAZN FEATURE STORY
Calvin Epistola was preparing for the 2020 U Sports national quarterfinal, the Canadian equivalent to the NCAA tournament, the same way he would any other game—watching film with his team.
But, as long-time Gee-Gees head coach, James Derouin, walked into the room and changed the tape, Epistola realized that this film session wasn’t quite like the countless others he’d gone through.
The fifth-year University of Ottawa guard couldn’t put his finger on what his coach was up to, so as Derouin played a mix of his season highlights, a puzzled Epistola just sat back and watched himself cross over, step back and drain a three, step into a mid-range jumper, methodically dissect the opposing defence, finish a tough layup over a player twice his size and repeat. Finally, as the highlight tape faded to black, text appeared on the screen, reading “Calvin Epistola: First Team All-Canadian.”
Being selected as one of the five best university basketball players in the country is an extremely impressive feat in itself. For Epistola, whose parents emigrated from the Philippines to Toronto before he was born, the award carried another importance. Of the more than 200 U Sports first team All-Canadians chosen over the past 52 years, Epistola is the first Filipino to receive the honor.
He says he knows how people view Asian-American basketball players.
“I kind of fell into the trap … ‘maybe I should have these [doubts] that everyone else has,’” he remembers thinking. “Proving them wrong was a better feeling.”
After picking up basketball almost by accident at a camp his older brother was attending, Epistola fell in love with the sport instantly. But his hoops journey really took off following one of the low points in his career, when he was a final cut in the under-15 Team Ontario tryouts.
“I thought I should’ve made it,” he recalled. “That whole summer I wasn’t on any AAU team, so I just trained really hard. I was in the gym every day.”
Epistola made the team the following summer and went on to lead his Oakwood Collegiate Institute squad to a provincial championship win the same year.
Before long, Epistola was a highly sought after recruit. He chose to attend Ottawa — not a traditional contender, but national runner-ups at the time of his commitment — after quickly forming a bond with Derouin, whom he affectionately refers to as Coach Jimmy.
“He had just as high expectations [for me] as I did,” Epistola said. “I couldn’t find that in other schools.”
In his freshman year, Epistola didn’t feature heavily on a strong Ottawa team that made the national tournament. But from there, he improved each year, leading Coach Jimmy to hand him more responsibility every season. Epistola more than delivered, establishing himself as a constant scoring threat and the team’s clear first option heading into the 2019-20 season. Many were surprised by his steady rise to U Sports stardom, but his family saw it coming from a mile away.
“There was never a doubt in our minds that he would [succeed],” said Epistola’s older brother, Christian. “[Calvin] loves the game … he works on his craft every day.” Ottawa’s season didn’t look very promising at first — Epistola was headlining a fairly inexperienced team whose main contributions came from newcomers and players returning from injury. All the same, Epistola and co. showed what they were capable of against Division I NCAA competition in the preseason, notably upending two NCAA DI programs by double digits. Epistola put together a 19-point performance in the win over the University of Albany, setting the tone for the upcoming season and proving that he could go toe-to-toe with the highest level of competition.
“The IQ of the game and skill, I think we’re up to par with those guys down south,” said Epistola about playing DI NCAA teams. “The difference is the athleticism, the speed, the strength.”
With U Sports teams finishing just 5-20 against Division 1 teams in 2019, Ottawa set itself apart after racking up two wins (both by double digits) in the preseason stretch as Epistola averaged 16 points per game.
That kind of scoring performance wasn’t all that surprising; Epistola had averaged 12.9 points per game over the course of the 2018-19 season in a smaller role. After a strong showing, Coach Jimmy gave him the keys to the offence in his senior year. Epistola went on to average a blistering 19 points per game.
After all, he had been breaking down opposing defenses long before the nation recognized him for it — his Filipino summer league team dubbed him “The One-Man Press Break.” Mark Zaragoza, a teammate of his from that summer league, says that the entire organization the two played with in high school knew what Epistola was capable of. He laughed, remembering how his team would react to full-court pressure.
“No problem … just give the ball to Calvin,” Zaragoza would say.
What wasn’t expected of Epistola was his emergence as a defensive stalwart, as he finished third in the country in steals, averaging 2.5 takeaways per game. Between his elite scoring and prickly defense, Epistola had no doubt that he deserved to be an All-Canadian, admittedly having his mind on the award at points throughout the year.
Ottawa finished third in the conference and earned a national tournament berth for the first time since Epistola’s freshman year. When the bracket was set and the matchups were announced, Epistola said there was definitely an element of revenge for the Gee-Gees seniors and coaching staff—Ottawa was playing the Dalhousie Tigers, a repeat of the matchup in the quarterfinals of the 2016 national tournament. Epistola hadn’t played a single minute in that game, instead watching from the sidelines as Dalhousie edged out a four-point victory.
“I want to win this for everyone on that team … [and] for this team right now,” he remembers thinking before the game. “I was playing for a lot.”
And, as he sat down before the game after Coach Jimmy’s surprise in the film session, still digesting the fact that he was a first team All-Canadian, Epistola was somehow even more motivated than before.
Sometimes, though, life doesn’t imitate the movies – Dalhousie won and went on to finish second in the nation to perennial powerhouse Carleton.
His career at Ottawa over, Epistola’s legacy will live on, not only through his accolades and awards, but also through the next generation of Filipino hoopers.
“Before the lockdown, we were doing some training and there were some Filipino youth there,” Zaragoza recalled. “[Calvin] was just doing what he [could], setting a good example, giving great advice to them on how they can be like him one day.”
He is part of a generation of Filipino-Canadian players who are leading the pack, along with Butler University’s Christian David and 2019-20 Second-Team All-Canadian Tevaun Kokko.
Epistola has continued to make strides in his game in hopes to play pro ball overseas in the near future. While the best may be yet to come, the community continues to look back and appreciate Epistola’s historic feats and the potential ripple effect that may manifest in the years to come.
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