In the wildcard play-in, the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams defeated the West Vancouver Hillside Highwaymen 96-80 as Jay Loukes scored 24, Russ Thornton 23 and Vince Cullen 20.
In the opening round, held in Vancouver: …………………………………………………… The Burnaby South Secondary Rebels, who’d been thumped in the opening round of the previous two tournaments and were known for a run-and-gun offence and pop-gun defence, dispatched the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 73-54 as Craig scored 29, Grigg 18, Keith 10, Sproule 8 and Matson 8. Richard Klein led the Kermodes with 18. David Metzmeier added 16, James Harvey 12, Jim Kellar 6 and Candy Guerreiro 2. The Kermodes included Sarich. …………………………………………………… The West Vancouver Highlanders dispatched the Prince George Duchess Park Condors 78-70 as Lockhart scored 24, Doug Vicic 21, Mitchell 14, Burrell 13, Pasternak 4 and Oberhoffner 2. Mike Suderman led the Condors with 28. Pat West added 18, Gary Pawluk 10, Kirk Stewart 8, Karl Bush 2, Brian Frenkel 2 and Frank Washington 2. The Condors (coached by Bill Gook) also included Kent Stanley and Calvin Dumonceaux. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Sidney Parkland Panthers defeated the Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojans 68-47 as Quinn Groenheyde scored 26, Greg Wiltjer 22, Dexter Williams 12, Alan Benn 4 and John Ibbotson 4. Murray Vogt led the Trojans with 14. Keith Stewart added 12, Kirk Riddell 10, Larry Ingham 4, Brian Koriwoken 4 and Mike Burgess 3. The Trojans also included Bogg. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Gladstone Gladiators defeated the Mission Roadrunners 73-61 as Tony Marchese scored 20, Ken Yonge 16, Pete Langford 12, Tsang 10, Stanford 9, James Mah 4 and Dresgher 2. Jim Braich led the Roadrunners with 22. Ward Creasey added 18, Mark Healy 10, Greg Healy 4, Jim Sward 3, B Braich 2 and Angus 2. The Roadrunners also included Brian Klenk and Dean Roadhouse. …………………………………………………… The Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles clocked the Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars 75-48 as Klassen scored 21, Sieberg 19, Hoehn 14, Neufeld 8, Born 8 and Lepp 5. Born led the Cougars with 12. Barrett added 11, Reimer 10, Halyk 8 and Braam 7. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Magee Lions dispatched the Nanaimo District Islanders 71-59 as Roy Heuckendorff scored 29, Bill Nicol 22, Andrew Brown 8, Ted Beck 4, Matt Fahey 3, Russ Klein 3 and Ian MacKay 2. Randy Marston led the Islanders with 12. Mike Murphy added 12, Kurt Kelly 10, Ian Petterson 20, Jim Jordbro 4, Terry Nohr 4, Mark Dorsay 3, Dave Brown 2 and Dan Steffes 2. The Islanders (coached by John Levering) also included Kevin Borsario and Dave Cramb. …………………………………………………… The Ladner Delta Pacers edged the Penticton Lakers 76-70 as Kristmanson scored 32, Kershaw 16, Wilson 14, Rochard 7, Charles 6, Neufeld 2 and Kosmynka 1. MacDonald led the Lakers with 21. Dyer added 21, Brosseuk 8, Dolfo 8, Slater 8, Elder 2 and Meiklejohn 2. The Lakers also included Peters. …………………………………………………… The Richmond Colts edged the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 64-62 as Alan Tait scored 26, Jim Mills 14, Butch Gayton 8, Dan Dennis 6, Glen McClary 4, Mike McElroy 4 and Gary Parker 2. Russ Thornton led the Rams with 28. Vince Cullen added 10, Jay Loukes 10, Brian Alexander 6, Russ Mosher 4, Mike Hansen 2 and Chuck Francis 2. A Mosher shot at the buzzer that would have forced overtime rimmed out.
In the quarterfinals, the Sidney Parkland Panthers edged the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 69-65 as Greg Wiltjer scored 25, Quinn Groenheyde 18, Dexter Williams 10, Alan Benn 8 and John Ibbotson 8. Ken Klassen led the Eagles with 20. Alf Hoehn added 16, Jake Krahn 10, Rob Siebert 7, Dan Neufeld 6 and Art Hoehn 6. The Eagles (coached by Vic Rahn) also included Rob Lepp, Bryan Born, Rob Epp, Ray Nickel, Rod Friesen, Rod Penner and Jon Krahn.
The Vancouver Gladstone Gladiators clipped the Vancouver Magee Lions 66-54 as Marchese scored 44, Yonge 8, Stanford 6, Mah 4, Tsang 4 and Bring 2. Bill Nicol led the Lions with 19. Roy Hueckendorff added 16, Kask 7, Matt Fahey 4, Russ Klein 4, Ted Beck 2 and Rainer 2. The Lions also included Ian MacKay, Brown and Crofts.
The Burnaby South Secondary Rebels spanked the Ladner Delta Pacers 74-59 as Brian Craig scored 24, Grigg 20, Wirch 13, Keith 9, Sproule 4 and Matson 4. Charles led the Pacers with 14. Kristmanson added 12, Wilson 12, Rochard 12 and Kershaw 9. The Pacers also included Neufeld.
In the last quarterfinal, the Richmond Colts dispatched the West Vancouver Highlanders 80-74 as Dan Dennis scored 16, Jim Mills 14, Glen McClary 12, Butch Gayton 2 and Mike McElroy 2. Colts coach Bill Drisbow credited 6-5 reserve Rob Kavelaars with the win. At the start of fourth quarter, he came in and the Colts started playing a pressing zone. “It worked. He died the ball to (Andy) Lockhart. When he could get it, he couldn’t shoot over him.” Doug Vicic led the Highlanders (coached by Brian Upson) with 28. Andy Lockhart added 26, Pasternak 8, Burrell 4, Mitchell 4 and Valdez 4. The Highlanders led 38-36 at the half and 54-46 after three quarters. The Highlanders also included Oberhoffner and Olsen.
In the semis, the Burnaby South Secondary Rebels edged the Vancouver Gladstone Gladiators 53-47 as Brian Craig scored 17, Grigg 14, Kieth 10, Wirch 6 and Sproule 6. Rebels coach Mike Jones told Canadian Press that “we had control of the game in the first half (with a 35-20 lead heading into the lockers0. But that minute and a half lapse late in the second quarter took away our big lead.” Marchese led the Gladiators with 21. Tsang added 10, Mah 6, Yonge 4, Langford 2 and Stanford 2.
In the other semi, the Richmond Colts clipped the Sidney Parkland Panthers 70-55 as Allan Tait scored 26, Dan Dennis 18, Buth Gayton 12, Jim Mills 8 and Glen McClary 6. The Colts led 29-28 at the half and 46-38 after three quarters. Greg Wiltjer led the Panthers with 30. Quinn Groenheyde added 12, Alan Benn 9 and Dexter Williams 4.
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver Gladstone Gladiators edged the Sidney Parkland Panthers 76-73 as Ken Yonge scored 26, Tony Marchese 22, Pete Langford 8, Jeff Stanford 8, James Mah 8 and Doug Chinn 4. Greg Wiltjer led the Panthers with 26. Dexter Williams added 10, Quinn Groenheyde 10, Alan Benn 10, Gordon Fox 7, John Ibbotson 6 and Nick Ollis 4. The Panthers (coached by Joe Milligan) also included Robert Balmer.
In the final, the Burnaby South Secondary Rebels defeated the Richmond Colts 65-47. It was the first time since that 1970s that two lower Mainland teams closed out the season by meeting in the final. Brian Craig held Richmond’s Alan Tait, who’d scored 94 in his three tourney games, to 9 points. “A friend of mine said: if South ever learned to play defence, they’d win the B.C.’s. Well, we learned and here we are,” said Craig. Coach Mike Jones, a slim 38-year-old with a distance-running background, had a firm belief that if he was to mold a championship team, it was essential that the Rebels be able to run their opposition into the ground. “What I hated the most were those bloody morning runs,” admits Joel Grigg. “If the weather was bad, he had us running the halls, before anyone was even in the school, for one hour. A couple of times, I can remember stopping to do a little hurling.” Jones noted years later that “when we were playing well, all five starters could score in double figures and it happened a lot. They were so unselfish, they didn’t care who scored. Bottom line was they just wanted to win.” With a roster of players all between 6-0 and 6-3, the Rebels were a formidable bunch. They could switch defensively at the drop of a hat and their overall size made them a tough matchup. “They ran the best passing offence, high school or college,” said Rich Chambers, coach of Centennial. “It was like a clinic.” Tournament MVP Brian Craig (who scored 81 points in four games), Grigg, Doug Sproule, Greg Wirch and Ward Keith, along with sixth man Ken Matson, made of the rest of the team’s all-Grade 12 main rotation. Sproule’s dad Cliff had actually coached Jones, a 1959 Burnaby South grad. “Mike ran us to death,” says Sproule, “but we were the fittest team around and we pressed the whole game. We defended passes at every part of the floor.” Adds Grigg, who annually presents a bursary to a graduating Burnaby South athlete in the memory of his dad Ray, who was a member of South’s 1953 B.C. champs: “Mike would make us put guys on our back and then have us run up and down the bleacher stairs. We’d jump over benches with guys on our back. And we’d always hear ‘Do 10 more, do 10 more.’ He really made us concentrate on what we were doing and he got us to understand the physical aspect of what it takes to be a winner. We didn’t appreciate it as much at the time.” Sproule said “we didn’t have a superstar on our team. The fact we won, has been one of the biggest things in my life to show that if you put enough work into something and busts your guts you can succeed. And anything I have done in my business and my life has certainly drawn from that.” Greg Wirch paced the Rebels with 17. Ward Keith added 17, Brian Craig 11, Joel Grigg 20, Doug Sproule 6 and Ken Matson 4. Alan Tait led the Colts with 17. Gayton added 13, McClary 7, Dennis 4, McElroy 4 and Mills 2. Colts coach Bill Drisbow told the Richmond Review that “probably the biggest factor … was that they had been there before. It was all the same kids. Whereas we were their equal as a team. … We started to go away from our game and they went even more to theirs. I’ve never been through a tougher four games. We were high but burned out.” Rebel Brian Craig said “Richmond is an intimidating team. We were having trouble in the second half and after a while, it came together. We kept our cool. … We didn’t think of them as a Fastbreak team. We have so many guys who can score. I was just concerned with getting the ball up.” Jones said “we had to control and we had to stay with that control.” Drisbow said “they controlled the momentum of the game and we only had that one chance (Richmond led 19-16 early when Tait got bowled over, and then a Colt bucket was disallowed, changing the momentum). … We missed some easy plays early. We needed to rely on adrenalin … (Tait) was tight. He dind’t play the say he usually does.”
The bronze medalist Vancouver Gladstone Gladiators: Tony Marchese; Ken Yonge; Pete Langford; Jeff Stanford; James Mah; Doug Chinn; Tsang; Bring; Dresgher;
The silver medalist Richmond Colts: Alan Tait; Butch Gayton; Glen McClary; Dan Dennis; Mike McElroy; Jim Mills; Gary Parker; Martin Pusic; Rob Kavelaars; coach Bill Drisbow
The gold medalist Burnaby South Secondary Rebels: Wi-Guan Lim; Doug Sproule; Tyrone Price; Brian Craig; Kevin Robinson; Greg Findlay; Fred Leonard; Greg Wirch; Joel Grigg; Ken Matson; Ward Keith; Greg Turgeon; Silvio Urbani; coach Mike Jones