In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes crushed the 16th-seeded Campbell River Carihi Tyees 101-41 after leading 25-2, 45-13 and 77-27 at the quarters. Aman Dhillon paced the Hurricanes with 25. Josh Dhillon added 18, Tegveer Randhawa 11, Gautum Dhaliwal 11, Gurlal Mann 8, Joven Gill 6, Rohit Dhillon 4, Bobby Narang 4, Kevin Bhadesh 2, Gurkaran Mangat 2, Jasneet Gill 2, Kabir Dhaliwal 2, Josh Sahota 2, Gurkirat Sohi 2 and Harjot Dhaliwal 2. The Hurricanes hit 40-65 (.615) from the floor, 18-30 (.600) from the arc and 3-4 from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 13 assists, 10 turnovers, 3 blocks and 12 steals. Jared Perras paced the Tyees with 11. C Hall added 6, Tommy Younger 5, Sonny Hung 4, Gurjot Mann 4, Hunter Korol 4, Mason Osterhout-Code 2, Jason Chen 2, Jonah Shankar 2 and Quincy Nelson 1, while Skylar Gord, Connor Nast, B Doherty and Wamish Roberts were scoreless. The Tyees hit 15-41 (.366) from the floor, 0-9 from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 16 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 5 fouls, 2 assists, 15 turnovers and 11 steals. The Tyees (coached by Ray Wilson) also included Sebastian Lafleur. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights dumped the 9th-seeded Nanaimo Wellington Wildcats 71-52 after leading 17-8, 31-20 and 53-34 at the quarters. Cameron Morris paced the Knights with 21. Liam Feeman added 14, E.J. Escobedo 9, Cedric Ducharme 6, Sajjun Shokar 6, Richard Galicia 4, Nathan Hallam 4, Paolo Labrador 3, Cedric Alvarez 2 and Josh Harder 2. The Knights hit 13-36 (.389) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 7-8 (.875) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 4 assists, 10 turnovers, 1 block and 5 steals. Alex Staniforth paced the Wildcats with 19. Brooks Branchi added 14, Ryder Jenks 6, Gordon Lam 5, Justin Goodman 5 and Yas Tsuda 4, while Kurtis Burns, Jarred Romando, Josh Hamilton, Iskandar Zhaksybekov, Paul Romanoff, Bryant Sandifer and Cole Arsenault were scoreless. The Wildcats (coached by Luke Letham) hit 19-60 (.317) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 8-10 from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 9 fouls, 4 assists, 12 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Richmond Steveston-London Sharks clocked the 13th-seeded Courtenay Mark R. Isfeld Ice 80-53 after leading 20-15, 43-27 and 63-42 at the quarters. Fardaws Aimaq paced the Sharks with 23 points and 14 boards. Zach Cantwell added 20, Ahmed Mohamud 15, Quinn Whyte 6, Jerome Fernandez 5, Ethan White 5, Daniel Chen 2, Craig Johnston 2 and Parker Shaw 2. The Sharks hit 31-57 (.544) from the floor, 2-13 (.154) from the arc and 16-28 (.571) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 13 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. Logan Benninger paced the Ice with 15. Thaskani Mtawali added 14, Riley Fussell 7, Brett Woods 6, Anthony Xylinas 5, Marcus Ng 3 and Jordan Messana 3, while Darrin Lessard, Mahara Mtawali, R Kasamotto, Andrew Choi, Joe Linegar, Thomas Green and Anthony Brown were scoreless. The Ice hit 18-66 (.273) from the floor, 11-31 (.355) from the arc and 6-7 (.857) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 10 assists, 11 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. The Ice (coach Tom Elwood, assistant Colin Cunningham, assistant Kate McLeod, manager Harriette Cunningham) also included Alex Tait, D.J. Casilla, Navarre White and Ricky Casamoto. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded North Vancouver Bodwell Bruins clipped the 12th-seeded Maple Ridge Ramblers 69-58. The Ramblers led 15-13 after one quarter and 34-28 at the half. The Bruins led 53-46 after three quarters. The Bruins depth wore down the Ramblers, with the bench outscoring Maple Ridge’s bench 20-0. “We thought that it was going to be an easier game,” Bruins coach Johnson Chiu told the North Shore News. “And that was good because it woke up some of our boys. … (they) made our lives tough and miserable.” Yagiz Torer paced the Bruins with 19. Canberk Gungor added 17, Seckin Topac 14, Arda Coban 13, Berk Evduzen 3 and Tatsuhiro Izawa 2. The Bruins hit 21-60 (.344) from the floor, 3-8 (.375) from the arc and 23-35 (.667) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 5 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals. Burke Brussow paced the Ramblers with 21. Will Chartrand added 17, Tristan Coumont 16, Takato Yoshino 2, George Panagiotopavlos 1 and Noah Pope 1, while Hafeez Noor, Franky Albos and Brandon McRobert were scoreless. The Ramblers hit 23-60 (.383) from the floor, 3-13 (.231) from the arc and 9-13 (.692) from the line, while garnering 22 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 4 assists, 19 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. The Ramblers (coach Ken Dockendorf, assistant Amit Rakhra, assistant Ethan Coumont, assistant Brody Herman) also included Pascual Chassay and Dylan Toren. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded South Kamloops Titans whipped the 15th-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats 79-49 after leading 32-14, 46-22 and 71-32 at the quarters. Nick Sarai paced the Titans with 25. Quin Adam added 14, Ripley Martin 13, Reid Jansen 11, Evan Jumaga 6, Ethan Thacker 4, Graeme Koppes 4 and Josh Jean 2. The Titans hit 32-75 (.427) from the floor, 7-18 (.389) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 5 assists, 10 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Brandon Ahrens paced the Bobcats with 10. Jaye Raganit added 9, Ryan Ly 9, Sam Ready 8, Collin Ulle 6, Jacob Jelic 2 and Dale Janzen 1, while 2 were allocated to the team and Aaron Li, Maor Arad, Cheylon Smith, Joey Vance and Walker Celko were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 16-51 (.314) from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 22 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 7 assists, 13 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals. The Bobcats (coach Daniel Allingham, assistant Jyoti Pawar, assistant Michael Morgan) also included Chris Fang and Druv Sobti. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Abbotsford Robert Bateman Secondary Timberwolves stunned the 7th-seeded Nanaimo District Islanders 72-58 after leading 19-14, 31-26 and 53-40 at the quarters. Nate Friesen paced the Timberwolves with 28. Greg Poirier added 18, Dawson Davis 7, Terry Bagri 6, Brett Adrian 6, Wes Evans 4 and Darius Yakmission 3. The Timberwolves hit 27-60 (.450) from the floor, 6-16 (.375) from the arc and 12-15 (.800) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 11 assists, 9 turnovers and 4 steals. Anders Cederberg paced the Islanders with 19. Winston Gardiner added 12, Will Fridriksson 7, James Robinson 6, Owen Morrison 5, Qwammi Robinson 4, Ismael Ndiaye 4 and Hugh Joly 1, while Wes Frank, Cameron Kasook, Joel Bilyk, Maxime Therrien and Ben Whiting were scoreless. The Islanders (coach Jacob Thom, assistant Tyler Olsen, manager Nicole Cederberg) hit 20-56 (.357) from the floor, 2-11 (.091) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 13 assists, 11 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Burnaby Byrne Creek Bulldogs dumped the 14th-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors 77-58 after leading 14-12, 31-29 and 53-41 at the quarters. Sufi Ahmed paced the Bulldogs with 19. Bithow Wan added 15, Martin Djunga 12, Abdul Bangura 10, along with 11 boards, Tyril Whitebear 10, Aaron Cruz 5, Majok Deng 4 and Wel Deng 2. The Bulldogs hit 32-84 (.381) from the floor, 7-27 (.259) from the arc and 6-7 (.857) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 10 assists, 19 turnovers, 4 blocks and 15 steals. Colburn Pearce paced the Condors with 16. Soren Erricson added 12, Malcolm MacDonald 11, Cody Boulding 9, Gage Reimer 6, Garet Anderson 2 and Ryan Hampe 2, while Carter Karpenko, Anthony Preston and Mich Ochieng were scoreless. The Condors hit 23-80 (.287) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 9-18 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 7 assists, 31 turnovers and 3 steals. The Condors (coach John MacDonald, assistant Al Ericsson) also included Andrew Heitman, Angelo Naluz and Bruis Yu. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts upset the 6th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Rainmakers 67-58 after leading 17-9, 23-22 and 42-39 at the quarters. Peter Chae paced the Grey Ghosts with 19. Nathan Bromidge added 16, Declan Hebertson 12, Peter Gibbons 22, Simon Cutler 6 and Dexter MacDonald 3. The Grey Ghosts high 24-60 (.400) from the floor, 4-22 (.182) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 20 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 8 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Quinn Leighton paced the Rainmakers with 21. Dionte Stephens added 16, Ben Rabel 10, Malcolm Brown 5, Skyler Wesley 4 and Liam McChesney 2, while Ezekiel Appollos, Kolby Jones, Cedric McKay, Cole Jeffery, Christian Clifton, Kolby Clifton and Eric Tubb were scoreless. The Rainmakers (coach Mel Bishop, assistant Ryan Bishop) hit 19-65 (.292) from the floor, 6-24 (.250) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 5 assists, 8 turnovers, 2 steals and 7 blocks.
In the quarterfinals, top-seeded Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes edged the 8th-seeded Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights 61-59 in overtime. The Knights led 45-25 with four minutes to play in the third quarter on a hook shot by Richard Galicia. But the Hurricanes stormed back. “We were down 20, it was unreal,” Hurricanes coach Steve Twele told VarsityLetters.ca. “We worked a lot on our mental toughness. We’ve been in the classroom learning about it and today it showed. It was amazing.” Josh Dhillon led the Hurricanes with 25 on 7-8 from the line. Aman Dhillon added 16. Saijun Shokar led the Knights with 16. Cameron Morris added 15. “We weren’t moving the ball early,” said Twele. “We were too individual. But we finally found a way to get things moving and get it together. Hopefully we’re going to have more stories to tell.” The Knights (coach Aaron Mitchell, assistant Denzel Laguerta, assistant Michael Cheung, manager Zack Gaspar) also included Aiken Recalde, Paolo Labrador, Andrew Brzovic, Nate Macario, Richard Galicia, E.J. Escobedo, Ryan Yuen, Liam Feenan, Dario Vaz, Cedric Alvarez, Josh Harder, Cedric Ducharme, Matteo Bonamin, Sajjun Shokar and Nathan Hallam.
The 5th-seeded North Vancouver Bodwell Bruins defeated the 4th-seeded Richmond Steveston-London Sharks 68-61. The Bruins led 23-8 in the second quarter but the Sharks rallied to knot the score at 61 and appeared to have all the momentum until 1:47 to play in the fourth quarter when Sharks post Fardaws Aimaq fouled out. The Bruins closed it out with a 7-0 run. Bruins coach Johnson Chiu said Seckin Topac “did a great job of guarding Fardaws.” Seckin Topar paced the Bruins with 26. Arda Coban added 12, Yagiz Torer 10 and Canberk Gungor 10. Zack Cantwell and Fardaws Aimaq each scored 21 to pace the Sharks. The Sharks (coach Mike Stoneburgh, assistant Landon Dy, assistant Matt Levenstein, assistant Fayyz Tejani, manager Sam Gazley, manager Emilo Aguirre, manager Nic Miu) also included Ryan Curtis, Justin Man, Andrew Loat, Daniel Chen, Isaiah Hunter, Jerome Fernandez, Quinn Whyte, Johnny Fang, Ethan White, Marco Wong, Craig Johnston, Ahmed Mohamud, Parker Shaw, Jonah Pang and Harrison Liu.
The 2nd-seeded South Kamloops Titans spanked the 10th-seeded Abbotsford Robert Bateman Secondary Timberwolves 73-51. The Titans led 23-10 after one quarter and romped. Nick Sarai paced the Titans with 18. Reid Jansen added 16, Quin Adam 15 and Ripley Martin 13. Wes Evans led the Wolves with 20. Nate Friesen added 10. The Timberwolves (coach Virinder Braich, assistant Joel Haviland, assistant Bill Mueller) also included Anthony Bodger, Shakeel Manji, Terry Bagri, Brennan Fetterly, LaShawn Berg, Vikram Sharma, Babab Grewal, Darius Yakmission, Brett Adrian, Dawson Davis and Greg Poirier.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Burnaby Byrne Creek Bulldogs defeated the 11th-seeded Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 67-61 as Martin Djunga scored 13, Majok Deng 11 and Abdul Bangura 10. Peter Chae led the Grey Ghosts with 21. Peter Gibbons added 15. The Grey Ghosts (coach Kevin Sandher, manager Maddie Mackay) also included Marc Lau, Jackson Kocela, Simon Cutler, Kyle Beames, Alex Saunders, Nathan Bromige, Declan Herbertson, Dexter MacDonald, Marshall Martin, Hunter Juhasz and Tim Xie.
In the semis, the top-seeded Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes dispatched the 5th-seeded North Vancouver Bodwell Bruins 59-50. The Hurricanes built a 17-point lead in the third quarter and then withstood a late run from the Bruins to qualify for their first-ever B.C. championship finals appearance. “We came back after a tough game last night, and I was worried in beginning that we might not have the energy,” Hurricanes coach Steve Twele told VarsityLetters.ca. “But we played like a team. We moved the all well and got the job done.” Josh Dhillon paced the Hurricanes with 20 on 8-30 from the line. Aman Dhillon added 13 on 4-14 from the line, and Gurkirat Sohi 12. Seckin Topac paced the Bruins with 16. Yagiz Torer added 14 and Canberk Gungor 12. “They have great poise with the ball,” said Twele. “They don’t rush and they find open teammates with ease. … Last year we played in the semifinals and we got down 20 and then came back to within two but lost to Steveston-London. So to get back to this point and then to push through? That was big for our program.” Bruins coach Johnson Chiu told the North Shore News that “we thought we had a good chance against them . . . and they just basically outplayed us. They out-hustled us. They beat us in every aspect. I think it’s partially because of the fact they (the Hurricane players) are all Grade 12s. … They didn’t have the same fight. Basically, Hansen just wanted to win it more.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded South Kamloops Titans crushed the 3rd-seeded Burnaby Byrne Creek Bulldogs 72-56. Byrne Creek fell behind by 15 in the second quarter but eventually rallied within 2 before the Titans took command. “Most teams would have crumbled but we are relentless and we are in shape and that is the biggest thing,” Titans coach Tim Unaegbu told VarsityLetters.ca. “These guys work hard, they are calm under pressure.” Unaegbu said forward Ben MacDonald’s hustle was critical. “That’s my dude. He is a workhorse and without him, we wouldn’t be here. In Grade 10 he told me that we were going to be here. I believed him and today they played their hearts out.” Ripley Martin, the 6-foot-9 Grade 11 centre, scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ben MacDonald scored 14, along with 7 boards and 3 steals. Guards Nick Sarai and Reid Jansen each added 13, while Quin Adam scored 11 and nabbed 10 boards. Bulldogs coach Bal Dhillon said “we missed a lot of free throws and a lot of lay-ups but at the same time I don’t want to take anything away from them at all. That’s a great team that is going to show very well in the final.” Bithow Wan led the Bulldogs with 25, along with 14 boards. Martin Djunga scored 15 and Abdul Bangura 12. “I am really proud of our guys, that we fought right to the end and that is what this all about,” said Dhillon. Unaegby told Kamloops This Week that “the game was anything but lopsided. It was a very, very tight game. They cut the lead down to four, but Ben MacDonald turned it on and became a player today. He’s our leader. He kept us in the game.”
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded North Vancouver Bodwell Bruins edged the 3rd-seeded Burnaby Byrne Creek Bulldogs 73-69. Bruins coach John Chiu told the North Shore News it was a bittersweet win. “I’ve heard a lot of people say congratulations to me this morning but as I’ve told everybody who has said that to me: I don’t like that word right now. … And that was a good test because I don’t think our boys really cared, to be quite honest, because we had kind of set our goals on winning the provincials, so it was kind of like a kick to the gut. But to my surprise and to their acknowledgement they actually played quite well. Everybody got into the game. … It’s bittersweet because I really thought we should have beaten Hansen (in the semis). I think that if we had shot our free throws like we normally did and followed the game plan I think we would have won. But that’s sports, right?” The Bulldogs (coach Balraj Dhillon, assistant Shaun Hake, assistant Nigel Palma, manager Chad Mullings, manager Henry Baraba, “hype man” Macdonald Chamboko) included Brayden Giroux, Aaron Cruz, Sufi Ahmed, Martin Djunga, Daniel Cion, Abdul Bangura, Bithow Wan, Dwayne Tabangcura, Garrett Hill, Majok Deng, Tyril Whitebear, Shane Rafferty, Wel Deng, Paolo Mata and Alisina Moradi.
In the final, the top-seeded Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes defeated the 2nd-seeded South Kamloops Titans 69-63. Both teams were sluggish early but Hurricanes point guard and tournament MVP Josh Dhillon soon got on track. “I wasn’t hitting shots all tournament long, no threes, and the whole team wasn’t shooting well,” Dhillon told VarsityLetters.ca. “But our coach taught us about mental toughness, how to get through everything and that is what is came down to in the end. It’s not all about your skill, it’s about how tough you are mentally.” The Hurricanes hit .260 from the floor in the first half and .570 in the second. He nailed a triple to give the Hurricanes a 51-49 lead with 5:29 to play. Gurlal Mann and Gurkaran Mangat soon added buckets to give Hansen a 56-49 lead. With 1:50 remaining, Dhillon scored again for a 61-52 lead and the outcome was sealed. “For four years, I have been dreaming about this day,” Dhillon added. “Now, we finally got it done and it feels amazing.” Dhillon finished 30 on 12-30 from the floor and 4-5 from the line. Gurkaran Mangat added 20 on 7-11 from the floor and 11 boards. Aman Dhillon scored 9. Hurricanes coach Steve Twele said he had his team in a classroom all season talking about the power of the mind. “We met at the school and then before this game. We sat in a classroom and we talked about mental toughness, and how whichever team was emotionally in control would win.” Nick Sarai paced the Titans with 18. Quin Adam added 16, along with 14 rebounds, Reid Jansen and 6-7 post Ripley Martin 11. Titans coach Tim Unaegbu said “we’re a young team, and that means we’re resilient. I don’t even have to say anything. They will all be in the gym tomorrow. I kid you not. Our young guys saw what they had to do and what it is going to take, and they don’t like losing. … We started to play tedious near the end and they (Rick Hansen) are a hell of a team. They drove at us and our help wasn’t there. Fatigue creeps up at the end and when (Rick Hansen) was down by as much as they were, they had nothing to lose. That is the scary part.” Titans starting point guard Reid Jansen was named the tournament’s top defensive player. Ben MacDonald told Kamloopsthisweek that “it’s the toughest loss I’ve ever had. Words can’t really describe it. It’s really bad. It was our last game and I wanted to go out with a win. These are my brothers. They mean the world to me.” Nick Sarai added that “even though we lost, those are memories for a lifetime. We worked so hard to get to this point, but you’ve got to give it to Rick Hansen. We had to earn every basket we made.” Hurricane Gurkaran Mangat said “we kept our composure throughout the game. We never gave up. Coach [Steve Twele] gave a rousing halftime speech. We did it.”
The bronze medalist North Vancouver Bodwell Bruins: Canberk Gungor; Jingkai ‘Adam’ Lin; Aybars Oztuna; Seyed Alireza Mirsalimi; Berk Evduzen; Ugo Chikezie; Tatsuhiro Izawa; Takosheswa Nyabadza; Arda Coban; James Nzechukwu; Evgenii Novoselov; Pedro Turoni Zaparoli; Seckin Topac; Yagiz Torer; Yunhao ‘Tomas’ Zhang; coach Johnson Chiu; assistant Jim Burnett; assistant Mirye Kim; trainer Milly Tsai; trainer Margarita Khramova; trainer Momoko Takizawa
The silver medalist South Kamloops Titans: Evan Jumaga; Reid Jansen; Josh Jean; Sam Jean; Nick Sarai; Max Adam; Ethan Thacker; Ben MacDonald; Quin Adam; Graeme Koppes; Ripley Martin; coach Tim Unaegbu; assistant Mike Flaco Zayas; assistant Bryce McMillan; manager Toni Sarai
The gold medalist Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes: Josh Dhillon; Rohit Dhillon; Kevin Bhadesh; Gurkaran Mangat; Jasneet Gill; Kabir Dhaliwal; Josh Sahota; Tegveer Randhawa; Gurkirat Sohi; Aman Dhillon; Bobby Narang; Gautum Dhaliwal; Taj Bains; Harjot Dhaliwal; Joven Gill; Gurlal Mann; coach Steve Twele; assistant Bo Sidhu; trainer Tanya Goertzen