The year started with considerable controversy as coaches in Richmond’s league charged that veteran coach Bill Disbrow was recruiting outside the boundaries of his school. The coaches refused to play games against Richmond (all were forfeited). Drisbow’s reply was that the only active inducement attracting players to his schools was its reputation and record for excellence.
In the opening round, held at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver: …………………………………………………… The Nanaimo Dover Bay Dolphins dumped the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 100-70 as Wayne Vickers scored 27 and Owen Smith 21. The Dolphins led 54-30 at the half. Dolphins coach Bill McWhinnie told the Nanaimo Daily News that “I’m very happy. It’s our first trip to the provincials for this school, we get our first win under our belts. We’re taking small steps right now but all these things are first … We came to play. We knocked down a bunch of three-point shots and Caledonia couldn’t handle our full-court press.” Chesley Neufeld led the Kermodes with 23. The Kermodes (coached by Cam MacKay) also included Fraser deWalle, Tyson Hull. …………………………………………………… The Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens defeated the Kamloops Red Devils 78-64 as Ahmed Adam scored 22. Sean Dyck led Kamloops with 15. Terry Fox struggled much of the contest, with their 18-4 run to finish things off keying the win. “We were expecting them to be big and slow, but they were really quite quick,” Ravens shooting guard Jas Mander, who scored 15, told the Vancouver Province. “We had to get used to that and used to the floor and get the nerves out. We have to get focused.” The Red Devils (coached by Homer Hamm) also included Cody Jackson, Jason Callaghan, Snorri Elmarsson, Lucas Cockburn, Mazhar Atacanli, Trevor Dale. …………………………………………………… The Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers clipped the Prince George Polars 55-43 as Graeme Poole scored 16. McRoberts finished the game on a 14-3 run. Ryan Barager led Prince George with 14. The Polars (coached by Dave Holmes) also included Ben Kaplan, Russ McLeod, Alain Ruch, Gene Teele, Steve Kirilo, Gerald Derkson. …………………………………………………… The North Delta Huskies downed the Nelson L.V. Rogers Bombers 69-59 as Kevan Gaull scored 33. Ryan Watson led the Bombers with 16. The Bombers also included Liam Cole.
In the second round, the top-seeded Richmond Colts dumped the Nanaimo Dover Bay Dolphins 87-78. The Colts needed a late spurt to pull out the win. “A lot of guys were interested in just putting on a show,” Richmond star Pasha Bains told the Vancouver Province. “A lot of guys were doing things that they don’t normally do. We didn’t run anything on offence. This is probably our worst game of the season.” Dover Bay simply didn’t have the legs to run with Colts in the end, as they led 65-63 with seven minutes to go. Richmond had runs of 10-0 and 7-0 in the fourth to pull out the win. “Our plan was to make them play defence as much as possible,” said Dover Bay head coach Bill McWhinnie. “We did that. We just didn’t get all the breaks that we needed.” Bains, who scored 33 (36 according to the Nanaimo Daily News), told the Vancouver Sun that it was “a wake-up call. They stuck to their game and we tried to look a little too cool. We were definitely too overconfident. It’s time to get back to basic basketball.” Owen Smith led the Dolphins with 25. The score wsa knotted at 44 at the half. Dolphins coach Bill McWhinnie told the Nanaimo Daily News that “I had to calm them down. They sprinted off the court yelling and screaming and the whole place was screaming. It was insane.” The Dolphins 2-3 zone stymied Richmond’s perimeter game and Dover Bay remained within reach until the final 30 seconds. McWhinnie said “we had them. I’m kind of disappointed we didn’t pull it out. Individually, they’re not that good on defence.” Dover Bay led 61-60 after three quarters and 83-78 with 30 seconds to play. The Dolphins (coached by Bill McWhinnie) also included Craig Battle, Wayne Vickers, Duncan McKinley, Trevor Sihota, Dave Patton. …………………………………………………… The Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons defeated the Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 75-74 as Bobby Shannon drained the winning trey with 40 seconds to play. Shannon paced the Maroons with 22. Sandy Brar added 17, Ricky Brar 15, Wayne Sasges 11 and Aaron Hudoklin 8. The Maroons hit 27-68 (.400) from the floor and 9-20 (.450) from the line. Maroons coach Bob Shannon told the Vernon Morning Star that “we boxed and one on (Tim) O’Connor, he’s their stud. We held him to 16. We had lots of tape on them and they don’t usually shoot well from the outside but they were 9-20 from the outside and we were 12-30. They were big inside, so we didn’t get any easy baskets underneath.” The Maroons led 45-37 at the half. Tim O’Connor led the Blue Demons with 16. Hardeep Bassram added 16. The Blue Demons (coached by Randy Coutts) also included Mike Service. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish defeated the Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 75-56 as Graeme Williscroft and Jordan Mason each scored 22. Jas Mander led the Ravens with 21. The Ravens also included Jamie Schultz, Bryce MacDonald, Neil Fulgueras. …………………………………………………… The unseeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers stunned the 4th-seeded Abbotsford Panthers 75-54 as Greg Lee scored 19 and Jason Rempel 19. The Strikers dictated the pace, slowing the game to a crawl. “Nobody has really seen us, and that’s caused teams to look past us,” McRoberts coach Chris Kennedy told the Province. “We’re young, we’re small. There’s really nothing for other teams to focus on, except that we play hard. The guys were really loose today. They didn’t play with that pressure.” The Panthers opened with a 9-0 run but the Strikers responded with a 22-3 run and were again threatened. Strikers point guard Graeme Poole controlled the tempo and derailed Abbotsford standout Wayne Jones. The Strikers shot .410 from the floor while the Panthers hit .300. The Strikers outrebounded the Panthers 53-47. Kennedy told the Vancouver Sun “that’s the best game we’ve played all year. No one expected us to get past our first game, let alone get to the quarterfinals. But after winning last night, we’re pretty wound up right now.” Rempel noted that “we knew we could compete. As long as we were ahead in the fourth quarter, we felt comfortable. Wayne Jones paced the Panthers with 19. The Panthers also included Jeff Hayward. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles downed the North Delta Huskies 67-40 as Ryan Jobs scored 19. Jay Hoare led the Huskies with 10. The Huskies (coached by Bill Edwards) also included Kevin Gaull, Mark Finan, Corey Gibson, Jeremy Shuster. …………………………………………………… The Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs clipped the Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights 81-72 as Trevor Kirk scored 24. Vinny Dumas paced the Knights with 25. …………………………………………………… The Victoria St. Michael’s Jaguars thrashed the Maple Ridge Ramblers 65-44 as Danny Boticki scored 16. Aaron Wells led the Ramblers (coached by Ken Dockendorf) with 17. …………………………………………………… The Clearbrook Mennonite Educaitonal Institute Eagles dusted the Victoria Oak Bay Bays 76-59 as Jon Inrig scored 24. Chris Trumpy led the Bays with 20.
In the quarterfinals, the unseeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers defeated the Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons 69-59 as Graeme Poole scored 23 and Greg Lee 18. The Strikers led 45-37 at the half. Rick Brar paced the Maroons with 26. Maroons coach Bob Shannon told the Vernon Morning Star that “they’re scrappy and they’re playing well. … They knocked down some shots and we didn’t make some we usually make. … We got behind early. They came out hot and outscored us 27-15 in the first quarter. It was a very winnable game but we only shot 25-70 from the field and they shot 27-53. For some reason, we didn’t go inside as much as we should have and we didn’t shoot well from outside. The kids showed heart and didn’t quit and we pulled to within 58-56 in the fourth quarter before a couple of turnovers hurt us.” The Maroons (coached by Bob Shannon) also included Bobby Shannon, Wayne Sasges, Sandy Brar, Zac Armitage, Dan Collingridge, Aaron Hudoklin.
The top-seeded Richmond Colts defeated the Victoria St. Michaels Jaguars 87-64 as Pasha Bains scored 37. Richard Greenwood led the Jaguars with 24. The Jaguars (coached by Ian Hyde-Lay, assisted by Bill Greenwell) also included Danny Boticki, Mike Wighton, Steve Tate, Tye Spicer, Jon Gainor, Cam Clark, Nate Millar, Ben Corns, Bryce Soderberg, Chris Noel, Milan Mrdjenovich and Steve Romanchuk.
The 2nd-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles clipped the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 71-61 as defensive player of the tournament Paris Jackson scored 28. Jason Eheler paced the Eagles with 16. Brad Neufeld added 10, Brian Redekop 10, along with 9 (11 according to the Abbotsford News) boards and Jonathan Inrig 9 on 4-18 from the floor and 1-10 from the arc. The Eagles also included Steven Dueck. MEI coach Arnie Dick told the Abbotsford News that “referees don’t win games, we do. They let it go early but we’ve to to adjust to the way the refs call it. … We didn’t get any breaks but they’re a step quicker than us all over the court.” Carson Graham coach Vern Porter said “we had our work cut out for us. I thought if we played hard defence, we would overcome their height. … Paris (Jackson) is our best defensive player one on one. He takes pride in his defnece. He said last night ‘I want Inrig’.” Inrig said “I got pretty beat up there. He (Jackson) is very strong and very fast and when I didn’t get a couple of steps, I didn’t hit my shots.” MEI led 19-16 after one quarter but soon succumbed to the Eagles press, committing 23 turnovers.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish edged the Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 82-76 in overtime. The lead see-sawed back and forth throughout the contest and the Fighting Irish forced overtime when Nolan Lumbama hit 1 of 2 free throws with 40.9 seconds remaining to knot the score at 71. The Irish got the benefit of the doubt from the referees with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation time and the score tied at 71. Centennial’s Trevor Silvestre attempted a six-foot jumper, his shot was blocked, but he was driven back on the play and clearly fouled. But none was called. The Irish took the lead for good when Graeme Williscroft notched a layup with 2:00 remaining to give them a 77-75 lead. Centennial only managed a single free throw the rest of the way. Williscroft paced the Irish with 27 after catching fire when Vancouver College post Dan Duggan was forced to the bench with four fouls. “I felt that without Dan backing me up I had to step up my game even more,” Williscroft told the Vancouver Sun. “Pretty evenly matched, I think,” added Centaurs 6-7 post Shawn Mervin, who scored 31. The Centaurs also included Trevor Kirk, Mike Leslie, Nick Hsu, Steve Tetreau.
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish clipped the 2nd-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles 82-73. The Irish rallied from a double-digit deficit with a 28-15 fourth-quarter to pull out the win.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Richmond Colts thumped the unseeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers 90-61 as Pasha Bains scored 41. “We started to win the individual battles in the fourth quarter. We were losing them earlier in the game,” Irish coach Corbett told the Vancouver Sun. “I think that factor, plus the outstanding play of our guards, was the difference for us tonight.” Graeme Williscroft led the Irish with 20. Grade 11 guard Nolan Lumbama added 19, guard Scott Wright 16, along with 7 assists, and Jordan Mason 14. Ryan Jobs paced the Eagles with 25. Paris Jackson added 22, Tarciscio Soares 18 and Mike Paterson 3. Eagles coach Vern Porter was at a loss to explain his squad’s poor marksmanship from the line. “We haven’t had a problem with free throws all year, but I guess we had a problem with that deep end zone backdrop tonight. The other factor was College’s guards. They were just great. They’re so athletic and productive.”
In the bronze medal match, the North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles defeated the Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers 92-78 as Paris Jackson scored 25. Dave Foreman led the Strikers with 20. The Strikers (coached by Chris Kennedy) included Nick Maitland, Graeme Poole, Jason Rempel, Amin Anvar, Greg Lee.
In the final, the top-seeded Richmond Colts defeated the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 76-66. Colts star guard Pasha Bains scored 25 to push his three-year mark to 311 points and neatly finesse the new benchmark up from 252, which was set by Richmond great Alan Tait in 1979-80 and equaled by Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles star Prentice Lenz in 1987-89. “I think he handled everything so well,” Colts guard Gilford Cheung told the Vancouver Province. “He handled people yelling stuff from the stands, because he knew that when a good player came into our gym it was going to happen for that guy, too. And he handled all the different defences that people threw up, designed specifically to stop him. It’s hard to score 40 points every night, when people are concentrating on stopping Pasha Bains, containing Pasha Bains. But he did it more often than not.” Colts coach Bill Drisbow told the Vancouver Sun that “over the last month, this team has become one of the greatest teams in B.C. history.” Tournament MVP Pasha Bains paced the Colts with 25. “I had a brutal, horrible game,” Bains said. “We won this as a team, man. The whole year people were saying that we’re a one-man team, all there is Pasha Bains, but we proved tonight that we’re a team.” Colts forward Jesse Tupper contained Irish guard Graeme Williscroft to just 4 points. “We were more worried about their posts than anything else, and Jesse Tupper was an absolute warrior tonight,” said Disbrow. “That’s a six-foot-two absolute warrior just doing his job.” The Irish led 24-23 after one quarter and 41-37 at the half on the marksmanship of Jordan Mason and Scott Wright. But Mason picked his third foul early in the third quarter and Cheung notched 12 of his 20 points in the frame. He also dished 8 assists during the game. “Gilford Cheung was amazing,” said Disbrow. “He’s one of the toughest kids in our history.” Bains said “Gil Cheung is the tournament MVP.” Cheung said that “we stayed really calm in the locker room at halftime. Bill just said that every team has their spurts, just hold off their spurt, make a run and get back to fundamentals. We came out relaxed and eventually wore College down.” The Colts led 53-50 after three quarters and staved off an Irish run that saw Wright and Mason hit treys to draw Vancouver College within 64-62. Colt Atnas Maeko promptly fouled out but Bains drove the floor for a layup to given Richmond a 68-44 lead with 1:13 to play and they iced the win at the line. “I tried not to back down on Pasha,” said Mason, who scored 18. “People tend to give him room to come at you and I didn’t want to do that today. I gave it my all trying to guard him, but in the second half I got kind of tired and then I picked up that third foul. He’s a damn good player.” Drisbow decline to compare the 1998 edition with BC championship teams he coached in 1985, ’87, ’88 and ’91, except to note that the ’85 and ’91 squads were also undefeated against Canadian opposition. “I haven’t really done any comparisons because it wouldn’t be fair,” he said. “I just feel so awesomely good for these kids. I’m so relieved that this happened for them. The pressure on them this year was enormous.”
The bronze medalist North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles: Paris Jackson; Ryan Jobs; Tarciscio Soares; Tarcisio Jose Da Silva; Mike Paterson; Marko Kusano; coach Vern Porter; manager Jenny Bisson-Mont Petit
The silver medalist Vancouver College Fighting Irish: Nolan Lumbama; Graeme Williscroft; Jordan Mason; Scott Wright; Dan Duggan; Brent Acorn; Edward Guerrero; Wilbur Panganiban; Derek Gardener; Gerard Slobogean; Mike Gardener; Sundeep Gokdale; Jerome Barcelon; Oliver Lam; Brent Sweeney; coach Bob Corbett; assistant Jon Tagualo; manager Mike Sweeney; manager Robert Dinglason; manager Eric Low; manager Christian Festejo
The gold medalist Richmond Colts: Pasha Bains: Gilford Cheung; Atnas Maeko; Jesse Tupper; Rick Pridmore; Brian Host; Curtis Augustus; Lionel Pahl; Jason Tarnow; coach Bill Drisbow