In the wildcard qualifying round: …………………………………………………… The Terrace Caledonia Kermodes defeated the Quesnel Correlieu Clan 85-73 (also reported as 85-72) as Paul Manhas scored 25, Geoff Mckay 16, Steve Dhansaw 13 and Kannin Osei-Tut 12. “It was probably the worst game I’ve seen (Caledonia) play in a month,” said Kermodes coach Cam MacKay told the Vancouver Province. “They were tired. … It seems ridiculous coming all the way down here for a playoff,” said MacKay. Correlieu coach Adrian Monych said “this year we have travelled over 5,000 miles to play, but we have to do that if we want to be competitive.” The team had to raise $38,000 to cover travel costs on the season. “We spend more time raising money than actually practicing,” he said. Mike Schroeder paced the Clan with 16. Bal Bumra added 14. Correlieu (coached by Adrian Monych) also included Brian Ledoux, Parm Munner, Blake Lawlor,. …………………………………………………… The Kamloops Red Devils dispatched the Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojans 91-67. Casey Olynyk led the Red Devils with 32. Justin King added 15 and Bryce Amison 13. Corey Baker paced the Trojans with 12. Todd McAdam 11.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish nipped the Victoria St. Michael’s Jaguars, which was making its first appearance in the AAA tournament, 55-53. The squads were virtual mirror images of one another. “I know Ian (Hyde-Lay) really well and I know he stresses the same things I do – strong man-to-man and fundamentals,” Vancouver College coach Bob Corbett told the Province. The Devils got within two points late in the game but couldn’t capitalize on three crucial trips to the free-throw line and guard Milan Uzelac missed a potential game-tying layup at the buzzer. “Free throws and rebounding decide every game, and we didn’t do those. We didn’t deserve to win,” said Hyde-Lay. Marek Gacek paced the Fighting Irish with 18. Mica Federal added 12, Tyler Thompson 11, Paul Williscroft 8, Jonathan Sitter 4 and Gerald Cole 2. Milan Uzelac led the Jaguars with 21. Jeremy Cordle added 9, Jan Schmidt 9, Jeremy Harris 8, Jason Reynolds 5 and Brendan Barry 1. Reynolds started at the point for the Jaguars, ahead of Steve Nash. The Jaguars (coached by Ian Hyde-Lay and Bill Greenwell, also included Max Humphreys, Ed Crothall, Jamie Miller, Brent McLay, Mark Grist, Chris Isherwood, Ryan Van Roode, David Radick and Jeremy Cordle. …………………………………………………… The perennial powerhouse and top-seeded Richmond Colts, led by tournament MVP Louis Johnson and sporting a 23-0 record versus British Columbia team heading in the tournament opened with a 75-39 smacking of the Williams Lake Columneetza Cougars as Johnson scored 20, Todd Klaimen 20, Jon Mayan 16, Justin Padvaiskas 10, Dean Sheardown 10, Lee Craven 6, Kevin Matheny 4, Brian Scales 4, Stephano Kalaw 2, Matt Anthony 2 and John McParland 1. The game was marked an early verbal confrontation between Colts coach Bill Drisbow and Cougars coach Jack Burgar. “That Bisbrow (sic) [Drisbow] or whatever his name is likes to make you choke on your confidence early,” Burgar told the Vancouver Sun. “They come out aggressive. … “But it (the loss) wasn’t a bad experience.” Disbrow told the Sun the easy win shouldn’t harm his squad. “Our kids feel good. They know our next match-up will be tough.” Drisbow told the Richmond Review that “I was very happy with our start. I thought the kids really came out to play and got the jitters out of the way early. … (Sheardown) had an outstanding game today that was really nice for him. They all did a good job.” William Blair paced the Cougars with 17. Randip Uppal added 8, Harry Parmar 7, Am Johal 2, Brett DeWynter 2, Sukhi Jagpal 2 and Trev Vanderfluit 1. The Cougars (coached by Jack Burgar) also included Kuldeep Gill, Jeremy Forster, Peter Grewal, Dan Curtis, Rick Moyan, Aaron Solly. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders struggled early but defeated the Kamloops Red Devils 61-47. “It was nervousness,” Pitt Meadows coach Rich Goulet told the Province. “Maybe this smartened these guys up a little bit and they will be more prepared for the next game.” Kamloops took the lead for the last 30 seconds of the third quarter and the first 5:37 of the fourth. Scott Walton paced the Marauders with 25. Ryal Mulder added 12, James Ford 11, Ian Lusher 4, Jay McBride 4, Ashley Yerbury 2, Shawn Leeson 2 and Jason Boyes 1, while Marc Taylor was scoreless. Bryce Arnston paced the Red Devils with 18. Casey Olynyk added 10, Brad (Chad?) Yamaoka 9, Brad Buckham 4, Justin Ring 4 and Mark Dochstader 2. The Red Devils (coached by Homer Hamm and Jack Buckham) also included Allan Betker, Trevor Brown, Stephen Hepples. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded West Vancouver Highlanders clubbed the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 80-52 despite early foul trouble, which forced coach Tom Rippon to go frequently to his bench, something he doesn’t often do. “We usually don’t go that deep,” he told the Province. But the Highlanders bench crew gave their team a 34-25 lead before the starters returned at the start of the third quarter. MEI managed a short surge in the third before West Van shut them down completely in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Robin Mahood paced the Highlanders with 20. Greg Meldrum added 19, Todd Humphries 12, Craig Chubb 10, David Heel 6, Josh Bjornson 4, Chris Caldow 2, Ben Painter 2, Matthew Coyne 2, Steve Jeffrey 2 and Tom Story 1. Kevin Bos paced the Eagles with 17. Shawn Klassen added 11, Dale Ratzlaff 6, Mark Brandsma 6, Darryl Armenau 6 and Jon Phillips 6. Eagles coach Mark Loewen told the Abbotsford News that “they really played a strong game but it’s tough when you know that a team is that much taller. They had a major size difference at every position and it obviously showed on the boards.” The Eagles (coached by Mark Loewen) also included Vijay Manuel, Dan Kyte, Peter Loewen, Kyle Ulinder. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs coasted to a 76-42 win over the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes. Centennial limited the Kermodes to just four points in the third quarter. Jeremy Low paced the Centaurs with 21. Jeff Windslade added 20, Bob McDonald 8, Jason Killins 8, Chad Caldwell 6, Magnus Greaves 6, Peter Ramos 2, Rob Ramos 2, Gary Hansen 2 and Rick Kaselj 1. Mike Parker led the Kermodes with 16. Kannin Osei-Tutu added 9, Paul Manhas 7, Mike Newhouse 3, Jason Krause 2, Mark Neeve 2, Gary Peden 2 and Steven Dhansaw 1. The Kermodes (coached by Cam McKay) also included Geoff McKay. “It was terrible,” coach MacKay told the Terrace Standard. “They were ghosts on the court. It was sad.” …………………………………………………… The Abbotsford Panthers eked out a 59-57 victory over the Vancouver Magee Lions as Mitch Trotman scored 20, Jake Curley 17, Bruce Hildebrand 10, Bill Buttar 6, Jon Taylor 4 and Dave Treloar 2. Leif Carlson paced the Lions with 15. Andrew Smith added 14, Pavel Dosanjh 12, Chris Martin 11 and Jamie Gopaulsingh 5, while Julian Bental, Graham harris, Ranja Randhawa, Angus Woodworth and Trevor Paine were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Burnaby Central Wildcats stomped the Chilliwack Frontiersmen 67-51. The Wildcats took complete control of the game with a 22-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters. Dustin Wightman paced the Wildcats with 17. David Chavvaria added 12, E.J. Marcello 10, Tony Pomonis 9, Jarrett Hayes 8, Kip Garroway 7 and Victor Bryan 4. “They were very well-balanced,” Frontiersman coach Joe Mauro told the Chilliwack Progress. “They were extremely quick, agile, athletic and the fastest team we saw.” Simon Geddes led the Frontiersmen with 27. John Dykstra added 8, Raymond Johnston 5, Steve Clarke 4, Dave Braun 3, Chad Apps 2 and Kerry Barth 2, while Nathan Cook, Sean Harper, Dave Awram and Geoff Alton were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Victoria Belmont Bulldogs stunned the 6th-seeded Kelowna Owls 88-76 as Donovan Walters scored 23, Chris Olsen 14, Amrit Lalli 12, Keith Gibson 11, Tom Gilbert 8, Brad Moran 2, Terry Dennett 2 and Archie Jaswal 2. Brady Ibbetson paced the Owls (coached by Bill Lang) with 26. Mike Fuller added 14, Darren Semeniuk 8, Scott Zummack 7, Quentin Thiessen 6, Brandon Moore 6, James Malfair 4, Mike Webb 3 and Glenn Russell 2, while Jeremy Westereng, Bob Hardy and Cary Mellon were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the Richmond Colts defeated the Abbotsford Panthers 75-65 as reserve Lee Craven scored 22, Louis Johnson 20, Justin Padvaiskas 13, Jon Mayan 11, Matt Anthony 4, Stephano Kalaw 2, Brian Scales 2 and Dean Sheardown 1. The Colts led 34-30 at the half but appeared to sleep-walk through the first frame. The Panthers made it a physical affair in the second half to take a 50-48 lead into the final frame before Richmond finally awoke. “For some reason, it’s our history to have trouble in the Thursday game,” Colts coach Bill Drisbow told the Vancouver Province. “I told my assistant coach before we started the game that we were going to have some trouble.” Drisbow told the Vancouver Sun that the Panthers were “so big compared to us” and his troops struggled with the level of physicality. “The whistle isn’t going. The refs aren’t protecting the shooters at all.” Bruce Hildebrand led the Panthers with 20, Mitch Trotman 16, along with 10 boards, Dave Treloar 12, Jake Curley 7, Bill Buttar 6 and Brett Morley 2. Hildebrand told the Abbotsford News that “being so close, this was tough. We knew we could beat them because we have the size to do it. We broke the press but I think we could have shot a little better. I know this is my toughest loss. Right now, I’m just thinking of the free throws I missed – they could have been the difference.” Panthers coach Jinder Sarowz said “we missed some shots underneath that could have really made a difference.” The Panthers (coached by Jinder Sarowa) also included Jason Ewasiuk, Jon Taylor, Kenny Smith, Gurpal Thiara, Frank Chan, Jatinder Heer, Nigel Strilchuk.
The 8th-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish upset the 5th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 64-53. “This morning we had the worst walk-through I can remember,” said Irish coach Bob Corbett. “But when it came to the game, they did everything they were supposed to do and didn’t do this morning.” The Irish forced Centennial to the perimeter and took a 30-19 lead at the break. “We played well technically,” Corbett told the Vancouver Province. “If you let them shoot, they can get on a roll and we didn’t let them do that and we took the drive away from them.” Paul Williscroft and Gerald Cole each scored 19 for the Irish. “I think the key was our rebounding and defence,” Williscroft said. “I would never have guessed we would have made it this far. I thought just coming here would be good preparation for next year.” Irish coach Bob Corbett was amazed that his young team (four grade 11 and one grade 10 starter) was so poised. “We are lucky. I think we have the best talented juniors in the province. We have tremendous athletes coming up.” Corbett stressed the reason his varsity team has talented younger players like Williscroft and Grade 10 starter Gerald Cole stepping into the lineup is the cohesive manner in which the coaches at College handle their programs. “A real advantage for us is we have a tremendous junior coach in Vito Pasquale,” said Corbett of the former UVic varsity player and brother of longtime national team member Eli Pasquale. “Actually, all our coaches are exceptional. We all sit down together and discuss the methods we are going to use – we really work together to build our program.” Gerald Cole paced the Fighting Irish with 19. Paul Williscroft added 19, Marek Gacek 13, Tyler Thompson 8 and Mica Federal 2. Jeff Winslade paced the Centaurs (coached by Rich Chambers) with 16. Jeremy Low added 13, Chad Caldwell 11, Jason Killins 5, Aaron Mullaly 4 and Bob McDonald 4.
The Victoria Belmont Bulldogs (then the Braves) stunned the 2nd-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders 70-56. Amrit Lalli, Chris Olsen and Keith Gibson dominated as the Bulldogs built a 26-point lead in the second quarter. “One team came ready to play and the other one didn’t,” Marauders coach Rich Goulet told the Vancouver Sun. “Maybe our team was satisfied just being here.” Belmont co-coach Gary Mols noted that “we were not surprised. There’s so much parity this year.” Lalli scored 24, Donovan Walters, Curt Spaven 10, Chris Olsen 10, Keith Gibson 6, Tom Gilbert 2 and Brad Moran 2. Scott Walton paced the Marauders with 32. Jason Boyes added 7, Ryan Mulder 6, Ian Lusher 5, James Ford 2, Jay McBride 2 and Jason Owen 2. The Marauders also included Ashley Yerbury, Shawn Leeson, Jason Boyes, Marc Taylor.
In the last quarterfinal, the Burnaby Central Wildcats defeated the West Vancouver Highlanders 65-56. With his team leading by 13, Highlanders coach Tom Rippon decided to give his starters a rest. “I put in some subs and it backfired today,” Rippon told the Vancouver Sun. “My forwards didn’t get one rebound all that time. That allowed them back into the game.” Wildcats coast Ross Tomlinson added that “I was surprised he would take both of his guards out at the same time. We decided to put up the pressure when they went in. It was like an invitation. It was all even before they could get their regulars back in.” David Chavarria paced the Wildcats with 17. Tony Pomonis added 14, E.J. Marcello added 11, Kip Garroway 11, Jarrett Hayes 8, Rob Heselton 2 and Dustin Wightman 2. Tomlinson said his troops weren’t discouraged by a first-half deficit. “The kids still felt they could win.” Craig Chubb paced the Highlanders with 18. Greg Meldrum added 17, Robin Mahood added 9, David Heel 8, Todd Humphries 4, while Tom Story and Matthew Coyne were scoreless. The Highlanders (coached by Tom Rippon) also included David Heel, Josh Bjornson, Chris Caldow, Ben Painter, Steve Jeffrey.
In the semis, Brian Scales returned to the Richmond Colts line-up from his sickbed after coming off antibiotics a day early to rally Richmond past the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 90-82. The Colts had trailed by 14 early in the contest, but came back to win after the Irish got in foul trouble. “They’ve got the depth,” Fighting Irish coach Don Corbett told the Vancouver Sun. “They had legs at the end.” Scales finished with 34. Louis Johnson added 18, Justin Padvaiskas 17, John Mayan 9, Dean Sheardown 5, Lee Craven 4 and Matt Anthony 3. “Scales made some amazing shots,” Corbett added. “You have to give them, their team, credit.” Marek Gacek paced the Fighting Irish with 23. Tyler Thompson added 16, Paul Williscroft 13, Gerald Cole 12, Jonathan Sitter 10 and Mica Federal 8.
In the other semi, the Burnaby Central Wildcats rallied from a 19-point deficit with 4:08 to play in the first half, to defeat the Victoria Belmont Bulldogs 76-62. Burnaby’s press proved the difference as E.J. Marcello scored 25, Tony Pomonis 18, David Chavarria 18, Dustin Wightman 7, Kip Garroway 6, Jarret Hayes 1 and Dean Richardson 1. Armit Lalli paced the Bulldogs with 17. Donovan Walters added 13, Curt Spaven 13, Chris Olsen 8, Brad Moran 5, Keith Gibson 4 and Mike Erichsen 2.
In the bronze medal match, the Victoria Belmont Bulldogs nipped the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 84-81 in double overtime when Donovan Walters nailed a trey with nine seconds to play. “When we found out last night that we couldn’t win it, we decided to come in here and work our butts off. We treated it like it was for first and seconds,” Walters told the Vancouver Province. The Fighting Irish forced overtime despite having had starters Marek Gacek and Paul Williscroft foul out. But senior Jonathon Sitter and grade 10 guard Gerald Cole, hit a three-pointer with 15 seconds to play in regulation to knot the score at 65 and force overtime, kept the Fighting Irish hopes alive. Belmont’s Tom Gilbert forced the second overtime by hitting a bucket with second to play to knot the score at 72. “With about 40 seconds left in the second overtime I turned to Gary (co-coach Mols) and said it doesn’t matter who wins this. Both teams are winners,” Bulldogs co-coach Muzz Bryant told the Vancouver Sun. “I’m glad it didn’t go past midnight and into St. Patrick’s Day.” Amrit Lalli paced the Bulldogs with 29. Curt Spaven added 18, Donovan Walters 13, Chris Olson 10, Brad Moran 5, Keith Gibson 5 and Tom Gilbert 4. Tyler Thompson paced the Fighting Irish with 20. Gerald Cole added 16, Jonathan Sitter 12, Marek Gacek 11, Marc Guminski 9, Paul Williscroft 6, Mica Federal 5 and Sean Tilley 2. The Fighting Irish (coached by Bob Corbett, managers? Joel Slenning, Jasper Wright, John Furlong and Jeff Frob) also included Brian Pong, Grant Boyle, John Robertson, Howie Kang and Courtney Smith.
The final was the sixth meeting of the year between the Richmond Colts and the Burnaby Central Wildcats. The Colts emerged with their sixth straight victory as they thrashed Central 94-78. “This is my dream,” tournament MVP Louis Johnson told the Vancouver Sun. “This is the best I’ve ever felt.” Teammate Brian Scales added that “this is just everything we’ve wanted. This is what I’ve been working for since Grade 7.” Richmond was ahead by 17 in the first half and took a 47-36 lead at the break. Burnaby made several runs but never seriously threatened. The Colts were up by 19 with six minutes to go in the contest, when Burnaby rallied for a last time to trim the margin to eight with 4:20 to go. But the rally petered out when all-star and Texas Rangers baseball draftee David Chavarria fouled out. The Colts were led by centre Jon Mayan 25, Louis Johnson 22, Padvaiskas 12, Lee Craven 10, Dean Sheardown 8, Brian Scales 7, Kevin Matheny 6, Stephano Kalaw 2 and John McParland 2. The Colts led 28-19, 47-36 and 68-50 at the quarters. Colts coach Bill Drisbow told the Richmond Review that “tonight, when we had to be, we wree there. They weren’t small in character at all. That’s what matters. They really worked hard. I was very confident all year. They were so upset (after losing the 1990 final) last year, they were just determined nothing was going to stop them. They’re tough kids. There’s no great strategy or anything. They just wanted it badly.” Johnson said “we had to work together. And we got what we wanted. I know we deserved it and (the hard work) paid off in the end. … I wanted this more than anything in the world.” Johnson added that Drisbow “has been everything to us. He’s been a friend and a coach and he’s been there for us when we needed it. He gave us everything we wanted.” Jon Mayan said “it’s all we worked for this year. It means so much to me. All summer and all year, this was our goal.” David Chavarria led Burnaby Central with 25. Jarrett Hayes added 15, Tony Pomonis 11, Kip Garroway 11, E.J. Marcello 7, Dustin Wightman 6 and Victor Bryan 3. “They were just tough kids,” Richmond coach Bill Drisbow told the Vancouver Province. “There was no great strategy. They just wanted it badly.” Burnaby Central coach Ross Tomlinson was pleased that his troops didn’t quit despite falling behind quickly. “We are a team that never gives up and that was indicative of the tournament. It was the best game I saw them play in the tournament.” Colts point guard Justin Padvaiskas was a6-0 guard who nearly didn’t make the cut at the start of his grade 11 year. But he subsequently became the aggressive floor general. “It’s probably the most improvement of any player in our history,” said Drisbow. “Nobody works harder and he’s so mentally tough.” Padvaiskas spent the previous summer in Zader, Yugoslavia with Drisbow watching play at a professional European club. “This year my role is to shoot a bit more. And that was one part of my game that I wanted to improve,” said Padvaiskas. “It was a chance to learn from what are supposedly the best shooters in the world.” Tomlinson told the Vancouver Sun that “we fell behind two of the three previous games in this tournament and came back. Just unfortunately we couldn’t come back again. I’d like to have another shot at it. … They got a lot of easy stuff early in the first half. I mean, I’ve never seen rebounds bouncing back to shooters like that. If we could only do one thing better it would be to get back on defence quicker in the first quarter.” Drisbow told the Sun that “I had a good feeling they would dig down and come up with this. I was confident because I knew the kids were focused.”
The bronze medalist Victoria Belmont Bulldogs: Donovan Walters; Tom Gilbert; Amrit Lalli; Chris Olsen; Keith Gibson; Curt Spaven; Brad Moran; Terry Dennett; Archie Jaswal; Mike Erichsen; coach Gary Mols; coach Muzz Bryant
The silver medalist Burnaby Central Wildcats: David Chavvaria; Tony Pomonis; E.J. Marcello; Jarrett Hayes; Kip Garroway; Dustin Wightman; Victor Bryan; Dean Richardson; coach Ross Tomlinson
The gold medalist Richmond Colts: Justin Padvaiskas; Louis Johnson; Jon Mayan; Todd Klaimen; Dean Sheardown; Lee Craven; Kevin Matheny; Brian Scales; Stephano Kalaw; Matt Anthony; John McParland; Mark Craven; Hardeep Singh; coach Bill Drisbow