In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Surrey Pacific Academy Breakers torched the 11th-seeded Vanderhoof Nechako Valley Vikings 82-54 after leading 14-11, 39-18 and 62-23 at the quarters. The Breakers took command late in the second quarter on back-to-back runouts and a steal and a bucket by Nathan Thamtoro. Brothers Jaden and Ethan Mespin notched treys early in the second half as the Breakers exploded with a 23-4 run. Player of the game Ethan Mespin told Varsity Letters that “we call ourselves a third quarter team because we usually take over games in the third but tonight it started a little earlier. By the end of the third it was pretty much wraps for us. … Unfortunately, because of COVID, this is the first year with my brother running the back court and it’s a lot of fun. I love playing with him and we move the ball around really well as a unit. I like to hit him on pops and he likes to hit me. … We are a really good three-point shooting team and once we see a couple fall, we get on a run and everyone shoots. We can go on a burst really quickly.” Ethan Mesfin paced the Breakers with 25. Jaden Mespin added 10, Nathan Chiang 13, Nathan Thamtoro 7, Jeremy Crisologo 6, Matthew Chifan 5, Terry Yu 2, Moses Wiebe 2 and Joey Li 2, while Ethan Wirtz, Leslie Mabiza, Truevine Spence, S Akindele and J Babs-Ishola were scoreless. Brendon McKee scored 14 to pace the Vikings (coach Gary Simrose, manager Debbie Simrose, athletic director Denise Dowswell) with 14. Brecken Fawcett added 12, Terry Thompson 5, Tristin Ellis 4, Tanton Mueller 4, Cooper Ziler 3, Aiden Simrose 3, Finn Rohwer 2, Tim Teichroeb 2 and Evan Warkentin 2, while Lowell Stevens and Jeremy Pagdin were scoreless. …………………………………………………… 3rd-seeded Mill Bay Brentwood crushed the 14th-seeded Richmond Hugh Boyd Trojans 90-49 after leading 21-9, 37-18 and 67-32 at the quarters. Brentwood shot poorly in the third half but dominated the boards and played lockdown-defence. Brentwood guard Dylan Gage told Varsity Letters that “we weren’t ready, we didn’t prepare ourselves and we came out a little too soft in the first half. We are better than we looked in the second half. We had moments where we got after it, and that’s who we are, and that’s who people will see for the rest of the tournament.” Brentwood coach Blake Gage said “I know we were fired up to play but maybe not ready to compete, not ready to be us, and (at halftime) I told them let’s hit the reset button and play the way we are capable of playing. We can’t get out-worked like that again or we will be in trouble.” As for the poor shooting, Gage added “I think that says something about our mental focus and even at oh-for 19 (in the first half) on threes we kept chucking.” Dylan Gage paced Brentwood with 22, while nabbing 10 boards. Jayden Lust added 15, Santiago Erding-Fitznar 10, Niko Bossi 9, Milan Pasquale 7, Avik Bakshi 6, Nathan Onasanya 6, Sajeev Saravanan 6, Liam Floyd 4, Philip Akindipe 4 and Thomas MacDonald 2, while Canon Fritz was scoreless. Darius Willis paced the Trojans with 22. Faizan Mohammad added 8, Mikito May 7, Andrei Nave 3, Will Taylor 3, Daniel Kirenga 2, Brody Chap-man 2 and R Adams 2, while Matthew Berda, Arwyn Rillo, Haruto Takahasi, Alex Allegri, Chad Gammad and B Chen were scoreless. The Trojans (coach Norm Schulz, assistant Sean Berda, assistant Carter Giesbrecht, athletic director Edward Dengler) also included Ryan Li and Clarence Palome. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Vancouver King George Dragons crushed the 16th-seeded Maple Ridge Samuel Robertson Technical Titans 68-31 after leading 15-8, 32-15 and 53-23 at the quarters. Dragons coach Darko Kulic told Varsity Letters that “today, I told them every team is going to look at you and give you the knock-out punch at the beginning. You just got to Muhammad Ali-style it… take the punches, protect yourself and come back swinging back. You’ve always got to get the jitters out. We always talk about how every day is a championship day so we didn’t overlook them at all. They are a wonderful team.” Palmer Currie paced the Dragons with 17. Jose Zuluaga added 14, Max Astak 14, Adam Spano 12, Darko Karac 4, Rishin Uppal 3, Dionycius Bakare 2 and Andrej Kovacevic 2, while Ashton Vij, Peyton Procter, Samuel Yazdi, R Campbell, Andre Novicic, Eli Volhin and F Shawwa were scoreless. Erik Law scored 16 to pace the Titans (coach Scott Tomlin, assistant Brett Tomlin, statistician Kate Tomlin). Ben Leslie added 13 and Goody De la Cruz 2, while Ali Abdul, Fraser Paulson, Logan Halfknights, Nick Hutchinson, Joel Blanco, Trevin McConville, Aidan Roman and Ahmed Ehsani were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Vancouver West Point Grey Academy Wolves clipped the 8th-seeded Langley Christian Lightning 65-51 after leading 20-6, 32-19 and 44-26 at the quarters. Mac Steenburgh paced the Wolves with 13. Kai Tukker added 12, Spencer Neil 11, Max Greer 11, M Yip 7, H Bull 4, Sam Anthony 3, G Janzen 2, W Tuldesley 2, and I Wang 2, L Gradecak and B Wu were scoreless. Lucas Woelders scored 15 to pace the Lightning (coach Brodan Thiel, athletic director Jon Mayan). Daniel De-Heer-Amissah 10, Elijah Olson 9, Silas Van Huizen 6, Ben Wergeland 5, Carter vander Waarde 4 and Braeden Wager 2, while Kieran Alexander, Elijah Linderg, Micah Van Hermert, Willen van Huizen, Levi Eckert, Mackenzie Dornan, Jacob Beveridge and Casey Van Hermert were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Kamloops Westsyde Whundas torched the 13th-seeded Trail J.L. Crowe Hawks 76-34 after leading 22-2, 44-8 and 63-20 at the quarters. The Whundas defence completely smothered the Hawks in the first quarter. Whundas coach Chris Gremaud told Varsity Letters that “we scouted them and they have some good shooters but our defence got into what they wanted to shoot and we gave them some trouble. Our defence needs to be there and we have some guys who pride themselves on that and it showed today. Every team in this tournament is a good team but we caught (J. L. Crowe) off guard and our defence played really well. Holding them to one basket in the first quarter gave us a bit of a psychological advantage. We had major nerves the first three or four minutes and we probably missed 10 two-foot shots. … We wanted to play with energy because we didn’t really have a crowd and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. My hope was to get our bench involved in the game and we were able to do that.” Jeremy McInnis paced the Whundas with 13. Sheldon Aitken added 9, Michael Falade 8, Caleb Gremaud, Matteo Cupello 7, Cailen Hamilton 6, Cale Ezedebego 5, Ryland Bodo 5, Jagger De La Gorgendiere 5, Colton Meikle 4, David Falade 4 and Ryan Watson 2. Kayden Moll scored 10 to pace the Hawks (coach Stephanie Leithead, athletic director Donna Hebert). Eamon Misurak added 9, Adrien Ripplinger 6, Connor Nagle 5 and Romeo Gelber 4, while Jangula, Zach Piccolo, Jack Khelshus, Ryder Adams, Weston Smith, Carter Jansen and Cody Wert were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Surrey Southridge Storm thrashed the 12th-seeded Summerland Rockets 65-41 after leading 22-9, 39-13 and 58-23 at the quarters. The Storm hit seven treys in the first half and effectively worked the ball into the paint to Rohan Sali, who told Varsity Letters that “we moved the ball really well, we looked inside for opportunities and we hit our shots. We came to play.” Rockets coach Kevin Lodermeier said “our guys were really nervous to start and in the second half and the final quarter we finally found our legs and generated some momentum. We know we can compete; the reality is we were just too tentative in the beginning. … The fourth quarter is how we played most of the year, when we put pressure on other teams, and we shoot really well. I’m going to tell the guys to carry over how they played in the fourth, know that they can assert their skills, play with passion and play from the beginning to the end and we’ll be successful.” Sali said “I think we learned that in this tournament we can’t take our foot off the gas. We have to stay focused and keep playing until the final whistle. When we are at our best, we play unselfish basketball, we move the ball around, we find the open shooters and we get the ball down low like we did for three quarters.” Rohan Sall paced the Storm with 24. Nabil Ashrafi added 14, Kabir Buttar 9, Gagan Dhanoa 6, M Blandy 5, Roshan Sandhu 3, D Jagpal 2 and M Caveleri 1, while Devon Purewall, Rajin Chahal, Aaron Hayre, Matthew Lehnert, Karm Gill and Matthab Gill were scoreless. Nathan Dykstra scored 18 to pace the Rockets (coach Jeremy Flett, athletic director Kevin Lodermeier). Gavin Lodermeier added 12, Andrei Panganiban 7, Quinn Devries 2 and Noah Russill 2, while Kieran Wardley, Evyn Welsh, Joshua Colley, Cylis Charlton, Sheldon Biggley, Holden Girard, Logan Coulter and Sam Plant were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded North Vancouver Windsor Dukes dispatched the 7th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Rainmakers 66-53. The score was knotted at 12 after one quarter. The Dukes led 38-25 at the half and 54-29 after three quarters. The Dukes opened the second half with a 13-1 run to take command, leading by as many as 25. Duke coach Marco Fong told Varsity Letters that “when you play defence like that and limit them to four points [a field goal and two free throws, in the third quarter], it shifts the game in your favour. All season long we have focused on the defensive end and we worry about offense never.” Dukes player of the game Aubrey Dorey-Havens said “from grade 8 to now we have relied on our fast pace and playing really, really hard defence because at the end of the day we can’t rely on shots going in but we can control our effort on defence. That’s what we rely on and that’s the way we play. … This is our last time playing together as a team. I’m a senior. This is it. We just have to play with heart and lock in on defence. We felt we were better than a 10 seed and now we are just going to keep proving everyone wrong.” Aubrey Dorey-Havens paced the Dukes with 36. Bernardo Illoz added 13, A Murray 8, A Robitaille 3, M Minchin 2, J Jackson 2 and C Neilson 2, while C Sandor, S Sandor, D Tomberli, I Hastings, T PhaVongkham and C Clark were scoreless. Kole Jones scored 22 to pace the Rainmakers (coach Mel Bishop, assistant Ryan Bishop). Joseph Lewis added 16, Arjan Bains 4, Aarman Brar 4, River Bryant 3, Kade Jones 2 and Josh Aparicin 2, while Kevin Phan, Alex Nguyen, Ben Dareh, Joel Silva, Josh Thompson and Kole Leighton were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions stomped the 15th-seeded Oliver Southern Okanagan Hornets 102-43 after leading 27-5, 61-19 and 85-30 at the quarters. Lions coach Ed Somers told Varsity Letters that “we came out very strong in the first quarter. This is the provincials and we wanted to elevate our level of intensity and get our heads into it early. Obviously, without a championship tournament last year everything is new so we wanted to get the kids their confidence, get everyone involved and get used to playing in this gym. … The score was higher today because our fast-break was working. … We were breaking well, getting layups and converting a lot of fast breaks in the first half. … We ran the ball well and our big (6-foot-7 forward Alex Moch) got down the floor really well. He’s as fast as a guard and he caught everything we threw to him. Once we secured the rebound, he got down the floor fast and we were able to finish our chances.” Angus Kidd paced the Lions with 18. Alex Moch added 12, Owen Jones 11, Jaydon Malinowski 11, Aiden Grew 10, J Yager 10, Arokya Shresna 9, C Brown 8, Wyatt Bransema-Stokes 4, C Stefani 4, R Marquez 3, K Forte 2 and G Kidd 2, while A Baulne was scoreless. Brayden Lee scored 12 to pace the Hornets (coach Ryan Baptiste, assistant Harjun Sidhu). Yuvraj Panaich added 11, Phat Thai 10, Braedon Nemeth 6 and Joey Khangura 4, while Dilshaan Dhaliwal, Gurveer Toor, Mateo McNicoll Grajal, Karamjot Braich, Eiktaran Bahniwal, Saxon Connor-Garrity, Hayden Scanlon, Harmeet Tung, Harveer Brar and Parteek Gill were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions clubbed the 10th-seeded North Vancouver Windsor Dukes 86-57. The score was knotted at 17 after one quarter. The Lions led 34-31 at the half and 62-47 after three quarters. The Dukes notched 5 treys as they built a 15-2 lead but the Lions countered with a 15-0 run to knot the score after a quarter. The Lions took control with a 17-2 run to start the second half. Lions coach Ed Somers told Varsity Letters that “I think their coach had the best pre-game speech ever, ‘Go out and hit five straight threes. They came out hot and everything was falling. So it was great momentum. We knew right away this team had offence. … We wanted to continue to push the tempo [in the second half]. We were able to play some more aggressive defence and get some turnovers. We were able to sub a little more than they were and we thought fatigue might set in.” Somers added that Aiden Grew “was amazing. He played very well, especially in the second half. You can see that his roots are in soccer and cross-country. So we just said, go. Getting those threes and tough layups were key for us.” Grew said “we were upset we were down early, but we managed to fight back and that really motivated us and we got right back in it.” Aiden Grew paced the Lions with 21. Owen Jones added 20, Wyatt Bransema-Stokes 14, C Stefani 8, C Brown 8, Alex Moch 8, Jaydon Malinowski 7 and Angus Kidd 1, while Arokya Shresna, K Forte, Jacob Yager, R Marquez, A Baulne and G Kidd were scoreless. Aubrey Dorey-Havers scored 34 to pace the Dukes (coach Brandon Meyers, assistant Bree Swanson, assistant George Twarog, athletic director Alec Lewis). A Murray added 8, A Robitaille 6, Bernardo Illoz 6, C Sandor 2 and T Phavongkahm 1, while S Sandor, M Minchin, J Jackson, C Neilson, D Tomberlie and I Hastings were scoreless.
The 3rd-seed Mill Bay Brentwood spanked the 6th-seeded Surrey Pacific Academy Breakers 72-48 after leading 14-12, 32-26 and 51-31 at the quarters. Brentwood took control with an 11-0 run to open the second half. Brentwood coach Blake Gage told Varsity Letters that “the biggest thing is I thought is defensively we were pretty solid. I sort of knew that at some point we were going to score the ball and figure things out, but we needed to continue to do the job at the defensive end. I knew if we did that we’d give ourselves a pretty good chance.” Swingman Buchannon Fritz said “this was definitely a team win. Everyone contributed. Everyone who came off the bench gave us great energy. When we were struggling in the first half we were getting shots, we were playing hard, but we weren’t playing controlled. Once we were able to get that energy off the bench and are able to control ourselves, that’s when we shine. We get in transition, we get layups, we get fast buckets. When we get selfish and try to do everything ourselves, that’s when we break down. When we play as a team we are pretty much unstoppable.” Gage said “we have got a lot of guys who can score it and when we are playing well and sharing the ball, we are tough.” Buchannon Fritz paced Brentwood with 17. Dylan Gage added 15, Santiago Erding-Fitznar 10, Nathan Onasanyo 8, Niko Bossi 6, Philip Akindipe 6, Jayden Lust 5, Milan Pasquale 4 and Avik Bakshi 1, while Thomas MacDonald, Liam Floyd and Sajeev Saravanan were scoreless. Jaden Mesfin paced the Breakers with 17. Nathan Thamtoro added 10, Leslie Mabiza 10, Ethan Mesfin 8 and Nathan Chiang 3, while Ethan Wirtz, Jeremy Crisologo, Terry Yu, Truevine Spence, Leo Liu, S Akindele, Moses Wiebe, Mathew Chifan, Joey Li and J.B. Ishola were scoreless. The Breakers (coach Seth Sorenson, assistant Joel Ashbee, assistant Tysen Stoddart, assistant Ethan Sorenson, manager Judah Ashbee) also included Ryan Kim.
The 9th-seeded Vancouver West Point Grey Academy Wolves stunned the top-seeded Vancouver King George Dragons 45-40 after leading 13-10, 24-21 and 33-26 at the quarters. The Wolves trailed 38-36 with four minutes to play but Spenser Neil notched a runout, Mac Steenburgh a putback and Kai Tukker the game winning trey down the stretch. Max Astak countered with a bucket for the Dragons but a Jose Vuluaga attempted trey bounced off the rim before player of game Spenser Neil iced the win with a pair of free throws. Wolves coach John Garinger told Varsity Letters that “it was unbelievable. The guys played their hearts out and I couldn’t be prouder of them. We have so much respect for [head coach] Darko [Kulic] and King George. They’re unbelievable competitors and I’m really proud of these boys. … My guards were awesome,” said Garinger of the defensive effort. My bigs, Sam [Anthony] especially, was excellent against the pick-and roll. I know Spencer got player of the game, but I thought Sam was a very close second.” Mac Steenburgh paced the Wolves with 14. Kai Tukker added 12, Spenser Neil 10 and Sam Anthony 9, while G Janzen, L Gradecak, H Bull, W Tyldesley, Max Greer, I Wang, M Yip and B Wu were scoreless. Palmer Currie led the Dragons with 12. Jose Zuluaga added 10, Adam Spano 6, Darko Karac 4, Andrej Kovacevic 2 and Ashton Vij 2, while Peyton Procter, Dionycius Bakare, Samuel Yazdi, Rishin Uppal, R Campbell, Andre Novicic, Eli Volkhin, Max Astake and P Shawwa were scoreless. The Dragons (coach Darko Kulic, associate Randy Chan, associate Roger McBride, associate Hanif Karmalie, assistant Luka Kojima St-Laurent, assistant Nenad Obradovic, manager Mark Katz, athletic director Jeevan Pannun) also included Roderick Xavier and Zeke Jackson.
In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Kamloops Westsyde Whundas whipped the 5th-seeded Surrey Southridge Storm 64-41. The Whundas led 17-8 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 24 at the half as Rohan Sali rallied the Storm with a dunk and 3 treys. The Whundas led 41-32 after three quarters as guard Caleb Gremaud notched a dunk and spinning layup to cap a late 6-0 run. Whundas coach Chris Gremaud told Varsity Letters that “obviously I’m pleased with the outcome. They’re a good team, battled hard. Number 15 [Rohan Sall] is a heck of a player. I was impressed with the way he finished that first half, but we buckled down and did what we had to do to get the job done. … I think just our energy got higher [as the game progressed]. We were winning the loose balls, but overall, it was just a tight, tough game. We just hit a few shots when we needed to. We pride ourselves on defense, and we knew that 15 [Sall] would be tough to stop – and he was, but we kind held the rest of their players in check for the most part.” Caleb Gremaud paced the Whundas with 20. Caleb Ezedebego added 18, David Falade 12, Ryland Bodo 6, Jeremy McInnis 3, Jagger De La Gorgendiere 3 and Cailen Hamilton 2, while Sheldon Aitken, Colton Meikle, Matteo Cupello, Michael Falade and Ryan Watson were scoreless. Rohan Sall scored 18 to pace the Storm. Roshan Sandhu added 12, Kabir Buttar 8 and Nabil Ashrafi 3, while Devon Purewall, Roc Lidder, Rajin Chahal, Gogan Dhanoa, Aaron Hayre, M Blandy, Matthew Lehnert, Karm Gill and Matthab Gill were scoreless. The Storm (coach Ray Kwok, manager Mikaeel Khan, teacher sponsor Dylan Lal) also included Amir Gill.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Kamloops Westsyde Whundas dispatched the 9th-seeded Vancouver West Point Grey Academy Wolves 68-52 after leading 16-13, 37-28 and 55-39 at the quarters. The Whundas took control with a 7-0 run, featuring a trey from Caleb Ezedebego, to open the second quarter, and a 6-0 run, to open the second half, as well as a 10-2 run, featuring a trey from David Falade, to open the final quarter. Whundas coach Chris Gremaud told Varsity Letters that “we did pretty well. They were a really athletic team, more than we had seen on video, so I was really impressed. They’re good defenders and hard to stop when they get going. Overall, I was happy – our point guard, #7 [Caleb Ezedebego], he hit some big shots, he made a few huge plays for us, and that really changed things.” Gremaud added that there was no particular explanation for the team’s runs. “I think we’re pretty known for our pressure, and so maybe when guys have had the chance to focus and reset, they come out with a bit more energy.” Caleb Ezedebego paced the Whundas with 24. Cailen Hamilton added 15, Caleb Gremaud 15, David Falade 6, Ryland Bodo 5 and Colton Meikle 3, while Sheldon Aitken, Matteo Cupello, Jeremy McInnis, Michael Falade, Ryan Watson and Jagger De La Gorgendiere were scoreless. Mac Steenburgh paced the Wolves with 19. Kai Tukker added 13, Spenser Neil 11, Max Greer 6, M Yip 2 and S Anthony 1, while G Janzen, L Gradecak, H Bull, W Tyldesley, T Wang and B Yu were scoreless.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions defeated 3rd-seeded Mill Bay Brentwood 72-48 after leading 20-19, 44-41 and 69-49 at the quarters. The Lions took control with an 11-0 run to start the second half, including a full-court pass from Owen Jones to player of the game Alex Moch for a runout and a trey from Aiden Grew. Lions coach Ed Somers told Varsity Letters that “this is the third time we’ve played them. I have so much respect for [Brentwood College head] coach [Blake] Gage and his son – he’s a great player. Both teams were so hyped up for this and so ready. And once we got our big man [Moch] open down low, he just was unbelievable. They didn’t really have an answer for him and our kids found ways to get him the ball.” Alex Moch paced the Lions with 27. Owen Jones added 20, Wyatt Bransema-Stokes 13, Aiden Grew 9, K Forte 4, Jaydon Malinowski 4, C Brown 4 and C Stefani 2, while Arokya Shresna, Jacob Yager, R Marquez, A Baulne, Angus Kidd and G Kidd were scoreless. Dylan Gage paced Brentwood with 21. Buchannon Fritz added 14, Milan Pasquale 10, Philip Akindipe 6, Jayden Lust 6, Santiago Erding-Fitznar 4, Nathan Onasanya 4, Niko Bossi 3 and Avik Bakshi 2, while Thomas MacDonald, Liam Flloyd, Sajeev Saravanan, F Denkema and L Kulai were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, 3rd-seeded Mill Bay Brentwood clipped the 9th-seeded West Point Grey Academy Wolves 64-50. The Greyhounds led 18-16 after one quarter. Brentwood led 34-28 at the half and 52-40 after three quarters. Dylan Gage led Brentwood with 25 on 10-26 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-9 from the line, 9 boards and 3 steals. Milan Pasquale added 13 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 steals. B (Canon?) Fritz notched 12 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Nathan Onasanya scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 5 steals. Jayden Lust added 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Liam Floyd scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor. Niko Bossi added 2 on 1-4 from the floor and 4 boards, while Sajeev Saravanan, Avik Bakshi, Philip Akindipe and Santiago Erding-Fitznar were scoreless. Brentwood hit 26-62 (.419) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 4-13 (.308) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 2 assists, 10 turnovers, 1 block and 13 steals. Kai Tukker paced the Wolves with 21 on 8-11 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 11 boards and 3 assists. Mac Steenburgh added 11 on 5-11 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc. Spenser Neil notched 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards and 4 steals. Max Greer scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 5 boards, while L Gradecak, H Bull, W Tyldesley, Sam Anthony, I Wang and M Yip were scoreless. The Wolves (coached by John Garinger) hit 20-42 (.476) from the floor, 6-15 (.400) from the arc and 4-12 from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 5 assists, 26 turnovers and 6 steals.
In the final, the 4th-seeded Kamloops Westsyde Whundas edged the 2nd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions 73-71 on a corner trey from tournament MVP Caleb Ezedebego with 26.5 seconds to play. “I can’t even describe the feeling; I am just shaking to my core, Ezedebego said. “I just feel so happy right now. I am just feeling overwhelmed and just so happy the shot went in. … I got the ball and saw that I had a little bit space, and I knew this is my chance.” The Lions led 19-10, 33-30 and 52-42 at the quarters. Ezedebego told Varsity Letters that “I was not calm, I just felt that I had to let it fly. It felt natural to shoot it and I just felt ‘It’ll go in’ and it went in. Right now, this just feels amazing. We always joked about taking down the curling banners that are on our gym wall cause they’re the only ones on the wall. We are so excited to get our basketball banner. … It doesn’t even feel real right now. You battle to the end. You try so hard. We’ve been wanting this for so long and we’re just so happy to get it.” Whundas coach Caleb Gremaud, who’d volunteered to assume the helm at the start of the season when the school was having trouble finding a coach and threatening to shut the team, said he brought in young assistants Alex Toplak and A.J. McInnis and let them run the schematic and tactical show. “I give all of my credit to my assistant coaches. They are the ones that draw up all of the plays and they are incredible.” Toplak said “our team has always thrived on our physicality. We’d never had a team that made it all the way. This is our first time, but we knew that for us, it was going to start on the defensive end, with the grind. We had to be physical and we had to make it count.” Lions coach Ed Somers said “we just knew they were one of the most physical teams we were going to play all season and that they were going to compete the entire game.” Player of the game Caleb Gremaud paced the Whundas with 26 on 11-25 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Caleb Ezedebego added 24 on 7-16 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Cailen Hamilton notched 10 on 2-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Colton Meikle scored 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 9 boards. David Falade added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 4 boards, while Sheldon Aitken, Matteo Cupello, Jeremy McInnis and Ryland Bodo were scoreless. Bodo nabbed 6 boards and Aitken 3. The Whundas hit 24-71 (.338) from the floor, 5-23 (.217) from the arc and 20-29 (.690) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 5 assists, 9 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. Wyatt Bransema-Stokes paced the Lions with 29 on 10-19 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 7 boards and 5 assists. Owen Jones added 13 on 6-18 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 steals. Alex Moch notched 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 10 boards. Defensive player of the tournament Aiden Grew scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 2 boards. C Brown added 6 on 3-3 from the floor and 5 boards. K Forte scored 3 on 0-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. C Stefani added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Jaydon Malinowski was scoreless. The Lions hit 27-64 (.422) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 8 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Caleb Ezedebego (Westsyde); Wyatt Bransema-Stokes (Lambrick Park); Dylan Gage (Brentwood); Mac Steenburgh (West Point Grey); and Aubrey Dorey-Havens (Windsor).
The 2nd-team featured: Ethan Mesfin (Pacific Academy); Buchannon Fritz (Brentwood); Jose Zuluaga (King George); Rohan Sall (Southridge); and Cailen Hamilton (Westsyde).
The bronze medalist Mill Bay Brentwood: Avik Bakshi; Nathan Onasanya; Thomas MacDonal; Jayden Lust; Milan Pasquale; Liam Floyd; Sajeev Saravanan; Dylan Gage; Buchannon Fritz; Jagre Knight; Niko Bossi; Philip Akindipe; Santiago Erding-Fitznar; L Kulai; F Denkema; coach Blake Gate; assistant Liam Sullivan; manager Robin Gage; manager Richard Watson; trainer Tanner McGaw
The silver medalist Victoria Lambrick Park Lions: Wyatt Bransema-Stokes; Owen Jones; Alex Moch; Aiden Grew; C Brown; K Forte; C Stefani; Jaydon Malinowski; Arokya Shresna; Jacob Yager; R Marquez; A Baulne; Angus Kidd; G Kidd; coach Ed Somers; assistant Colton McKee
The gold medalist Kamloops Westsyde Whundas: Sheldon Aitken; Caleb Ezedebego; Colton Meikle; Cailen Hamilton; Matteo Cupello; David Falade; Jeremy McInnis; Michael Falade; Caleb Gremaud; Ryan Watson; Ryland Bodo; Jagger De la Gorgediere; coach Chris Gremaud; assistant Ryan Porter; assistant Sean Garvey; assistant Alex Toplak; assistant A.J. McInnis