In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Kelowna Owls clipped the 10th-seeded Victoria Belmont Bulldogs 58-49 after leading 19-17, 29-28 and 43-38 at the quarters. “Defensively we were good,” Owls coach Harry Parmar told Varsity Letters. “We’re tiny, but I thought we were good. We sunk in (and offensively) we just found a way to win and that is what you have to do here. But you have to play defence. In first games you just don’t know what might happen. But Ethan Braam stepped up to give us some great minutes. He was huge.” Braam came off the bench once the Bulldogs shifted to a zone and hit 4-4 from the field. “All we had to do was win with our defence,” said Parker Johnstone. “For us it’s a mentality and Parmar has been working with us all year about just locking it in.” The Bulldogs offence went south when forward Markus Modrific injured his leg early in the fourth quarter. Parker Johnstone paced Kelowna with 23. Hunter Simson added 17, Braam Ethan 9, Malcolm Greggor 3, Braden White 2, Jonathon Haughton 2 and Ajay Gill 2, while Jayden Lalonde, Liam Royston, Connor Dojohn, Kieran Chambers and Justin Monteleone were scoreless. The Owls hit 26-72 (.361) from the floor, 3-31 (.097) from the arc and 3-4 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 5 assists, 1 block and 13 steals. Markus Modrovic paced Belmont with 15, along with 14 boards. Maxwell Leeder added 13, Daunte Nelson 13, Cole Belton 6 and Danny Song 2, while Riley Merryweather, Joey Reaume, Damien Bursey, Dawson Johal, Hunter Thomson and Dillian Moore were scoreless. The Bulldogs (coach Kevin Brown, assistants Aaron Williams and Warren Leeder, manager Sheila Bursey) hit 18-58 (.310) from the floor, 5-20 (.250) from the arc and 8-17 (.471) from the arc, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 5 assists, 22 turnovers and 10 steals. …………………………………………………… The 15th-seeded Port Moody Heritage Woods Kodiaks stunned the 2nd-seeded Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 81-68 after leading 22-16, 39-32 and 62-43 at the quarters. Heritage Woods coach Chris Martin told Varsity Letters that he was concerned that the Demons were entering the draw as the hottest team in the province. “But this place is a funny place. You can go from hot to cold very quickly.” Post Zach Hamed said “before the game I spoke to my team and said ‘We are going to win this game’. We said ‘March 6,10 a.m. is a great day for an upset’ and it was.” Martin said “they are a really athletic team. Our keys were we wanted to control tempo, get the ball up floor quickly because we are a fit team, and get good shots.” Hamed said the Kodiaks benefited from Martin being a taskmaster about conditioning. It’s the most insane stuff you will ever think of. In years past, we’d be there at like 6 or 7 in the mornings, sprinting the stairs. It’s been crazy, but back in the ninth grade I was so out of shape and I had no basketball skills. (Martin) has been the key to my success.” Martin said his troops executed perfectly against the Blue Demons 2-3 zone. “We noticed there was a bit of gap in the top of the zone, so we tried to pound it in there and then look for a guy cutting to the rim. If it wasn’t there, kick it out and have some guys hit some big shots. … I think the theme this year was if we could just get here we could make some noise. I really felt that we could play with any team here and we just proved it.” Zach Hamed paced Heritage Woods with 25, along with 25 boards. Arshia Movassaghi added 24, Morgan Liski 14, Chris Moon 6, Cartus Ko 6, Nik Bartulin 4 and Gavin McMahon 2, while Harry Jeong, Peter Mueckel, Nariman Avakoli, Deveroe Boyko, Jordan Clough, Will Muxworthy and Kieran Sheriff were scoreless. The Kodiaks hit 33-78 (.423) from the floor, 8-29 (.276) from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 10 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 5 steals. Luka Dolman paced Kitsilano with 26. Peter Li added 12, Everest Jaggs 10, Owen Cutler 9, Payton Lum 8 and Sten Peterson 3, while Tyler Sim, Issac Corber, Owen Krestow, Allem Yahya, Ethan Fagrie, Leo Rudzki, Andrew Cooper, Leo Strang and Alex Bobyn were scoreless. The Blue Demons (coach Sylvester Noel, assistants Greg Fong, Paul Ekeocha and Randy Coutts, managers Maria Sidiropoulos, Mila Djurkovic and Fiona Roka) hit 25-85 (.294) from the floor, 9-39 (.231) from the arc and 9-22 (.409) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 10 assists, 15 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Bays whipped the 11th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks 91-65 after leading 24-15, 55-25 and 66-49 at the quarters. Bays points guard Diego Maffia told Varsity Letters that “before the game, we talked about everyone being confident and just playing. Not being a one-man show was important and that is not what I want for this team. We’re here to win it.” Bays coach Chris Franklin said Diego Maffia “realized what Mouat was trying to do and so he had his head up and he moved the ball. It’s so nice when he is able to connect with his brother, and Lucas has come a long way this season.” Diego said playing with his younger brother was a thrill. “When he gets going, when he gets his shot going, it’s amazing to play with him. And we’ve got that brotherly connection. It’s going to be special over the next few games.” Diego Maffia paced Oak Bay with 24, along with 10 assists. Lucas Maffia added 24, Ewan Mackenzie 17, Jaime Molins 17, Quinton Horvath 4, Jordane Burke 3 and Noah Takacs 2, while Ethan Moore, Chris Horwood, Nate Burnham, Samir Turner and Matthew Callow were scoreless. The Bays hit 31-75 (.413) from the floor, 12-39 (.308) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 22 assists, 6 turnovers and 9 steals. Manvir Johal paced W.J. Mouat with 17. Gershaun Sarowa added 15, Prabh Sran 13, Jevan Uppal 10 and Gavin Dulku 10, while Marco Sidhu, Kris Malatinka, Armaan Sidhu, Arvin Toor, Tyler Nelson, Pavi Deol, Kallum Menzies, Armaan Sidhu and Ebiye Okoko-Chomseng were scoreless. The Hawks (coached Sunny Johal, Rich Ralston, Surinder Sarowa) hit 27-72 (.375) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 12 assists, 14 turnovers and 2 steals. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens crushed the 14th-seeded Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 119-45 after leading 37-12, 63-21 and 92-38 at the quarters. Ravens coach Brad Petersen told the Tri-City News that his troops focused on taking care of business. “It allows you to focus just on the things you do and the things you’ve been working on all season. … I really liked our mentality that no matter who was in front of us, we were going to play our basketball. … Every minute is important on this court. We’ve got to continue doing that the rest of the way.” Cameron Slaymaker paced Terry Fox with 24. Jacob Mand added 21, Jaden De Leon 17, Ko Takahashi 15, Greg Martignoni 9, David Chien 8, Logan Bisset 8, Marco Reyes 7, Jake McFarland 6, along with 11 boards, and Grady Stanyer 4, along with 12 boards, while Yuto Wakasuqi, James Harry, Michael Alteza and Jamal Polat were scoreless. The Ravens hit 47-94 (.500) from the floor, 13-28 (.464) from the arc and 12-16 (.750) from the line, while garnering 55 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 26 assists, 18 turnovers and 27 steals. Carter Marlow paced Mount Baker with 13. Jacob Baume added 8, Anders Damstrom 8, Jeff Lalach 4, Wyatt Dudley 4, Goyeche Aiden 2, Carter White 2, Jaycen Lubbers 2 and Dawson Oliver 2, while Elliot Jones, Josh Baume and Greg Rebagliati were scoreless. The Wild (coached by Ron White and Shawn Marlow) hit 19-57 (.333) from the floor, 3-21 (.143) from the arc and 4-11 (.364) from the line, while garnering 17 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 6 assists, 34 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels dusted the 12th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators 114-84 after leading 23-17, 49-32 and 80-67 at the quarters. Rebels coach Mike Bell told Varsity Letters that “there’s definitely a chip on our shoulder,” over having to forfeit a game in the lower mainland players for using an ineligible player, forcing them to win four straight sudden-elimination games just to get into the draw. “We feel like we went undefeated in the Lower Mainlands. Even though we had to forfeit, nobody beat us. We know where we stand. We just have to come out here and play another three games of good basketball. That’s all we want.” The Rebels lost post Aidan Wilson four minutes into the contest after he was injured in a collision with teammate Baltej Sohal. But guard Justin Sunga ignited a 17-4 run as they took command. “We kind of gathered together, we kind of went small (and) we’ve done it all year,” Bell told Burnaby Now. “We’ve had injuries throughout the year and played through that. … Sunga’s age doesn’t matter. He’s one of the best players in the province, regardless of what grade he’s in. He’s a phenomenal warrior — he was back in our youth program at (South Burnaby Metro) as a Grade 2 playing against Grade 7s.so playing at an older level is nothing new to this kid. … You can’t take any team for granted. As you know, we’ve had our own losses. … We’ve bounced back and we’re here. This was a good game for us.” Justin Sunga paced Burnaby South with 27. Baltej Sohal added 23, Jiordano Khan 22, Sasha Vujisic 18, along with 16 boards, Kyle Kirmaci 13, Jared Pineda 7, Matthew Pineda 2 and Jimmy Zoboniak 2, while Hanz Paloma, Johann Chua, Gabe Canatoy, Aidan Wilson (who injured his leg), Brandon Obuyes, Kobe Kisin, Karn Ajula and Jasper Liao were scoreless. The Rebels hit 46-85 (.541) from the floor, 11-25 (.440) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 20 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals. Nolan Premack paced Walnut Grove with 27, along with 13 boards. Jarrett Jacobs added 23, Kyle Kong 14, Matt Martens 13, Greg Brown 5 and Dylan Ledoux 2, while Kevin Gow, Trenton Ralph, Eric Gow, Jake Thorpe, Chayce Fryer, Conner Platz and Ben Pascoe were scoreless. The Gators (coach Redi Taylor, assistant Aly Nuruddin) hit 32-90 (.356) from the floor, 9-22 (.409) from the arc and 11-12 (.917) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 13 assists, 12 turnovers and 9 steals. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs stunned the 4th-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish 83-82 in overtime. Centaur Leif Skelding took an inbounds pass under his own basket with 5 seconds to play, drove down the court and heaved a 31-foot trey to force overtime. “What was going through my head was I was just going to come down and take that shot and have confidence in it because I have taken that shot in the gym thousands of times,” Skelding told Varsity Letters. “This morning I was in before school getting up more shots. It’s a grind, but it’s worth it.” In overtime, the Irish’s Toni Maric notched a layup with 1:07 left to give VC an 82-81 lead, but Kyle Jang’s two made free throws with 51.6 seconds to play gave Centennial the win. Dominic Parolin came up with a huge defensive rebound to stymie the Irish in the final seconds. “That was a pretty emotional win and I am just so proud that our guys never gave up,” said Centennial coach Rob Sollero. “Leif hitting that three with the game on the line, Kyle with his two free throws, Dom (Parolin) with his rebound right before the end. Those guys are in the gym every morning working on those situations.” Skedling said “we have just been so injured but team chemistry has just kept getting better. We were (17-21) coming in so we really had that underdog mentality.” Sollero said “our game plan was we had to play good D on them and take away their three ball. Credit to Tony and Sahil inside. They did a fantastic job. But we told the boys that if we compete, that we could beat these guys.” Leif Skelding paced Centennial with 23. Terry Cho added 18, Dominic Parolin 17, Ivan Denyssevych 10, Solomon Wauye 5, Braeden Markiewicz 3, Jayden Quinto 3, Kyle Jang 2 and Jakob Kramer 2, while Johnny Li, Ryan Lee, Roi Leyson, Edgar Romualdez, Dante Petrescu, Jason Relloma, Shay O’Connor, Gurneil Brar and Uriah Hestdalen were scoreless. The Centaurs hit 31-74 (.419) from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 8 assists, 11 turnovers and 10 steals. Toni Maric paced Vancouver College with 31, along with 18 boards. Sahil Sandhu added 16, Josh Lum-Tong 13, Hunter Cruz-Dumont 8, Kelly O’Brien 4, Luc Therrien 4, Sean Heppner 3, Jacob Holt 2 and Gabriel Botelho 1, while Andrew Illing, John Calica, Logan Hale, Michael Chong, Callum Chow-White, Jason Soriano and Vithusan Vignarajah were scoreless. The Fighting Irish (coach Lloyd Scrubb, assistants Mer Marghetti, Doug Beers and Christine Bradstock, and managers Ryan Leong and Alex Ko) hit 29-72 (.403) from the floor, 4-11 (.364) from the arc and 20-29 (.690) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 9 assists, 23 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Surrey Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers dispatched the 8th-seeded West Vancouver Highlanders 81-76. The Highlanders led 24-17 after one quarter and 42-40 at the half. The Panthers led 59-56 after three quarters. The Panthers took a 76-74 lead on an layup by Austin Swedish on a dish from Austin Corneil with 30 seconds to play and then 5-6 from the line down the stretch to pull out the win. “That West Van team, they are so long and big and that 1-3-1 zone gives a lot of people problems,” Panthers coach Drew Gallacher told Varsity Letters. “We just always talk about having energy at the start of a game,and today we struggled with it,” Gallacher said. “I don’t know if it was just butterflies or urgency. It wasn’t until I started to get emotional that we turned it around, I think my players play on my emotion.” Arjun Samra paced Lord Tweedsmuir with 34. Alex Le added 23, Elijah Devison 9, Austin Swedish 7, Jaden Reid 4, Josh Hamulas 2 and Jackson Cornell 2, while Jake Gallacher, Kuoth Kong, Philip Nguyen, Josh Hendricks, Jason Hans and Sukhraj Hayer were scoreless. The Panthers hit 31-74 (.419) from the floor, 9-29 (.310) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 10 assists, 11 turnovers and 11 steals. Parsa Zadeh paced West Vancouver with 32, along with 16 boards. Marcus Dunn added 15, James Core 10, Dean Martin 7, Callum Dye 6, Connor Chapman 4 and Simon Ceolin 2, while Logan Copeland, Aidan Chapman, Kuan Chen, Jay Armitage, Roger Zeng, Jason Xu, Amir Rahmani and George Fu were scoreless. The Highlanders (Coaches Rob Ros, Ken Krohman, Jamie Rees and Trevor Clarke, managers Jaden Howard And Frank Yan) hit 30-60 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 13-24 (.542) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 8 assists, 22 turnovers, 1 block and 5 steals. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Surrey Holy Cross Crusaders clocked the 16th-seeded Fort St. John North Peace Oscars 107-67 after leading 40-7, 64-26 and 89-50 at the quarters. Nosa Ehizode paced Holy Cross with 14. Michael Risi added 14, Jordan Bantog 11, Brent Padila 11, Uyi Ologhola 10, Tee Anim 7, Kyle Tejada 7, Reece San Juan 6, Andre Mangonon 6, Benjamin Levy 5, Curtis Goode 5, Isaiah Roque 4, Thomas Jay Fujimura 3, Joseph Salazar 2 and Zoilo Sarmiento 2, while Ned Medina was scoreless. The Crusaders hit 42-88 (.477) from the floor, 9-35 (.257) from the arc and 14-21 from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 11 assists, 11 turnovers and 20 steals. Liam Peterson paced North Peace with 28, along with 10 boards. Michael McDermott added 12, Ethyn Lang 11, Earl Concepcion 5, Adrian Loewen 4, Francis Hassan 2, Jacob Ziebart 2, Adam Nelson 2 and Mason Miranda 1, while Jesse Baker, Vaugh Oasay and Anaff Dema were scoreless. The Oscars (coached by Curtis Haugan) hit 25-75 from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 9-17 (.529) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 5 assists, 25 turnovers and 5 steals.
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens crushed the 6th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Bays 100-66 after leading 26-19, 51-33 and 83-47 at the quarters. Ravens forward Grady Stanyer told Varsity Letters that “losing in the Fraser Valleys made us an even better team. Bouncing back with a win like this gives us the confidence that we had all season.” Assistant coach Mark Prinster said “the term Brad (head coach Petersen) and I used was ‘ticking boxes’. And you can’t prepare for Oak Bay and not think of Diego (Maffia). We just wanted to make him give up the ball and not get it back, but they have other pieces. So we were really proud of the effort of our guys, especially in the third quarter.” Cameron Slaymaker paced Terry Fox with 32, along with 10 boards. Grady Stayner added 22, along with 21 boards, David Chien 20, Jacob Mand 13, Ko Takahashi 9, Marco Reyes 3 and Jaden De Leon 2, while Yuto Wakasugi, James Harry, Michael Alteza, Jamal Polat, Greg Martignoni, Logan Bisset and Jake McFarland were scoreless. The Ravens hit 40-90 (.444) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 15-26 (.577) from the line, while garnering 56 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 15 assists, 9 turnovers, 2 blocks and 13 steals. Diego Maffia paced Oak Bay with 23. Jordan Burke added 15, Ewan MacKenzie 8, Lucas Maffia 7, Quinton Horvath 4, Samir Turner 4, Chris Horwood 3 and Jaime Molins 2, while Ethan Moore, Nate Burnham, Matthew Callow and Noah Takacs were scoreless. The Bays (coach Chris Franklin, assistants Joe Thomas and Rob Parris, manager Wendy Maffia) hit 28-77 (.364) from the floor, 6-33 (.182) from the arc and 4-8 from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 11 assists, 15 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals.
The 7th-seeded Kelowna Owls dispatched the 15th-seeded Port Moody Heritage Woods Kodiaks 84-77. The Kodiaks led 21-20 after one quarter. The Owls led 44-43 at the half. The Kodiaks led 65-60 after three quarters. “Winning is doing the little things,” Owls coach Harry Parmar told Varsity Letters. “I call it ‘the inches’. That was a two-possession game. If you do something wrong on one possession and you lose by two, whose fault is that? … (Those measures include) Loose balls, rebounds, not boxing out, letting someone get over your head, not trapping hard. … I call it a five-inch win and those inches came at the end of the game when we got the turnovers,” Parmar added. “We get them because we worked so hard. Teams start to turn the ball over in the last two to three minutes. Hopefully we can take their legs and win a close one.” Parker Johnstone paced Kelowna with 30. Hunter Simson added 15, Malcolm Greggor 11, Braden White 11, Braam Ethan 6, Liam Royston 6, Jayden Lalonde 3 and Jonathon Haughton 2, while Ajay Gill, Connor Dojohn, Kieran Chalmers and Justin Monteleone were scoreless. The Owls hit 29-82 (.354) from the floor, 10-35 (.286) from the arc and 16-28 (.571) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 14 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 15 steals. Arshia Movassaghi paced Heritage Woods with 29, along with 14 boards. Chris Moon added 18, Zach Hamed 121, Morgan Liski 5, Jordan Clough 4, Nik Bartulin 4, Will Muxworthy 2, Gavin McMahon 3, Cartus Ko 1 and Peter Mueckel 1, while Harry Jeong, Nariman Avakoli, Deveroe Boyko and Kieran Sheriff were scoreless. The Kodiaks (coach Chris Martin, assistants Rich Goulet, Roj Johal and Greg Schellenberg, managers Reid Demelo, Ryan Blight, Aly Dhanani and Justin McEwen) hit 28-69 (.406) from the floor, 8-23 (.348) from the arc and 13-26 from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 12 assists, 31 turnovers, 5 blocks and 9 steals.
The 9th-seeded Surrey Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers stunned the top-seeded Surrey Holy Cross Crusaders 79-69. The Crusaders led 22-2 early but the Panthers closed out the quarter with a 14-2 run to draw within 24-16. The score was knotted at 40 at the half. The Panthers led 61-55 after three quarters. Panthers coach Drew Gallacher said his troops looked like collective deer in the headlights early. “I called a time-out to try to settle them. I knew it wasn’t so much our Xs and Os. At that time we were so over-aroused all I said to them was Believe. This seven-year journey with our core was meant for this game. All those practices. All the times we made them run, was for them to have a little bit of mental toughness. They came through and I am so proud of this group. … This is the biggest game of my life. It’s even bigger than winning a provincial championship in Grade 9. I would argue that this is one of the favourite moments of my life. It’s that important to me.” Arjun Samra paced Lord Tweedsmuir with 20, along with 12 boards. Elijah Devison added 14, along with 15 boards, Austin Swedish 10, Alex Le 10, Josh Hamulas 8, Jake Gallacher 7, Jackson Corneil 7 and Jaden Reid 3, while Kuoth Kong, Philip Nguyen, Josh Hendricks, Jason Hans and Sukhraj Hayer were scoreless. The Panthers hit 32-87 (.368) from the floor, 6-23 (.261) from the arc and 9-16 (.563) from the line, while garnering 59 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 13 assists, 19 turnovers, 9 blocks and 10 steals. Brent Padila paced Holy Cross with 26. Michael Risi added 16, along with 10 boards, Uyi Ologhola 12, along with 15 boards, Thomas Jay Fujimura 6, Tee Anim 5, Jordan Bantog 2 and Andre Mangonon 2, while Nosa Ehizaode, Benjamin Levy, Kyle Tejada, Ned Medina, Isaiah Roque, Joseph Salazar, Curtis Goode, Zoilo Sarmiento and Reece San Juan were scoreless. The Crusaders (coaches Matt LeChasseur, Anthony Pezzente, Kevin Wallsmith and Jeff Dadson) hit 27-93 (.290) from the floor, 7-29 (.241) from the arc and 8-16 from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 12 assists, 15 turnovers, 7 blocks and 13 steals.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels clubbed the 13th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 81-60 after leading 18-14, 36-24 and 50-39 at the quarters. Rebels coach Mike Bell said the battle between Sasha Vujisic and Centaur Dominic Parolin determined the outcome. “Dom had the first game on him, so Sasha really wanted this game. He had that in the back of his mind, that he wanted to prove himself as a big man because Dom is a great player.” Sasha Vujisic paced Burnaby South with 20, along with 15 boards. Justin Sunga added 16, Baltej Sohal 13, Jiordano Khan 11, Kyle Kirmaci 10, Aidan Wilson 9 and Gabe Canatoy 2, while Hanz Paloma, Jared Pineda, Matthew Pineda, Johann Chua, Brandon Obuyes, Jimmy Zaboniak, Kobe Kisin, Karn Ajula and Jasper Liao were scoreless. The Rebels hit 37-80 (.463) from the floor, 4-17 (.235) from the arc and 3-6 from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 13 assists, 10 turnovers, 4 blocks and 8 steals. Dominic Parolin paced Centennial with 23. Ivan Denyssevych added 8, Solomon Wauye 7, Terry Cho 6, Leif Skelding 6, Braden Markiewicz 6, Shay O’Connor 2 and Uriah Hestdalen 2, while Johnny Li, Kyle Jang, Ryan Lee, Roi Leyson, Edgar Romualdez, Dante Petrescu, Jason Relloma, Jakob Kramer, Gurneil Brar and Jayden Quinto were scoreless. The Centaurs (coach Rob Sollero, assistants Al Kaselj, Dave Parolin and Lucian Sauciuc, manager Paul Didenko) hit 24-65 (.369) from the floor, 5-21 (.238) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 10 assists, 13 turnovers, 6 blocks and 4 steals.
In the semis, the 9th-seeded Surrey Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers clipped the 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels 75-64 after leading 15-13, 30-26 and 52-46 at the quarters. “This feels fantastic,” Panthers coach Drew Gallacher told Varsity Letters. “We caught a massive break without Sasha (Rebels 6-10 post Vujisic, who injured an ankle in the quarterfinals) playing. But to keep that team to 64 points was a real testament to our defence. I was so happy with the way that the boys battled. … (Arjun Samra) makes me look good as coach. That kid is so tough mentally. He trains every single morning and you can see that in his vertical, his speed, his intellience, his skill. I don’t know many better than him.” Rebels coach Mike Bell said “we played right to the end, that is a good team and they got the better of us.” Arjun Samra paced Lord Tweedsmuir with 35 on 12-29 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 9-9 from the line, 11 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Elijah Devison added 15 on 6-17 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 11 boards. Alex Le notched 8 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jackson Corneil scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 11 boards and 2 assists. Austin Swedish notched 6 on 3-9 from the floor and 2 boards. Jaden Reid added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 steals. Josh Hamulas added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals, while Jake Gallacher, Kuoth Kong, Philip Nguyen, Josh Hendricks, Jason Hans and Sukhraj Hayer were scoreless. The Panthers hit 28-81 (.346) from the floor, 4-24 (.167) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 10 assists, 4 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Baltej Sohal paced Burnaby South with 16 on 7-21 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Justin Sunga added 14 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Jiordano Khan notched 13 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Aida Wilson scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Kyle Kirmaci added 9 on 3-13 from the floor, 3-12 from the arc and 5 boards. Matthew Pineda scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc, while Hanz Paloma, Jared Pineda, Johan Chua, Gabe Canatoy, Brandon Obuyes, Jimmy Zaboniak, Kobe Kisin, Karn Ajula, Jasper Liao and Sasha Vujisic were scoreless. The Rebels hit 27-73 (.370) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 2-4 from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 10 assists, 13 turnovers, 8 blocks and 3 steals.
In the other semi, the 7th-seeded Kelowna Owls dispatched the 3rd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 74-67. The Ravens led 14-13 after one quarter. The Owls led 35-34 at the half and 58-54 after three quarters. “It’s amazing what you can do with 12 character kids who care for one another and who don’t make excuses and are accountable,” Kelowna coach Harry Parmar told Varsity Letters. “It’s amazing what you can do.” The Owls largest lead was 8, with 34 seconds to play. Parker Johnstone’s putback with 3:06 to play gave the Owls a 68-65 lead and they iced it at the line. “It feels amazing,” said Hunter Simson. “We didn’t even go to provincials last year and now we’ve made it to the finals. It’s hard to explain.” The game plan was to “control the paint,” Simson said. “Don’t let them get inside. We did a good job of that. They were able to hit some outside shots, but we kept them from driving. It worked for us.” Owls coach Harry Parmar said “I thought if we did a couple of things really well, we could have a chance to be here,” he began of earning a spot in the final. “If we could transition really well, and defensively if we could get turnovers.” Parker Johnstone paced Kelowna with 37 on 13-36 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 8-12 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Hunter Simson added 17 on 5-18 from the floor, 2-12 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Malcolm Greggor notched 15 on 7-15 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Jonathon Haughton scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Braam Ethan added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 steals. Ajay Gill scored 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Braden White, Jayden Lalonde, Liam Royston, Connor Dojohn, Kieran Chalmers and Justin Monteleone were scoreless. White nabbed 3 boards and Lalonde 2. The Owls hit 27-78 (.346) from the floor, 6-32 (.188) from the arc and 14-24 (.583) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 7 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 12 steals. Cameron Slaymaker paced Terry Fox with 18 on 6-24 from the floor, 3-14 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 8 boards. David Chien added 13 on 4-14 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 13 boards, 9 assists and 3 steals. Jacob Mand scored 14 on 4-16 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Grady Stanyer notched 11 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 25 boards and 3 steals. Jaden De Leon scored 9 on 4-13 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 assists. Ko Takahashi added 2 on 0-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, while Yuto Wakasugi, James Harry, Michael Alteza, Marco Reyes, Jamal Polar, Greg Martignoni, Logan Bisset and Jake McFarland were scoreless. The Ravens hit 23-81 (.284) from the floor, 4-25 (.160) from the arc and 17-23 (.739) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 14 assists, 20 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels clipped the 3rd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravnes 86-71. The Ravens led 18-14 after one quarter. The Rebels led 41-33 at the half and 64-53 after three quarters. Aidan Wilson paced Burnaby South with 21 on 9-13 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 6 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Karn Ajula added 14 on 7-11 from the floor and 5 boards. Kyle Kirmaci notched 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 steals. Justin Sunga scored 11 on 4-13 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Baltej Sohal added 11 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 6 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Matthew Pineda scored 3 on 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Gabe Canatoy added 1 on 1-1 from the floor, while Hanz Paloma, Jared Pineda, Johann Chua, Brandon Obuyes, Jimmy Zaboniak, Kobe Kisin, Jasper Liao and Sasha Vujisic were scoreless. The Rebels hit 36-71 (.507 from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 20 assists, 24 turnovers, 4 blocks and 11 steals. Ko Takahashi paced Terry Fox with 22 on 10-17 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Cameron Slaymaker added 25 on 4-22 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 9 boards and 4 steals. Grady Stanyer notched 15 on 7-19 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. David Chien scored 10 on 4-17 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 5 steals. Jake McFarland added 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Greg Martignoni scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor and 4-4 from the line, while Yuto Wakasugi, James Harry, Michael Alteza, Marco Reyes, Jaden De Leon, Jacob Mand, Jamal Polat and Logan Bisset were scoreless. The Ravens (coached by Brad Petersen and Mark Prinster, manager Ernie Vickers) hit 28-89 (.315) from the floor, 3-19 (.158) from the arc and 12-16 (.750) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 8 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 15 steals.
In the final, the 9th-seeded Surrey Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers edged the 7th-seeded Kelowna Owls 91-86. The Owls led 27-24, 53-38 and 76-67 at the quarters. Owl guard Hunter Simson drilled a trey with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter and Kelowna appeared to have the game in command. But Panthers coach Drew Gallacher told Varsity Letters that he realized then that the time had come to heed the advice of high school coach legend Rich Goulet of Pitt Meadows, who he had texted a night earlier for advice. “I asked him ‘Hey Rich, what would you do (to beat Kelowna) and he said ‘Go to a diamond-and-one.’ I just thought that when (Simson) hit that one bomb and we couldn’t stop them, it was time to go into it. I wanted to do it in the second half so that (Kelowna) wouldn’t have time at halftime to adjust. But to be honest, at that point (trailing by 18 points) I was just grasping at straws. I didn’t think it would work that fast.” Gallacher isolated Alex Le on Parker Johnstone. The move completely changed the game dynamic. The Panthers promptly went on a 25-0 run. Le said “coach thinks I am the best defensive player on the team so he wants me to lock down players all the time. So I do my best to keep the player in front of me and not let him score.” Arjun Samra, who was playing with torn ankle ligaments throughout the tourney, said “I knew it would kick in that quickly because I knew Alex was the one guarding Johnstone,” said dynamic senior guard Arjun Samra. “I knew he would do a job on him. He is really quick and he has always been our best defender. Coach just said we’re going diamond-and-one, and he said ‘Alex, you’re guarding Parker.’” Le hit a pair of treys late in the third quarter to draw Tweedsmuir within 9. Samra hit a key trey with 4:31 to play to pull Lord Tweedsmuir within 76-75 and then Josh Hamulas gave the team its first lead by pilfering the ball for a runout. Le said “we got some good steals and we started going on a run. Everyone kept running out and getting to the lanes quicker. We just had the confidence to shoot it that we didn’t have in the first half.” Kelowna coach Harry Parmar said “the diamond-and-one wouldn’t have mattered if we got stops because we would have gotten out in transition. But we stopped getting stops, and we are a young team. We missed a few shots, the other team hit a few shots, we’re young, then we turned it over a few times, and then we were the deer in the headlights. At that stage, it actually got to them and we stopped playing defence.” Player of the game Jackson Corneil said “for me personally, it’s been unreal. Going from losing in the finals in Grade 9, losing in the finals last year at junior, to finally winning it is unreal.” Samra said “it feels great because it feels like a lifelong amount of work is all coming to the surface. I have finally been able to show everybody what I can do, and that is a blessing. … That’s what I was telling my team, that this is our destiny. But just because it’s our destiny, doesn’t mean it’s going to be given to us. You’ve still got to go out and take it. … It was just a feeling that was unexplainable. It’s just something that makes you feel alive, makes you feel like you’re on top of the world.” Huskies assistant Gary Sandhu told the Vernon Morning Star that “I think I am having a heart attack. I can’t believe we won. I am speechless, I am speechless. … I didn’t think we could come back. Vernon is so tough, they are so strong, so well-coached. Our guys just had the will not to die and the way we pulled out these last two wins … these boys are warriors.” Sandu said his thoughts were “mamba mentality. I want that ball in my hands when it’s the end. I’ve got trust in my teammates too – Arun, he hit that big three in the end and I knew he was going to hit that. But I knew I needed that ball in my hands for that last play.” Sandhu said that Gahir “carried the program for five years, he does everything and anything we ask. He has worked so hard (and) is a team player. I don’t know how he does it.” Reid said “it comes down to a single bounce and it is just the way the game is played sometimes. We came here to win and we didn’t, so we are going to be upset about it, we are competitors, so are North Delta.” Player of the game Jackson Corneil paced the Panthers with 23 on 10-17 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 15 boards and 3 assists. Tournament MVP Arjun Samra added 22 on 8-21 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Alex Le notched 17 on 5-14 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Josh Hamulas scored 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Elijah Devison added 8 on 4-8 from the floor, 6 boards and 4 assists. Austin Swedish notched 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Jaden Reid scored 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 13 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocks, while Jake Gallacher, Kuoth Kong, Philip Nguyen, Josh Hendricks, Jason Hans and Sukhraj Hayer were scoreless. The Panthers hit 34-81 (.420) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 14-24 (.583) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 19 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 5 steals. Parker Johnstone paced the Owls with 28 on 7-23 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 10-12 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Defensive player of the tournament Hunter Simson added 25 on 9-32 from the floor, 5-19 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 5 steals. Malcolm Greggor notched 21 on 8-21 from the floor, 5-16 from the arc and 4 boards. Braden White scored 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 10 boards. Jonathon Haughton added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Ajay Gill scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Jayden Lalonde, Liam Royston, Connor Dojohn, Braam Ethan, Kieran Chalmers and Justin Monteleone were scoreless. The Owls hit 28-97 (.289) from the floor, 14-53 (.264) from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 13 assists, 8 turnovers, 4 blocks and 12 steals.
The all-tournament 1st team featured MVP Arjun Samra (Lord Tweedsmuir); Arshia Movassaghi (Heritage Woods); Justin Sungha (Burnaby South); Cameron Slaymaker (Terry Fox); Hunter Simson (Kelowna); and Parker Johnstone (Kelowna).
The 2nd-team featured Zach Hamed (Heritage Woods); Baltej Sohal (Burnaby South); Dominic Parolin (Centennial
Jackson Corneil (Lord Tweedsmuir); and Elijah Devison (Lord Tweedsmuir).
The bronze medalist Burnaby South Rebels: Kyle Kirmaci; Justin Sunga; Hanz Paloma; Louis Hsiao; Matthew Pineda; Johann Chua; Baltej Sohal; Gabe Canatoy; Aidan Wilson; Brandon Obuyes; Richie Xiao; Kobe Kisin; Jasper Liao; Sasha Vujisic; Jiordano Khan; coach Mike Bell; assistant Karl Brysch; assistant Cody Cormack; assistant Randy Edwards
The silver medalist Kelowna Owls: Malcolm Greggor; Braden White; Hunter Simson; Parker Johnstone; Jayden Lalonde; Liam Royston; Jonathon Haughton; Ajay Gill; Connor Dojohn; Braam Ethan; Kieran Chalmers; Justin Monteleone; coach Harry Parmar; assistant Brad Heuser; assistant Jay Johnstone
The gold medalist Surrey Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers: Austin Swedish; Alex Le; Jaden Reid; Josh Hamulas; Jake Gallacher; Kuoth Kong; Philip Nguyen; Jackson Corneil; Patrick Jonas; Arjun Samra; Elijah Devison; Jason Hans; Josh Hendricks; Sukhraj Hayer; coach Drew Gallacher; assistant Bill Ruby; manager Sean Wen