In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors dusted the 16th-seeded Courtenay Mark R. Isfeld Ice 83-60 after leading 24-12, 45-27 and 67-51 at the quarters. The Condors drew the 8:30 a.m. but handled it with aplomb, opening with a 16-6 run. “We’ve been here before in the exact same game, and we kind of know what it takes to get these guys up to play,” Condors coach Jordan Yu told Varsity Letters. The Condors 2-2-2 zone press generated a host of turnovers and runout buckets, although their defence struggled somewhat to contain Ice guard Temwa Mtawali. “He’s a heck of a player,” Yu said. “We were obviously keying on him all day. They run a lot of good sets for him. He’s super-quick and can handle the rock. He’s a real tough guard, a real tough match-up. We were hoping to get the ball out of his hands a little bit more, but that’s easier said than done. … I can’t say that we had our best game today, but it was good enough to get everyone in, and a chance to feel the floor and a chance to feel this environment, and hopefully get the ball rolling for the tournament.” Jackson Kuc paced the Condors with 20. Tony Zejnulahovic added 14, Emir Zejnulahovic 13, Cole Laing 10, Caleb Lyons 8, Aidan Lewis 7, Connor Lewis 6, along with 10 boards, Tanner Cruz 3 and Logan Schlick 2, while Benjamin Dyck, Dawson Schunichts, Aedan Akesenchuk and Ethan Wood were scoreless. The Condors hit 35-85 (.412) from the floor, 5-25 (.200) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 15 assists, 15 turnovers, 7 blocks and 16 steals. Temwa Mtawali paced the Ice with 31. Mike Aguilar added 11, Quinn Roberts 8, Zach Taylor 6 and Sam Purcell 4, while Graham Tattrie, Jack Klobchar, Amha Mulatu, Karman Kandola, Ryan Bull, Bryce Benton, Josh Southen, Owen Crouse and Duncan Whetter were scoreless. The Ice (Kent Milburn, assistants Hayden Fieret and Dawson Fox, manager Pavola Mtawali) hit 20-70 (.286) from the floor, 6-24 from the arc and 14-21 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 9 assists, 25 turnovers and 8 steals. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders dispatched the 8th-seeded Victoria St. Michael’s University Blue Jags 58-51 after leading 10-5, 27-17 and 39-32 at the quarters. Marauders coach Brody Herman told Varsity Letters that his troops prevailed by clamping down on defence. “That physicality, getting after it on the perimeter, causing chaos – that’s a big part of who we are when we’re playing well. We have a bunch of Grade 12s who play a ton of minutes, and they’re really motivated, really driven, and they just grind. They lead us with that effort, and it’s fantastic. That’s an average performance for us (defensively).” The Blue Jags opened the second with a 7-0 run by capitalizing on a swarming 3-2 zone but the Marauders patiently attacked the inside of the zone and effectively crashed the offensive glass as they staved off the challenge. Ryan Tougas paced the Marauders with 17, while nabbing 12 boards. Brendan Pardy notched 16, Iman Ostovan 12, Matthew Loge 5, Kiefer Wedel 3, Pierce Radke 3 and Joshua Taylor 2, while Evan Bawa, Sam Nelson, Jackson Juriga, Karn Gill, Syd Singh and Dustin Chute were scoreless. The Marauders hit 23-57 (.404) from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 4-12 from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 12 assists, 23 turnovers and 19 steals. Karter Fry paced the Blue Jaguars with 24, while nabbing 14 boards. Ben Beattie added 14, along with 10 boards, Ethan Brownsey 7, Will Kinahan 6 and Kyle Ferguson 2, while Eddie Kim, Yunus Ozer, Justin Lee, Rick Xie, Allistair Catto, Liam Erlic and Matt Klimchuk were scoreless. The Blue Jags (coached by Ian Hyde-Lay, assisted by Jeff Rud) hit 17-59 (.288) from the floor, 5-20 from the arc and 12-16 (.750) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 9 assists, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks and 16 steals. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers clipped the 13th-seeded Richmond A.R. MacNeill Ravens 55-47 after leading 17-10, 28-20 and 34-32 at the quarters. The Tigers broke to a 12-2 lead but the Ravens clawed back to knot the score at 20. Noah Basas nailed a pair of treys, including one during a late 8-0 run that gave the Tigers the eight-point lead at the half. The Ravens notched a 12-6 third quarter as they rallied within two heading into the final frame and kept outmuscling the Tigers as they took a 38-37 lead on a Tanner Devlin trey. But the Tigers ripped a 13-2 run down the stretch and then held off a 7-0 Ravens run featuring another Devlin trey, to pull out the win. Tigers coach Jeff Gourley told Varsity Letters that “there’s a lot of young guys out on the floor, and this is big stuff for them. The crowd really got at them, and that shook them a little bit. … They (the Ravens) were very physical, and we’re not very physical. They did a great job of coaching. But then we calmed down and everything was OK. … It was just a matter of us settling down. We just kept rushing, rushing, rushing, rushing everything. It’s that first game, it’s always that first game.” Noah Basas paced the Tigers with 12. Matthew Dunkerley added 10, Luke Tobias 8, Rhys Maestre 8, Jack Byassee 8, Kieran Sheretan 4, Derek Le 3 and Benny Bradford 2, while Dennis Laconsay, Justin Tuazon, Johnrrey Domingo, Eric Prado, Liam Stanley, Wilson Huynh, John Matsalla, Michael Domingo and Dylan Mann were scoreless. The Tigers hit 16-56 (.286) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 16-25 (.640) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 7 fouls, 10 assists, 18 turnovers, 4 blocks and 11 steals. Omar Abumalouh paced the Ravens with 14. Jackson Thackwray 8, Tanner Delvin 8, Marco Esteban 7, Joshua Mayan 3, Hudson Swaim 3, James Lecy 2 and Ben Estrellado 2, while Difu Wang, Adrian Perlata, Cameron Pacheco, Miguel Salvador, Josh Chahal and Everett Swaim were scoreless. The Ravens (coaches Steward Siy and Peter Thackwray, assistants Paul Wu and Landon Dy, managers Miko Macapagal, Sereen Abumallouh, Oscar Hung and Abhay Gill) hit 20-62 (.323) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 3-6 from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 9 assists, 18 turnovers and 7 steals. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Vancouver St. Patrick Celtics clocked the 12th-seeded Nanaimo John Barsby Bulldogs 92-50 after leading 20-2 early and by double digits at each of the quarters. Speed trumped size as the Celtics wore down the larger Bulldogs, who included three 6-5 forwards, with defensive pressure and quick transitions. Danelo Marcelo and Jose Malabanan repeatedly pilfered the ball for runouts during the blowout. “Coach Nap (Santos) has told us that since we’re maybe the smallest team out there, our speed has to be one of our best abilities,” Marcelo told Varsity Letters. “Getting rebounds, pushing it to the guards, shooting, that’s just our style of play. It’s really fun. We do a lot of conditioning during practice, and during games we’re fit enough to just run the lights out of people.” Daniel Marcelo paced the Celtics with 21. Jose Malabanan added 15, Justin Macatangay 13, Irish Coqua 9, Payja Santos 8, Daniyel Contaoi 7, Jorhel Ursua 6, Jenmark Ramos 6, Nick Triska 5 and Josh Bahena 2, while Andrew Cabael, Luke Wang, Jayvee Estimoo, Jakob Gies and Denzel Bonqco were scoreless. The Celtics hit 36-74 (.486) from the floor, 13-30 (.433) from the arc and 7-8 (.875) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 13 assists, 14 turnovers and 11 steals. Ethan Hart paced the Bulldogs with 9. Daniel Sackey added 7, Bryce Amos 7, Drayson Schwagly 4, Gage Zanette 2 and Dakota Hummel 2, while Kaya Saunders, Koby Williams, Leo Baretto Cezimbra, Adam Griffin and Pedro Silva Couto were scoreless. The official scoresheet allocated 11 points to “team.” The Bulldogs hit 20-62 (.323) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 5-12 (.417) from the ine, while garnering 37 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 10 assists, 21 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals. The Bulldogs (coached by Rick Hart) also included Allen Wyse, Ry Della Rosa and Ethan Katzberg. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers stomped the 15th-seeded Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 81-37 after leading 22-9, 43-15 and 64-29 at the quarters. The Panthers were resolute in attempting to send a message to the field that were determined to better their two-point loss in the 2019 final, assistant coach Bob Corbett told Varsity Letters. “We haven’t even had a year-end celebration from last season. We basically went on spring break, came back, and started getting ready for this year. The guys, all the way along, they’ve acted like they’ve got another thing to do. We’ve gone through some ups and downs this year, but now everybody’s healthy, and we’ve been on the floor enough. They did a great job in the weight room in the off-season and bulked up. They’re back, they’ve got a point they want to make.” The Panthers tough, physical defence put the Eagles quickly on their heels as they took an 18-4 lead. “I was really pleased with how well we came to play defensively,” Corbett said. “They (MEI) ran a bit of their offence, but we pushed them out of it. We didn’t give them any free looks. They’re young – Mike (Lee, Eagles head coach) is doing a great job with them. It’s their first time in this type of environment, and our guys have played so much here it’s considered a second home for them.” Isiah Ondrik paced the Panthers with 22. Zack Smith added 19, along with 17 boards, Kevin Morgan 14, Nathan Tinker 7, Jimmy Atwal 6, Trent Charlton 4, Blake Davidson 4, Liam Reid 3 and Leul Berehanu 2, while Ethan Greenan, Saajan Klair and Jacob Park were scoreless. The Panthers hit 30-81 (.370) from the floor, 5-20 from the arc and 16-22 (.727) from the line, while garnering 57 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 9 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals. Jaylen Lee paced the Eagles with 9. Tyson Ardell added 8, Mason Chou 7, Jayden Cousins 5, Patrick Warrell 4 and Majiken Meindertsma 4, while Sam Brittain, Teagan Bojzcuk-Dhaliwal, Brodie Kelly, Logan Berg, Karn Sidhu (Chauhan?), Chiragueeer Grewal and Jacobus Heke were scoreless. The Eagles (coached by Mike Lee, assisted by Ray Nickel) hit 15-68 (.221) from the floor, 1-12 (.083) from the arc and 6-10 from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 2 assists, 22 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights nipped the 10th-seeded Steveston-London Sharks 76-73. The Sharks led 16-14 after one quarter. The Knights led 35-29 at the half and 58-52 after three quarters. The Knights had opened the second half with a 12-4 run and then extended the margin to 47-33 as Dante Digirolamo hit back-to-back treys and point guard Gabe Nicario attacked off the dribble for three buckets. But Nao Kawano rallied the Ravens, hitting a trey to trim the margin to 50-45, while Jhonelle Vergara notched an and-one to cut the margin to 52-50 to cap a 17-5 run. Alden D’souza countered with a pair of treys as the Knights took a six-point lead into the final quarter. Vergara caught fire in the fourth, including hitting a floater with an and-one as the Sharks drew within 72-71. Nicario answered with a baseline jumper and twice hit the front end of the bonus to give the Knights the three-point lead with eight seconds play, before blocking a potential game-tying trey from Vergara at the buzzer. “We just did our thing, man,” Knights forward Chayze Deza, who was chosen player of the game, told Varsity Letters. “We came together as a team. We’re brothers, that’s what we’re meant for. We just stuck up for each other. No matter how big their comeback was, we just stuck together.” Chayze Deza paced the Knights with 20. Gabe Nacario added 14, Nick Osho 12, along with 12 boards, Dante Digirolamo 12, Alden D’Souza 7, Kaishaun Carter 6, Matthew Carlos 4 and Julian Lui 1, while Marc Abboud, Josh Sheehan, Josh Refol, Hans Morales, Aaron Warnerboldt, Bryson Vanloo and Sean Oreta were scoreless. The Knights hit 29-69 (.420) from the floor, 7-20 (.350) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 12 assists, 18 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals. Jhnoelle Vergara paced the Sharks with 22. Nao Kawano added 13, Brady Wong 10, Jalen Johal 8, Adrian Wong 7, Logan Nelson 5, Aidan Cox 5 and Vincent Zeng 3, while Andrestine Tan, Spencer Chou, Dayton Brucker, Jas Sidhu, Azaad Johal, Kaiden Brucker, Devin Johnson and Matthew Lai were scoreless. The Sharks (coached by Mike Stonburgh, assisted by Taros Johal, managers Kevin Lin, Matthew Munro and Dhev Hair) hit 31-76 (.408) from the floor, 5-25 (.200) from the arc and 6-8 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 11 assists, 13 turnovers, 6 blocks and 14 steals. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies whipped the 14th-seeded Ladysmith 49ers 62-49 after leading 14-12, 34-21 and 43-31 at the quarters. Grizzlies posts Matthias (6-10) and Zach (6-9) Klim gave the 49ers fits. “It’s nice to have 6’10” in high school basketball,” Grizzlies coach Jake Mouritzen told Varsity Letters. “Mattias and Zach are multi-sport athletes – they play baseball, and throw a 90-mile-per-hour fastball. They’ve been big for us all year. They’ve kind of flown under the radar a little bit, only because our guards have played really well. But they’ve been playing really well the last few weeks – they could have easily been first team all-stars last week at our regionals. They’re big, they’re athletic, they move well. As long as they stay in the game mentally, they’re great.” Cairo Almarez hit back-to-back triples late in the first half as the Grizzlies built a double-digit lead at the break and then opened the second half with a 7-0 run. Rocco Calabrese rallied the 49ers to within seven in the final quarter before the Grizzlies iced it with an 11-0 run capped by a Zach Klim dunk. “We’ve played in these (close) games all year,” Mouritzen said. “In second-half situations, the guy losing it the most is me right here (on the bench). They’re good. They don’t seem to panic. Sometimes they fall asleep. But we played a schedule where we played games like that all year. We played lots of 4A teams, lots of the best in 3A. We’re seasoned this year – we’re ready to play in those big games, so hopefully that pays off this week.” Zach Klim paced the Grizzlies with 21, while nabbing 16 boards. Cairo Almarez notched 12, Jude Hall 10, Clay Kurtz 8, Matthias Klim 6, Jarred Hall 3 and Brodie Janzen 2, while Bardia Shokouhi, Sam Mannes, Liam MacRae, Josia McGrew, Travis Martin, Colby Bessett, Aidan Buchanan, Seth Harder, Gianmarcio Urbano, Sam Goerzen and Jaiden Classen were scoreless. The Grizzlies hit 25-62 (.403) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 8-15 (.533) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 11 assists, 25 turnovers, 8 blocks and 10 steals. Rocco Calabrese paced the 49ers with 21. Ryan Bastian added 8, along with 10 boards, Eric Gueldestern 8, Luke McAuliffe 4, Reece Melnick 4, Tomas Guevara Mix 2 and Russell Robinson 2, while Logan Steel, Luke Borgerson, Edomiyas Demoline, Wyatt Van Horne and Dru Wright were scoreless. The 49ers hit 20-81 (.244) from the floor, 7-34 (.200) from the arc and 2-6 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 5 assists, 18 turnovers and 18 steals. The 49ers (coached by Daryl Rodgers, assisted by Spencer Godlonton and Colin Novak) also included Aidan Kirkham and Brandon Melsness. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Vancouver Magee Lions stunned the 6th-seeded Richmond Colts 73-57. The Lions led 17-15 after one quarter. The Colts led 30-26 at the half. The Lions led 46-41 after three quarters. Lions coach Kevin Tyfting said his predominantly grade 11 roster initially needed calm their nerves before they started playing a team game. “We’re almost all Grade 11s, and they’re new (at the senior level), so they have great times and they have bad times. Sometimes it takes a while for them to relax and do what they do best. And when they do, we’re not bad. We score off passing – we’re not one-on-one players, and we were trying to do too much of that in the first half. We basically were way more patient … In the second half, it was more about passing to each other and trusting that they go to the right spots.” Magee opened the second half with a 11-2 run as point guard Harvie Dorado patiently worked the ball inside to 6-6 Aaron Ungprasert, 6-4 Daniel Rocha Zandbergen and 6-4 Rourke Macdonald (6’4”). They opened the final quarter with a 12-3 run to take command. Harvie Dorado paced the Lions with 21. Aaron Ungprasert added 13, Daniel Rocha Zandbergen 11, along with 13 boards, Rourke Macdonald 10, Sunsar Jawanda 6, Andy Chen 5, Benjamin Tyfting 4 and Isaiah Younan 3, while Sean Wang, Crosbie Debrisay, John Potkonjak, Matthew Kong and Hayden George were scoreless. The Lions hit 30-86 (.349) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 9-12 from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 8 assists, 13 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals. Arminas Ilciukas paced the Colts with 23. Jonathan Hu added 18, Lazar Stanojevic 8, along with 12 boards, Alejandro Avandena 5, Ali Warriach 2 and Hasan Alezzi 1, while Raymond Chen, Santiago Avancena, Oscar Lai, Eric Chen, Jason Zhong, Jackie Crowley, Gabriel Olano and Matthew Burke were scoreless. The Colts (coach Fayyaz Tejani, assistants Tristan Ordonez, Randy Pascual and Michael Rubinstein, managers Erin Landayan, Elle Pascual and Chloe Chung) hit 19-76 (.247) from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 12-21 (.571) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 7 assists, 18 turnovers, 1 block and 11 steals.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors spanked the 9th-seed Pitt Meadows Marauders 84-68. The Marauders led 20-18 after one quarter. The Condors led 46-38 at the half and 70-50 after three quarters. “This feel amazing,” Condors guard Caleb Lyons told Varsity Letters. Condors coach Jordan Yu said “it was one of our goals to get back to this game, and it wasn’t the prettiest of things. But all the credit goes to Pitt Meadows because they are a scrappy team. … We’re blessed with some longer guards and overall height so we can switch a lot of things. So we just tried to stay in front of them, challenge shots, and then box out and get going in transition because we didn’t want to see that press of theirs. We needed to get some easy hoops.” Caleb Lyons paced the Condors with 28. Jackson Kuc added 19, Connor Lewis 12, Emir Zejnulahovic 11, Tanner Cruz 7, Tony Zenjnulahovic 4 and Cole Laing 3, while Benjamin Dyck, Logan Schlick, Aidan Lewis, Dawson Schunichts, Aedan Akesenchuk and Ethan Wood were scoreless. The Condors hit 33-68 (.485) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 13-23 (.565) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 12 assists, 22 turnovers, 6 blocks and 10 steals. Iman Ostovari paced the Marauders with 20, while nabbing 11 boards. Ryan Tougas notched 17, Brendan Pardy 10, Jackson Juriga 7, Keifer Wedel 7, Matthew Loge 4 and Pierce Radke 3, while Joshua Taylor, Evan Bawa, Sam Nelson, Karn Gill, Syd Singh and Dustin Chute were scoreless. The Marauders hit 24-76 (.316) from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 13-19 (.684) from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 12 assists, 11 turnovers and 18 steals. The Marauders (coach Brody Herman, assistants Conor Laverty, Bruno Chu and Caleb Kinney, managers Matthew Blackwell, Carter Bradford and Brandon Yong) also included Benjamin Roemer.
The 4th-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers edged the 5th-seeded Vancouver St. Patrick Celtics 64-60, after leading 15-9, 31-25 and 45-39 at the quarters. Tigers coach Jeff Gourley told Varsity Letters that “they
were the ones that scared me the most. They are so explosive and well-coached and they’ve been together forever and ever.” Luke Tobias paced the Tigers with 14, while nabbing 10 boards. Noah Basas added 11, D.J. Laconsay 9, Kieran Sheretan 8, Rhys Maestre 8, Matthew Dunkerley 6, along with 15 boards, Derek Le 4 and Liam Stanley 4, while Justin Tuazon, Benny Bradford, Johnrey Domingo, Jack Byassee, Wilson Huynh and Dylan Mann were scoreless. The Tigers hi 22-58 (.379) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 16-38 (.421) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 7 assists, 20 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. Daniel Marcelo paced the Celtics with 16. Jose Malabanan added 12, Daniel Contaoi 8, along with 12 boards, Justin Matacangay 7, Irish Coqua 5, Nick Triska 4, Jorhel Ursua 3, Jenmark Ramos 3 and Jayvee Estimo 2, while Andrew Cabael, Luke Wang, Payja Santos, Jakob Gies, Josh Bahena and Denzel Bongco were scoreless. The Celtics (coached by Nap Santos, assisted by Mike Reyes and Dante Andres) hit 21-72 (.292) from the floor, 5-26 (.192) from the arc and 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 32 fouls, 6 assists, 9 turnovers and 15 steals.
The 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers mauled the 7th-seeded Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights 70-43 after leading 20-6, 34-17 and 56-26 at the quarters. Knights coach Aaron Mitchell told Burnaby Now that getting “into the top-8 is a good thing. But once you get there you see the teams left, there are no easy games. We had our ups and downs but I was really proud with how we competed. … It was a relief to get it done and get back to the B.C.s after two-year hiatus. For us that felt like a long time.” Panthers assistant Bob Corbett told Varsity Letters that “it was a slow pull-away type of a game. STM is hard to guard and hard to score against, so we had to grind it out.” Isaiah Ondrik paced the Panthers with 20, while nabbing 15 boards. Trent Charlton notched 15, Zack Smith 12, Kevin Morgan 8, Jimmy Atwal 5, Jacob Park 4, Liam Reid 3, Saajan Klair 3 and Blake Davidson 2, while Ethan Greenan, Nathan Tinker and Leul Berehanu were scoreless. The Panthers hit 31-69 (.449) from the floor, 5-23 (.217) from the arc and 3-11 (.273) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 13 assists, 14 turnovers, 9 blocks and 10 steals. Gabe Nacario led the Knights with 12. Dante Digirolamo added 6, Sean Oreta 5, Josh Sheehan 5, Chayze Dez 4, Josh Refol 4, Nick Osho 3, Hans Morales 2 and Kaishaun Carter 2, while Julian Lui, Marc Abboud, Alden D’souza, Aaron Warnerboldt, Matthew Carlos, Bryson Vanloo and Aaron Laguerta were scoreless. The Knights (coached by Aaron Mitchell, assisted by Karol Cybula, Finn Carolan & Paolo Labrador) hit 15-70 (.214) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 9-26 (.346) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 3 assists, 16 turnovers and 7 steals.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies clipped the 11th-seeded Vancouver Magee Lions 85-71 after leading 18-16, 40-29 and 62-56 at the quarters. “We don’t seem that excited, I think they really have their minds set on four wins this week so I am going to make sure we go in and appreciate where we are,” Grizzlies coach Jake Mouritzen told Varsity Letters. Mourtizen added that the play of point guard Cairo Almarez was stellar. “Cairo is so under the radar right now,” said Mourtizen. “I can’t begin to explain how much better his defence has gotten from September until now. He is the real deal, and some college is going to find him. … We got into foul trouble and when (the 6-9 twins Matthias and Zach) Klims get into foul trouble that changes the game. So hats off to Magee, their bigs (Aaron Ungprasert 18 points, Rourke Macdonald 16 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks) played awesome and we had trouble containing him.” Cairo Almarez paced the Grizzlies with 28. Clay Kurtz added 24, Jude Hall 14, Zach Klim 11, along with 17 boards, and Matthias Klim 8, along with 10 boards, while Bardia Shokouhi, Sam Mannes, Liam MacRae, Jarred Hall, Josiah McGrew, Travis Martin, Brodie Janzen, Colby Bessette, Aidan Buchan, Seth Harder, Gianmarcio Urbano, Sam Goerzen and Jaiden Claassen were scoreless. The Grizzlies hit 2979 (.367) from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 18-23 (.783) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 18 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals. Aaron Ungprasert paced the Lions with 18. Rourke Macdonald added 16, along with 14 boards, Daniel Rocha Zandbergen 13, Isaiah Younan 11, Benjamin Tyfting 7, Andy Chen 6, Harvie Dorado 3 and Sunsar Jawanda 3, while Sean Wang, Crosbie Debrisay, Matthew Kong, John Potkonjak and Hayden George were scoreless. The Lions hit 28-87 (.322) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 13-21 (.619) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 11 assists, 14 turnovers, 5 blocks and 15 steals. The Lions (coached by Kevin Tyfting, managers Ethan Wong, Ashley Lin, Nicole Lopeshon and Kevin Ly) also included Tony Yue.
In the semis, the top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors dumped the 4th-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers 61-43 after leading 21-9, 32-21 and 48-30 at the quarters. The Condors last won the triple-A title 40 years ago. Some of the members of that team are in Langley for the 75th anniversary of the B.C. Boys High School Basketball Association’s 75th anniversary celebration and they visited the Condors after their semifinal win Friday. “We had a goal to get into this (final) game from last year,” Condors coach Jordan Yu told Varsity Letters. “But to have the (1980) team here … they are coming into the change room, it would have been a bit of a downer to meet them on a loss.” The Condors broke to an 11-0 run. “We watched a ton of video on them and we knew they could get out in transition and hurt you in many, many ways,” Yu said. “So, the big key was to take away their post, but then our (starting) post (Emir Zejnulahovic) got into big time foul trouble early so we went with everyone, and they did a tremendous job.” Luke Tobias notched a baseline jumper to draw the Tigers within 28-21 with 1:14 to play but Jackson Kuc sunk a pair of buckets, including the second off his own put-back of an and-one miss, to make it an 11-point lead at the half. The Zejnulahovic brothers, Emir and Tony, hit back-to-back treys to make it 43-28. “All tournament we have been telling Emir to keep shooting the ball and he had been 0-for-9 from three-point range,” Yu said. “So we said ‘Hey, law of averages’ He is such a great shooter, you should see this guy in practice. He doesn’t miss. We knew it would come. So to see the brothers hit them back-to-back was really nice.” Caleb Lyons gave Duchess Park a 16-point lead with a baseline trey and then Tony Zejnulahovic followed with a lay-up to extended the margin to 18 after three quarters. Lyons notched a trey 2:32 into the fourth for a 53-23 lead and the Condors coasted to the final buzzer. Jackson Kuc paced the Condors with 15 on 6-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Caleb Lyons added 15 on 5-12 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Connor Lewis notched 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-3 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Emir Zejnulahovic scored 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 steals. Tony Zejnulahovic added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Tanner Cruz scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5 assists and 2 steals. Cole Laing added 2 on 1-4 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Aedan Akesenchuk scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 3 boards, while Benjamin Dyck, Logan Schlick, Aidan Lewis, Dawson Schunichts and Ethan Wood were scoreless. The Condors hit 24-56 (.429) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 5-13 (.385) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 14 assists, 17 turnovers and 10 steals. Dennis Laconsay paced the Tigers with 16 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 2-6 from the line, 6 boards and 5 steals. Luke Tobias added 15 on 6-16 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Matthew Dunkerley notched 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-7 from the line and 4 boards. Kieran Sheretan scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Noah Basas added 2 on 1-7 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Liam Stanley scored 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 6 boards, while Justin Tuazon, Benny Bradford, Derek Le, Johnrey Domingo, Eric Praco, Rhys Maestre, Jack Byassee, Wilson Huynh, John Matsalla, Michael Domingo and Dylan Mann were scoreless. Maestre nabbed 4 boards and dished 2 assists. Bradford nabbed 2 boards. The Tigers hit 17-63 (.270) from the floor, 3-22 (.136) from the arc and 6-21 (.286) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 4 assists, 17 turnovers and 9 steals.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies nipped the 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers 50-49. The Grizzlies led 12-6 after one quarter and 24-21 at the half. The Panthers led 40-38 after three quarters. The Grizzlies kept the Panthers off the scoreboard for the first 6:17 of the fourth quarter. The teams then exchange the lead eight times Matthias Klim nailed a 14-foot baseline jumper with 31.4 seconds to give the Grizzlies the win. The Grizzlies took a 42-40 lead on a driving layin by 6-9 Zach Klim, and another off a putback off his own offensive rebound by Jude Hall. Vernon did not score until 3:43 remained in the game when Isaiah Ondrik hit a trey to put them ahead 43-42. Ondrik late hit a driving layup with 37.3 seconds to play to give the Panthers a 49-48 lead, setting the stage for Klim’s winner off a penetrate and dish from Jude Hall. “We played good defence, and that is a pretty crazy score,” Grizzlies coach Jake Mouritzen told Varsity Letters. “I can’t say enough about this group of kids… so disciplined, and they just do exactly what we ask them to do. The Klims were unbelievable, and (point guard) Cairo (Almarez) just played great defence.” Zach Klin said “that was a team effort through and through, Cairo (Almarez) hit shots, Matthias hit big shots, we got some good defensive rebounds and we closed it out as a team. It indescribable. It’s nuts. I’m lost for words.” Clay Kurtz paced the Grizzlies with 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 5-10 from the line, 10 boards and 3 steals. Matthias Klim added 12 on 6-11 from the floor, 4 boards and 6 blocks. Jude Hall notched 10 on 4-15 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Zach Klim scored 8 on 4-5 from the floor and 10 boards. Cairo Almarez added 5 on 2-14 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals, while Bardia Shokouhi, Sam Mannes, Liam MacRae, Jared Hall, Josiah McGrew, Travis Martin, Brody Janzen, Colby Bessette, Aidan Buchanan, Seth Harder, Gianmarco Urbano, Sam Goerzen and Jaiden Claassen were scoreless. The Grizzlies hit 21-56 (.375) from the floor, 1-13 (.077) from the arc and 7-16 (.438) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 8 assists, 16 turnovers, 8 blocks and 7 steals. Isiah Ondrik paced the Panthers with 20 on 8-24 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 11 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Kevin Morgan added 10 on 4-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Trent Charlton notched 8 on 3-15 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Liam Reid scored 6 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 6 boards. Nathan Tinker added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Zach Smith, Ethan Greenan, Blake Davidson, Saajan Klair, Jimmy Atwal, Leul Berehanu and Jacob Plank were scoreless. The Panthers hit 19-74 (.257) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 6-9 from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 12 assists, 12 turnovers and 10 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers dispatched the 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers 68-65 after leading 20-10, 34-20 and 50-38 at the quarters. Dennis Laconsay paced the Tigers with 21 on 8-16 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Luke Tobias added 17 on 7-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Rhys Maestre notched 6 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Justin Tuazon scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Matthew Dunkerley added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Liam Stanley added 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Kieran Sheretan notched 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Derek Le added 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Benny Bradford scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards, while Noah Basas, Johnrey Domingo, Eric Prado, Jack Byassee, Wilson Huynh, John Matsalla, Michael Domingo and Dylan Mann were scoreless. The Grizzlies hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 8-10 from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 16 assists, 16 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals. Isiah Ondrik paced the Panthers with 33 on 12-32 from the floor, 6-18 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 13 boards, 4 assists and 5 steals. Nathan Tinker added 10 on 4-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Kevin Morgan notched 7 on 1-10 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 7 boards. Trent Charlton scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Jimmy Atwal added 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Zach Smith scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 9 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Liam Reid added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Saajan Klair scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2 boards, while Ethan Greenan, Blake Davidson, Leul Berehanu and Jacob Plank were scoreless. The Panthers (coached by Malcolm Reid, assistant Sean Smith, assistant Bob Corbett, manager Roan Reid) hit 23-67 (.343) from the floor, 11-31 (.355) from the arc and 8-10 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 11 assists, 18 turnovers, 2 blocks and 10 steals.
In the final, the 3rd-seeded Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies defeated the top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors 79-67. The Condors led 18-16 after one quarter. The Grizzlies led 34-27 at the half and 58-42 after three quarters. The Grizzlies took command with a 12-0 run to open the second half and led by as many as 25. Grizzlies coach Jake Mouritzen told Varsity Letters that winning a title, after making four quarterfinals and four semis in years past, all but left him speechless. “I can’t explain it. I still don’t really understand what is happening.” Mouritzen said a 108-88 loss to the Condors in a mid-season tournament “was the beginning of us doing what we did. We have all worked so hard ever since.” Tournament MVP Clay Kurtz, who sported a splint on his right hand and thought he was going to cough up some teeth at one point in the final, was grateful for Mouritzen’s efforts during the campaign. “It’s incredible, but he wakes up every morning at 5:30 just for us to shoot. “To him, none of this has anything to do with him. He just wants us to get better as people and to build our character.” Mouritzen said he told the Kurtz family before the season that their son had to make a choice of one sport after years of multi-sport activity. “So 12 months ago I sat down with the Kurtz family and a I told them that I would support them no matter what. (Clay) had to decide if he was going to be a hockey player or basketball player and we had put no pressure on him to choose basketball. We just made sure he knew what our G.W. Graham family would provide to him, and when he made that choice, I was all in, and he has worked harder than anybody. This was his coming out. He is an exceptional kid off the floor, but this week he showed that he is an exceptional basketball player, too.” Mouritzen added that he and assistant Mark Ramalho “watched tape again and again, because (Duchess Park head coach) Jordan (Yu) has such a good team,” and had earlier installed a series of variations for the team’s two-man, high-low sets involving the Klim twins: 6-10 Matthias and 6-9 Zach. “Teams obviously know that we’re big, so that’s hard for them,” said Mouritzen. “But everyone thinks it’s easy for us, but it’s hard to get those seals. Most of our sets allowed us to look into that high-low, but I knew we couldn’t rely on it. So from the end of the Eastern final until the start of the B.C.’s we put in 12 different looks. And they were all new looks that no one had seen, and we executed every one of them tonight.” In the first half, the Klims were a combined 4-4, while the offence was generated through Kurtz and fellow Cairo Almarez and Jude Hall, along with energetic reserve Aidan Buchanan. In the second half, the Klims were a combined 11-17. “You know, 6-9 and 6-10 is super tough to stop,” said Condors coach Jordan Yu. “Our idea was to push them out of the paint, but that’s easier said than done.” Mathias Klim said “this is the greatest feeling ever, doing this with my brother, my best friend. And to do it in this arena, with this atmosphere, it’s crazy … the best thing ever.” Zach Klim said “this is the best me and Matthias have ever played together. The chemistry was unbelievable.” Mouritzen said “the defensive plan was 100 per cent executed. We wanted to make sure they didn’t know what we were in. We played a 2-3 zone the entire game but we defended every spot, so we never had a guy in an empty spot. That’s what killed us the last time that we played them.” Mouritizen also noted “my family’s life (wife Sarah is the head coach of the GW Graham senior girls team) is Graham basketball, and we’re proud to say that. It’s a pretty special day.” Condors coach Jordan Yu told the Prince George Citizen that the Grizzlies “played their best game at the right time and unfortunately we didn’t have our best game, but I’m so proud of the boys, they fought to the very end. ,” said Condors head coach Jordan Yu. “We played them in January and had an unbelievable game when we beat them, we scored 108 points and shot 20 threes and that’s a key to beating a team like that. You need to be able to shoot the ball well from the outside just to stress them out and pull their bigs out. The minute you let them set that 2-3 zone, it’s really tough to get an inside basket against them. That’s an NBA-sized front line and the boys struggled to score inside. They had three solid guard and they shot unbelievably well.” Player of the game Clay Kurtz paced the Grizzlies with 24 on 8-16 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 7-9 from the line, 12 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Cairo Almarez added 17 on 6-17 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Defensive player of the tournament Matthias Klim notched 14 on 7-9 from the floor, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jude Hall scored 11 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Zach Klim added 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 15 boards. Aidan Buchanan scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 2 boards, while Bardia Shokouhi, Sam Nannes, Liam MacRae, Jared Hall, Josiah McGrew, Travis Martin, Brody Janzen, Colby Bessette, Seth Harder, Gianmarco Urgano, Sam Goerzen and Jaiden Claassen were scoreless. The Grizzlies hit 31-68 (.456) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 12-23 (.522) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 16 assists, 20 turnovers, 8 blocks and 7 steals. Caleb Lyons paced the Condors with 25 on 9-27 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Jackson Kuc added 24 on 10-21 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc, 4 boards, 2 assists and 7 steals. Emir Zejnulative notched 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Connor Lewis scored 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Cole Laing added 2 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Tony Zejnulatovic scored 2 on 1-9 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 12 boards and 3 assists, while Tanner Cruz, Benjamin Dyck, Logan Schlick, Aidan Lewis, Dawson Schunichts, Aedan Akesenchuk and Ethan Wood were scoreless. Cruz nabbed 2 boards. The Condors hit 26-86 (.302) from the floor, 7-32 (.219) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 14 assists, 11 turnovers, 4 blocks and 12 steals.
The 2nd-team featured: Zach Smith (Vernon), Dennis Laconsay (Sir Charles Tupper), Emir Zejnulahovic (Duchess Park), Iman Ostavari (Pitt Meadows) and Connor Lewis (Duchess Park).
The bronze Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers: Dennis Laconsay; Noah Basas; Justin Tuazon; Benny Bradford; Derek Le; Johnrey Domingo; Eric Prado; Kieran Sheretan; Luke Tobias; Rhys Maestre; Liam Stanley; Jack Byassee; Wilson Huynh; John Matsalla; Matthew Dunkerley; Michael Domingo; Dylan Mann; coach Jeff Gourley; associate coach Patrick Cumaual; assistant Daniel Kim; manager Von Vargas; manager Matisse Lochrie; manager Antonine Lacuesta
The silver medalist Prince George Duchess Park Condors: Tanner Cruz; Benjamin Dyck; Connor Lewis; Logan Schlick; Aidan Lewis; Caleb Lyons; Cole Laing; Dawson Schunichts; Tony Zejnulahovic; Aedan Aksenchuk; Ethan Wood; Emir Zejnulahovic; Jackson Kuc; coach Jordan Yu; assistant Leewai Yu; assistant Sam Zhang
The gold medalist Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies: Bardia Shokouhi; Cairo Almarez; Sam Mannes; Liam MacRae; Jared Hall; Josiah McGrew; Travis Martin; Brody Janzen; Colby Bessette; Clay Kurtz; Aidan Buchanan; Seth Harder; Gianmarco Urbano; Sam Goerzen; Jude Hall; Zach Klim; Matthias Klim; Jaiden Claassen; coach Jake Mouritzen; associate Mark Rahmalo; associate T.J. Klim; associate Bryan Janzen; manager Hannah Rachey; manager Tori Fedrau