In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Vancouver St. George’s Saints dusted the 16th-seeded Burnaby Mountain Lions 75-43 after leading 23-6, 51-16 and 62-24 at the quarters. “One-hundred per cent … resilience,” Saints coach Guy DaSilva told Varsity Letters. “Our guys think they are in every game. We have had bad stretches and I don’t think we have played our best basketball.” Dominic Aquino paced the Saints with 14. Jack Vandenberg added 12, Will Hyland 11, Isaac Brown 9, Christiaan Oosthuizen 8, Josh Coleman 8, Robert Orr 6, Hudson Bell 4, Blake Wardell 2 and Hayden Rodgers 1, while Keaton O’Kennedy, Ronan Mahaffy and James Skene were scoreless. Tony Shon scored 9 to lead the Lions. Lorenzo Bonamin added 8, Rex Yuen 8, Ben Bosnic 6, Omar Abdulhadi 5, Addison Button 4, Deon Johnson 2 and Ryan Male 1, while Ryder Snow, Kevin Salimi, Kai Jablonski, Norman Chen and Mackenzie Nakas were scoreless. The Lions (coach Matteo Bonamin, assistant John Huang, athletic director Jarett Richardson) also included Paul Afuto, J.P. Hall and Ben Bosnic. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators edged the 9th-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 74-72 after leading 18-16, 37-29 and 56-49 at the quarters. Gators coach Reid Taylor told Varsity Letters that post Dylan Senft’s boardwork proved decisive. “I told my team before the provincials that when there is any ball up in the air, it’s almost as if I am planning what we’re doing on offence because he is always coming up with those 50/50 balls. … Dylan has been an absolute beast all season… multiple games over 20-plus rebounds and multiple games over 20-plus points. He doesn’t make mistakes on the floor, he is everything a coach could hope for. He plays hard and he listens. Rebounds. Scraps. Defensively, he knows exactly what is going on.” The Ravens rallied from a 12-point deficit and took a 71-70 lead on an Ethan Chae jumper from the elbow that banked off the glass with 59 seconds to play. But Senft hit a pair of free throws and Daniel Ahn notched the winner on a layup with 18 seconds to play. Ravens co-coach Rich Chambers said “we just couldn’t keep them off the boards … we lost the game on the defensive glass.” Chambers added that “we didn’t do a very good job” on Senft. “He is tough, a really good player and last time we played them, he got 34 on us. We had to front him and we just didn’t front him.” Ravens Chae and Titus Harris keyed the rally by effectively attacking off the dribble. Taylor said “I mean, in the second half, it seemed like they were getting to the rim with ease. They are a very strong group of guards. We knew going in that those were the two we had to key in on, but my goodness, the future is bright at Terry Fox. Holy smokes those are good players.” Dylan Senft paced the Gators with 21. Daniel Ahn added 13, Kevin Kao 13, Callum Neilly 10, Trever Duffin 9 and Daniel Lee 8, while Eric Cho, Daniel Kim, Yedem Lee, Nathan Chung, Matthew Kang, Jonathan Grywacheski, Tyler George and Brendon Kim were scoreless. Titus Heron scored 26 to pace the Ravens (coach Brad Petersen, coach Mark Prinster, manager Ernie Vickers, athletic director Rhonda Trunkfield). Jason Rous-Smith added 10, Graham Stack 9, Christian Moore 9, Ethan Chae 7, Lukas Bulin 5, Suk Garcha 2, Parker Kennedy 2 and Brendan Nightingale 2, while Andrei Balasbas, Matteo Frost, Ryan Marchand, Daniel Rozenbaum, Stefano Silvo and Jovan Sohi were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Kelowna Owls clocked 13th-seeded Surrey Enver Creek Cougars 70-54. The Cougars led 17-9 after one quarter. The Owls led 31-26 at the half and 52-34 after three quarters. The Owls overcame horrid shooting in the first quarter by blistering the nets in the second and third frames. Owls coach Harry Parmar told Varsity Letters that “it’s way different (this season) because they haven’t been put in those spots that they are going to be put in down here, and usually you have done that stuff throughout the year. So you try to get it into your practices as much as you can, and sometimes the (players) don’t understand why you’re doing what you are doing. But it’s for when you get down here, because when the lights come on, sometimes people need sunglasses, and sometimes that is not a good thing.” Maxim Storozhuk paced the Owls with 19. Oaklen Kowal added 15, Cole Koop 14, Nash Semeniuk 8, Walker Sodaro 6, Micah Borne 4, Max Gainey 2 and Will Keyes 2, while Jai Saini, Owen McParland, Jacob Ferguson and Aryton Daniels were scoreless. Zaydan Azim scored 15 to pace the Cougars (coach Phil Deeks, assistant Miko Otsuki, assistant Brandon Bottrill). Gursha Sran added 11, Ajay Hayer (Hayre?) 9, Gurek Sran 8, Dilshaan Sanghera 4, Adi Khanna 2, Suntej Malli 2, Akash Narayan 2 and Amron Bath 1, while Arpan Sidhu, Mohammed Najm, Angat Dhaliwal, Manrose Heer and Saahij Gill were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels torched the 12th-seeded Victoria Claremont Spartans 94-62 after leading 24-15, 53-32 and 75-45 at the quarters. Rebel Karan Aujla was playing his first game since suffering a knee injury in early February. Aujla told Varsity Letters that “I’m back on my two legs and I am ready to do everything. … I am feeling perfectly fine now. It took four weeks and a lot of physio, but I’m back, but I’ve got to get my game sense back a little bit.” Rebels coach Mike Bell said “he (Aujla) said he’s fine and ready to go, and actually it might have been a good thing for him because he got to rest for a month and so now he’s fresh and ready to go.” Bell added that point guard Jimmy Zaborniak stepped up when Aujla was injured. “He was the leader this team needed. He saw that we were down. He saw that we were missing a key piece and he brought everyone up… he made them better.” Zaborniak said “obviously no one can really replace Karan. Even if we’re playing at our best, Karan is the best big in B.C. and he does things that no one else can do. He brings things to our team that no one else can.” Jimmy Zaborniak paced the Rebels with 30. Karan Aujla added 17, Oliver Petrovic 10, Andy Chen 7, Lex Paloma 6, Malik Robert 6, Greg Petalcorn 5, Armaan Hehar 5, Brady Lau 2, Kian Macaraeg 2, Joey Nakata 2 and Zach Chan 2, while Jay Marc Bowayan, Miguel Ladiao and Lordrikk Gutierrez were scoreless. Izzy Helman scored 15 to pace the Spartans (coach Brandon Dunlop, assistant Mark Neufeld). Mikah Smith added 12, Gavin O’Sullivan 12, Camden Sparks 9, Mike Pasek? 5, Ty Pilkington 3, Matthew Thompson 3 and Jake Byatt 3, while Maddox Canillo, Luke Neary, J Helman, Issac Braskich and Josh Adey were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Surrey Fleetwood Park Dragons toppled the 6th-seeded Abbotsford Senior Panthers 76-71. The Dragons led 19-11 after one quarter and 33-26 at the half. The Panthers led 53-51 after three quarters. The Dragons led by was many as 14 in the second quarter but the Panthers rallied to a 70-69 lead on a Lockhart MacGregor lay-in with 57 seconds to play. Panther rookie Dilveer Randhawa cut the lead to 72-71 by hitting 1-2 from the line with 24.7 seconds left, but Inder Deol notched a runout layup and Eesher Sarai added two free throws to ice the win. Dragons coach Jordan Taylor told Varsity Letters that “it was huge back-and-forth, it was all about defence. We preached it the whole game and we had to take away open looks from their shooters because they can get so hot.” Panthers coach Brent Ciochetti said the rally exhausted his troops. “It takes a lot out of you and we just kept draining energy. But we brought it back to even and had a lead in the fourth. But we missed some crucial foul shots down the stretch.” Taylor said “this is one of the most wide-open B.C.’s we have ever had, and all of these teams can play. We knew Abbotsford had a chance to come back, and when they did, it was just a dog fight the rest of the way.” Inder Deol paced the Dragons with 20. Eesher Sarai added 19, Rav Randhawa 11, Aaron Uppal 9, Allen Landasan 8, Isaiah Young 5 and Gurman Ghuman 4, while Liam Penados, Rohan Dhanoa, Bhavjot Dhiman, Izaec Oppal, Jodha Mahanger, Rohan Dhanoa (apparently there were two) and Gujaap Sadhu were scoreless. Lockhart MacGregor scored 22 to pace the Panthers (coach Greg De Vries, assistant Paul Peters, assistant Malcolm Campbell, assistant Brent Ciochetti, assistant Devin Brar, assistant Prentice Lenz, assistant Elmore Abraham). Wyatt Ciochetti added 14, Dilver Randhawa 12, Ethan Sena 9, Jahvon Maksymiv 8 and Hayden Sansalone 6, while Thomas Janzen, Kirit Sidhu, Bavanjot Rai, Harshan Alamwala, Harry Toor, Jayden Scheldrake, Sukhman Sidhu and Justin Manning were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish clocked the 14th-seeded Surrey Holy Cross Crusaders 96-57 after leading 28-15, 48-32 and 71-46 at the quarters. Fighting Irish coach Mer Marghetti told Varsity Letters that “I am proud of our boys for showing up and playing our systems and playing in our way, that’s a great way to start the tournament. … But we’ve definitely had some moments [during the season] where we didn’t adapt and it hurt us. and I think that hunger to not have it happen again has allowed them to be focused … to be locked into making sure it doesn’t happen again. … There is definitely a lot of parity going on here. I think the whole year has been a hot mess with all the rescheduling, all the unknowns, the fear of losing a season, and constantly wondering ‘What if?’ So now, we’re at a point that the ones who are the most hungry are going to perform.” Cole Cruz-Dumont paced the Fighting Irish with 21. Player of the game Mikyle Malabuyoc added 17, Michael Joseph 17, Kosta Liaskas 12, Charles Menard 6, Kiyan Izadkah 6, Isaiah Bias 6, Enrique Garcia 5, Nick Margharitis 4 and Jack Ferguson 2, while Chris Joseph, Vincent Velazquez, Tommy Carvalho, Ashton Chu and Isaiah Lafond were scoreless. Jeremiah Francis scored 15 to pace the Crusaders (coach Matt LeChasseur, assistant Anthony Pezzente, assistant Kevin Wallsmith, assistant Jeff Dadson). Simba Bowora added 12, Ose Ehizode 11, Ryson Dalupang 8, Ilijah Roque 4, Marc Rivera 3, Kwame Asiedu 2 and Darius Best 2, while Aaron Garcia, Justin Ursua, Carter McComb, Tyson Palma, Jomer Magtibay, Dom Robles and Mitch Tamis were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs blasted the 15th-seeded Fort St. John North Peace Oscars 95-54 after leading 28-12, 61-31 and 86-39 at the quarters. Centaurs guard Nick Yang told Varsity Lettes that “we just work hard. Our practices were just like every other practice. It’s been a tough year for every team. Everyone has been working hard, but we just had to make sure that we stayed on top of ours.” Nick Yang paced the Centaurs with 27. K.C. Ibekwe added 25, Matthew Lee 14, Trey McLenan 14, Anthony Lopez 6, Victor Vascocellos 4, Edwin Madelo 3 and Jordan Sachchi 2, while Nathan Hagiwara, Colin Jang, Raniel Gatbonton, Arjun Panju, Jacob Rodriguez and Sailesh Sharma were scoreless. Cy Bellamy scored 23 to pace the Oscars (coach Gabe Gonzales, athletic director Samantha Stackhouse). Cole Harder added 12, Ryla Farquharson 7, Max Banack 4, Taylor Roy 3, Bryce Telford 2, Devon lee 2 and John Hanson 1, while Chaste Cunningham, Elijah Aina and Quary Tofteland were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Thunderbirds spanked the 10th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Bays 83-65. The Bays led 16-10 after one quarter and 33-30 at the half. The Thunderbirds led 60-45 after three quarters. Thunderbirds coach Ed Lefurgy told Varsity Letters that “it’s a testament to our players … They are coachable and hard working and the one thing we talk about is that they are not just getting older, they are getting better.” Marcus Floares paced the Thunderbirds with 20. Cole Bekkering added 19, Torian lee 15, Sam Snyder 10, Andre Juco 10, Maddox Budiman 6 and Markus Alstad-Jones 3, while Hasan Saqib, Jora Sran, Wyatt Brown, Zamir Dheenshaw, Joban Dhillon, Kandas Dantu-Woods, Jack Clayton and Jodhan Waraich were scoreless. Griffin Arnatt scored 25 to pace the Bays (coach Chris Franklin, assistant Wendy Draper Maffia, assistant Diego Maffia, manager Enjo Behrens). Matthew Magnan added 11, Kiran Chadwick-Rupp 11, Heath Taylor 8, Thomas Beames 4, Kasper Giesbrecht 4 and Owen Lewis 2, while Raine Orser, Griffin Mawson, Oliver Scott, Manson Andulajevic, Taren Franklin, Diam Orser and Finney Lillis were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels clipped the 4th-seeded Kelowna Owls 76-67 after leading 18-9, 34-28 and 53-47 at the quarters. The Owls drew within 64-61 with 4:48 to play on a trey by Oaklan Kowal. But the Rebels responded with an 11-1 run to take command. Rebels coach Mike Bell told Varsity Letters that “let’s be honest, we didn’t play our best. I thought Harry [Parmar, Owls coach] did a great job with his strategy. They took away Karan and they sagged in the paint. But then we were able to flick a switch. I am hoping that we clue in that this is a bigger deal, that it’s time to take the game serious.” Karan Aujla paced the Rebels with 13. Andy Chan added 12, Jimmy Zaborniak 11, Brady Lau 11, Jay Marc Bowayan 10, Greg Petalcorin 9, Armaaan Hehar 6, Malik Robert 2 and Zach Chan 2, while Lex Paloma, Kian Macaraeg, Joey Nakata, Miguel Ladiao, Lordrikk Gutierrez and Oliver Petrovic were scoreless. Oaklen Kowal scored 16 to pace the Owls (coach Harry Parmar, assistant Brad Heuser, assistant Jay Johnstone). Nash Semeniuk added 12, Cole Koop 11, Micah Borne 10, Maxim Storozhuk 10, Jai Saini 5, Max Gainey 2 and Walker Sodaro 1, while Owen McParland, Jacob Ferguson, Aryton Daniels and Will Keyes were scoreless.
The 7th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Thunderbirds stunned the 2nd-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 86-73. The score was knotted at 15 after one quarter. The Thunderbirds led 32-30 at the half and 58-54 after three quarters. The Thunderbirds elevated the tempo in the final quarter as guard Torian Lee took command, notching a pair of treys and using his speed to great effect. Lee told Varsity Letters that transition “was everything, that’s our game, that’s how we play. When we move fast, it gets us going, and it give us energy on defence, too.” The Thunderbirds double- and triple-teamed Centaur post K.C. Ibekwe in a battle in the paint for the first three quarters. They began to more effectively deny entry passes to Ibekwe as they got their transition game, eventually leading by as many as 15. Thunderbirds coach Ed Lefurgy said “we knew we were going to have to speed up the pace against Centennial and K.C.. … We struggled early and they did an incredible job of playing at their pace and getting what they needed. So we talked about it for about a minute at the half, what we were thinking of doing. We drew it up on a scrap piece of paper… these kids are so coachable.” Lefurgy added “I am surprised it’s taken this long for people to realize that he [Lee] is an incredible player. Athletically, with his change of pace, and in how he’s starting to become a much better distributor, he is incredible and he is one of the toughest kids that I have ever coached. Last game he shot poorly and we thought maybe there was a lid on the rim, but I guess he want and took it off at halftime, and he put a bigger rim on it.” Torian Lee paced the Thunderbirds with 33. Sam Snyder added 16, Cole Bekkering 14, Marcus Floares 8, Maddox Budiman 7, Andre Juco 6 and Joban Dhillon 2, while Hassan Saqib, Jora Sran Wyatt Brown, Zamir Dheenshaw, Kendall Dantu-Woods, Jodhan Waraich and Markus Alstad-Jones were scoreless. K.C. Ibekwe scored 30 to lead the Centaurs. Nick Yang added 18, Matthew Lee 11, Victor Vasconcellos 6, Arju Panju 4 and Trey McLenan 4, while Nathan Hagiwara, Colin Jan, Raniel Gatbonton, Jacob Rodriguez, Sailesh Sharm, Jordan Sachchi, Edwin Madelo and Anthony Lopez were scoreless. The Centaurs (coach Lucian Sauciuc, coach Rob Sollero, assistant Al Kaselj, manager Sam Paiwandzada, manager Damian Reid-Lucas) also included Dylan Lefebvre.
The 8th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators toppled the top-seeded Vancouver St. George’s Saints 94-92 in overtime. The Saints led 21-15, 48-34 and 73-54 at the quarters. The score was knotted at 84 after regulation. The Gators rallied from a 21-point third quarter deficit as Callum Neilly hit four treys over the final nine minutes to play, including one with 2.6 seconds on the clock to force overtime. Gators guard Kevin Kao told Varsity Letters that “our team just doesn’t give up. When we’re down 20, we just keep on fighting … We don’t lose confidence, we keep shooting the ball. Our coach has put a lot of confidence in us, so when we’re open, we just let it fly.” Gator post Dylan Senft ignited a 13-0 run with the Saints leading 73-54. Kao said “I feel like we pride ourselves in our conditioning and I like to think that is a big reason why we can win this whole thing. That is what I felt ever since the start of the season.” Dylan Senft paced the Gators with 33. Daniel Ahn added 10, Callum Neilly 15, Kevin Kao 14, Trever Duffin 5, Nathan Chung 4, Daniel Lee 2 and Tyler George 1, while Eric Cho, Daniel Kim, Yedem Lee, Nathan Wright, Matthew Kang, Jon Grywacheski and Brendon Kim were scoreless. Jack Vanderberg scored 28 to lead the Saints (coach Guy Dasilva, assistant Will Chamberlain, assistant Kevin Rasmussen, assistant Albert Chang, manager Joshua Edra, trainer Jon hayduk, athletic performance Lisa White, athletic director Chris Blackman). Will Hyland added 19, Robert Orr 17, Dominic Aquino 8, Isaac Brown 8, Keaton O’Kennedy 5, Ronan Mahaffy 3, Hudson Bell 3 and Josh Coleman 1, while Hayden Rodgers, Blake Wardell, Christian Oosthuizen and James Skeene were scoreless.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish dispatched the 11th-seeded Surrey Fleetwood Park Dragons 94-79 after leading 24-20, 46-41 and 73-65 at the quarters. The Dragons led 57-48 in 5:55 to play in the third quarter when Irish coach Mer Marghetti shifted to a press and Vancouver College promptly ripped off a 25-8 run. “The diamond press,” Marghetti told Varsity Letters. “Our guys were ready to do it. We were all locked in on it. We went with a smaller, fierce line-up and they did an awesome job getting stops and then capitalizing on that. … I think you have to be bought into it, and we had games where they weren’t really bought into it, or if they got beat once they were not totally convinced it would work, but over time they have realize that sometimes we are going to get beat but you just have to go with it and not give up.” Marghetti added that the Dragons “can score, those boys can score and they are shifty when they do it. They definitely kept us on our toes and made us think twice about what we were doing for a while. Huge kudos to them.” Mikyle Malabuyoc paced the Fighting Irish with 34. Cole Cruz-Dumont added 12, Enrique Garcia 10, Isaiah Bias 9, Jack Ferguson 7, Charles Menard 6 and Kosta Liaskas 5, while Michael Joseph, Christopher Joseph, Vincent Velazquez, Tommy Carvalho, Ashton Chu, Nick Margharitis, Kiyan Izadkah and Isaiah Lafond were scoreless. Rav Randhawa paced the Dragons with 18. Inder Deol added 17, Allen Landasan 13, Aaron uppal 8, Gurmun Ghuman 8, Eesher Sarai 8 and Isaiah Young 7, while Liam Penados, Rohan Dhanoa, Bhavjot Dhiman, Izaac Oppal, Jodha Mahnager, Gurjaap Sandhu, Jodhin Bhangoo and Rohan Dhanoa were scoreless. The Dragons (coach Jordan Taylor, coach Zoel Thibault) also included Jovin heir, Murali Terala, Teren Chahal and Arnav Malhi.
In the semis, the 7th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Thunderbirds edged the 3rd-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish 93-91 after leading 28-13, 46-33 and 68-60 at the quarters. Thunderbirds forward Cole Bekkering dominated the affair on both ends of the floor, while notching 13 of his 37 points in the final frame. Irish guard Cole Cruz-Dumont scored 11 straight points as Vancouver College rallied within 73-71 on the strength of their full-court pressure. Thunderbirds coach Ed Lefurgy told Varsity Letters that Bekkering’s “physical but he is also very patient. He has this strange combination of skills that … there is no one else like him in the province.” Bekkering said that scoring in the paint against the Irish was easier because they “had smaller guys in the paint so things were more open for me and (6-foot-7 Grade 11) Marcus (Floares).” Bekkering said the win was a function “of how hard we work. We’re always in the gym together, always getting up shots, and that is something that is going to show up in big games.” Cole Bekkering paced the Thunderbirds with 37, while nabbed 13 boards. Torian lee added 18, Sam Snyder 14, Marcus Floares 10, along with 10 boards, Maddox Buddiman 9 and Andre Juco 5, while Kendall Dantu-Woods and Jodhan Waraich were scoreless. Mikyle Malabuyoc paced the Fighting Irish with 35. Cole Cruz-Dumont added 21, Enrique Garcia 18, Charles Menard 7, along with 11 boards, Isaiah Bias 5 and Jack Ferguson 5, while Michael Joseph, Christopher Joseph, Kosta Liaskas and Nick Margharitas were scoreless.
In the other semi, the 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels dispatched the 8th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators 84-68 after leading 21-14, 41-30 and 60-55 at the quarters. Dylan Senft notched a layup wit eight minutes to play to draw the Gators within 62-61. But Armaan Hehar notched a pair of treys and Jimmy Zaborniak nailed another as the Rebels closed it out with a 22-7 run. Rebels coach Mike Bell told Varsity Letters that “they came at us with everything, they didn’t back down. “We kind of got a lot more disciplined with what we had tried to focus on for the whole game. I thought it had lacked through most of the game and it led to their runs. We had turnovers and we played undisciplined and those are not the kinds of characteristics I want to see in my basketball team.” Jimmy Zaborniak paced the Rebels with 29. Karan Aujla added 10, Armaan Hehar 10, Jay Marc Bowayan 8, Oliver Petrovic 6, Andy Chen 5, Malik Robert 4 and Greg Petalcorin 2, while Lex Paloma, Brady Lau, Kian Macaraeg, Joey Nakata, Miguel Ladiao, Zach Chen and Lordrikk Guitierrez were scoreless. Kevin Kao paced the Gators with 24. Dylan Senft added 22, Daniel Ahn 6, Callum Neilly 5, Daniel Lee 5, Trever Duffin 4 and Nathan Chung 2, while Eric Cho, Daniel Kim, Yedem Lee, Nathan Wright, Matthew Kang, Jonathan Grywacheski, Tyler George and Brendon Kim were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Vancouver College Fighting Irish defeated the Langley Walnut Grove Gators 82-69 after leading 21-15, 43-38 and 61-57 at the quarters. Cole Cruz-Dumont led the Fighting Irish with 20. Mikyle Malabuyoc added 19, Michael Joseph 12, Enrique Garcia 7, Kyan Izadkah 6, Isaiah Bias 6, Charles Menard 5, Jack Ferguson 2 and Kosta Liaskas 2, while Christopher Joseph, Matthew McNeil, Tommy Carvalho, Ashton Chu, Nick Margharitis and Isaiah Lafond were scoreless. Kevin Kao paced the Gators with 17. Nathan Chung added 112, Trever Duffin 12, Dylan Senft 11, Callum Neilly 11 and Daniel Ahm 4, while Eric Cho, Daniel Kim, Yedem Lee, Nathan Wright, Daniel Lee, Matthew Kang, Jonathan Grywacheski, Tyler George and Brendon Kim were scoreless. The Gators (coach Reid Taylor, assistant Aly Nuruddin) also included Jeffrey Kim.
In the final, the 5th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels earned their fifth provincial crown by defeating the 7th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Thunderbirds 72-57 after leading 15-11, 33-25 and 54-38 at the quarters. Rebels coach Mike Bell said point guard Jimmy Zaborniak was spectacular. “Heart over height: that’s Jimmy Z, best point guard in the province, don’t care what anyone says.” Meanwhile Karan Aujla presents ““a problem for everybody, he changes the strategy for guarding us. He is somebody that everyone has to problem solve. He saw double, he saw triple teams and our other guys hit some open shots … and at the end of the day, we got the job done.” Bell added that “we just stepped on the gas defensively. (Semiahmoo) had some shots that weren’t hitting, and we got the rebounds and turned them into points on the other end.” The Rebels had suffered only one loss all season, the Fraser Zone playoffs. Bell told Varsity Letters that Aujla “did exactly what we asked him to do, and he did it to a T. … He stayed disciplined. He really didn’t jump. He did everything we asked. He contained. He executed the game-plan perfectly.” Aujla said post defence was critical. The Thunderbirds “have some talented Grade 10s in (guard) Torian (Lee) and (power forward-guard) Cole (Bekkering), and (at the tournament) they had been beating their defenders. And you know, just for me, I had to make sure nobody was scoring, and that I was getting all of the rebounds I could. Defensively, I was supposed to protect the paint. … Yesterday, I had a lot of foul trouble and I had to sit out so much of the game, so Mike just said to me ‘Keep your hands up’. Just stand up straight and don’t go for those big blocks.” Thunderbirds coach Ed Lefurgy said Aujla “was was patient because we tried to get him in isolation situations, and he didn’t bite. He played a great, great game.” Rebels assistant Rupi Dahi said Aujla is a high-IQ basketball player. But he has always had the soft hands and the big body. He’s grown into his athleticism and he is a kid who bought in. He came to Burnaby South because he wanted to win titles, and he’s three for three.” Aujla said Bell “is like this crazy coach. That is something I wanted. He always pushed us to be our best and to never settle for anything less.” Karan Aujla paced the Rebels with 22 on 11-14 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 13 boards and 2 assists. Jimmy Zaborniak added 18 on 8-17 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Andy Chen notched 13 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 12 boards and 2 assists. Armaan Hehar scored 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 9 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Lex Paloma scored 3 on 1-1 form the arc. Zach Chan added 3 on 1-7 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Jay Marc Bowayan scored 2 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals, while Greg Petalcorin, Brady Lau, Kian Macaraeg, Joey Nakata, Miguel Ladiao and Oliver Petrovic were scoreless. Marcus Floares paced the Thunderbirds with 17 on 6-14 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. Torian Lee added 14 on 4-14 from the floor, 0-3 form the arc, 6-9 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 6 steals. Cole Bekkering notched 13 on 6-21 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 13 boards and 3 assists. Maddox Bundiman scored 7 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Andre Juco added 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Sam Snyder added 2 on 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 8 boards, while Hasan Saqib, Wyatt Brown, Zamir Dheenshaw, Kendall Dantu-Woods and Markus Alstad-Jones were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 21-68 (.309) from the floor, 2-16 (.125) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 8 fouls, 9 assists, 16 turnovers, 1 block and 14 steals.
The all-tournament 1st team featured MVP Jimmy Zaborniak (Burnaby South); Karan Aujla (Burnaby South); Cole Bekkering (Semiahmoo); Mikyle Malabuyoc (Vancouver College); defensive player of the tournament K.C. Ibekwe (Centennial); and Torian Lee (Semiahmoo).
The 2nd-team featured Dylan Senft (Walnut Grove); Cole Cruz-Dumont (Vancouver College); Jack Vandenberg (St. George’s); Kevin Kao (Walnut Grove); and Andy Chen (Burnaby South).
The bronze medalist Vancouver College Fighting Irish: Enrique Garcia; Mikyle Malabuyoc; Jack Ferguson; Cole Cruz-Dumont; Michael Joseph; Christopher Joseph; Tommy Carvalho; Ashton Chu; Kosta Liaskas; Nick Margharitis; Charles Menard; Kiyan Izadkah; Matthew McNeil; Isaiah Bias; Isiah Lafond; Vincent Velasquez; coach Mer Marghetti; assistant Trixie Cruz; assistant Doug Beers; assistant Alex Steele; assistant Ethan Wong; manager Liam Spieker;; manager Aston Arrieta Lau; manager/photographer Jacob Mallari; doctor Mojgan Namazi
The silver medalist Surrey Semiahmoo Thunderbirds: Torian Lee; Hasan Saqib; Jora Stran; Wyatt Brown; Sam Snyder; Andre Juco; Marcus Floares; Maddox Budiman; Cole Bekkering; Marcus Eaton; Zamir Dheenshaw; Joban Dhillon; Kendall Dantu-Woods; Markus Alstad-Jones; Jack Clayton; Jodhan Waraich; coach Ed Lefurgy; assistant Les Brown; Rory Brown; manager Jerry Li; Mehar Mann; athletic director & trainer Steve Janzen
The gold medalist Burnaby South Rebels: Lex Paloma; Jay Marc Bowayan; Greg Petalcorin; Jimmy Zaborniak; Malik Robert; Brady lau; Kian Macaraeg; Joey Nakata; Andy Chen; Miguel Ladiao; Zach Chan; Karan Aujla; Armaan Hehar; Jordan Omojokun; Oliver Petrovic; Roan Mendoza; Lordrikk Gutierrez; coach Mike Bell; assistant Karl Brysch; assistant Cody Cormack; assistant Randy Edwards; assistant Rupi Dahia; Travis Batiste; assistant Hanz Paloma; Kyle Kirmaci; manager Mehak Mehta; manager Keanna Royal; manager Keanna Royal; manager Mary Dao; manager Shamira Alberts; manager Sarah Barb Lewis; manager Colin Spelrem; manager Charley Kutak; athletic director Robbie Puni