In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Abbotsford Panthers clipped the 11th-seeded North Vancouver Windsor Dukes 63-53. The Panthers led 16-15 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 28 at the half. The Panthers led 49-33 after three quarters. Chase Claypool paced the Panthers with 27 points and 14 boards. Jordan Goheen notched 12, along with 14 boards, Moeiz Athaya 12, Jordan Fox 9 and Manny Jhally 3, while Madaraka Kuol, Kelly Nhgiem, Alex Pongracz and Sim Purewall were scoreless. The Panthers hit 18-46 (.328) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 18 free throws, while garnering 46 boards, including 24 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 19 fouls, 28 turnovers and 17 steals. Erik Kiudorf paced the Dukes with 14. Bentley Heathcote added 9, Michael Holowaty 9, Lucas Puri 6, William Schimelis 6, Jack Armstrong 5 and Brandon Meyers 4, while Seth Putnam-Rae, Cole Slight and Julian Thomas were scoreless. The Dukes hit 16.46 (.333) from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 15-29 (.517) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 20 fouls, 31 turnovers and 20 steals. The Dukes also included Cam Filippone, Lewis Mason, Noah Davis, Robbie Neal, Sam Routledge, Thomas Bush and Joseph Peterson-Hannon. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Abbotsford Robert Bateman Secondary Timberwolves dispatched the 12th-seeded Richmond Matthew McNair Marlins 63-52 after leading 10-9, 27-23 and 44-41 at the quarters. Nate Friesen paced the Timberwolves with 22. Jacob Theil added 14, along with 14 boards, Austin Schulz 12, Hardeep Sidhu 7, along with 18 boards, Callum McDonald 4, Matt Keis 2 and Iqbal Grewal 2. The Timberwolves hit 19-49 (.355) from the floor, 3-13 (.231) from the arc and 16 free throws, while garnering 53 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 9 fouls, 17 turnovers and 7 steals. Kevin Yang paced the Marlins with 16. Owen Vint added 14, along with 13 boards, Sunil Chot 9, Ryan Angela 6, Balraj Saran 4, along with 10 boards, and Talvinder Jadge 3. The Marlins hit 16-39 (.293) from the floor, 6-36 (.167) from the arc and 2-3 from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 19 fouls, 14 turnovers and 8 steals. The Marlins also included Arjan Sandhu, Bobby Dhaliwal, Graham Lynn, Harris Hamidi, Jas Tatla, Jovan Dhillon, Melvin Panganiban, Nathan Schroeder, Puneet Basra, Ravi Grewal and Von Rosales. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Rainmakers mauled the 13th-seeded Courtenay Mark Isfeld Ice 62-49 after leading 16-13, 38-24 and 55-40 at the quarters. Justin McChesney paced the Rainmakers with 19 points and 12 boards. Kaine Wesley scored 19, Perry Terrell 10, Kevin Cochrane 6, Jakob Henry 6 and Rosendo Masocol 2, while Nicolis Campbell, Cole Margona, Mitchell Nelson and Brett Thompson were scoreless. The Rainmakers hit 16-37 (.417) from the floor, 9-23 (.391) from the arc and 3 free throws, while garnering 40 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 8 fouls, 12 turnovers and 9 steals. Davis Malton paced the Ice with 15. Noah Kaefer added 12, Nic Xylinas 11, along with 11 boards, Blaze Gailloux 6, Hank Magdanz 3 and Cole Scrase 2, while Logan Benninger, Zach Fieret and Jonah Hill were scoreless. The Ice hit 12-34 (.302) from the floor, 7-29 (.241) from the arc and 4-6 from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 14 fouls, 14 turnovers and 7 steals. The Ice (coached by Tom Elwood) also included Anthony Xylinas. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Nanaimo District Islanders clocked the 9th-seeded Vernon Panthers 77-53 after leading 17-6, 29-23 and 58-36 at the quarters. Tyus Barfoot paced the Islanders with 25 points and 18 boards. Max Reed scored 17, Callum Gemma 16, along with 10 boards, Sam Devries 6, Garrett Goodall 6, Cole McGarvey 3, Jeremy Binnersley 2 and Shane Rogers 2, while Chris Ilyn was scoreless. The Islanders hit 24-45 (.492) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 14 free throws, while garnering 55 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 13 fouls, 19 turnovers and 5 steals. John Garvie paced the Panthers with 16. Seth Blundell added 13, along with 10 boards, Zac Kronbauer 10, Ben Hladik 6, Leon Schenker 5 and Jakob Marshall 3, while Brad Hladik, Spencer Shaw and Ty Thomas were scoreless. The Panthers hit 12-38 (.282) from the floor, 8-33 (.242) from the arc and 5-11 (.455) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 17 fouls, 11 turnovers and 14 steals. The Panthers also included Nathan Bain. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers stomped the 16th-seeded Nelson L.V. Rogers Bombers 68-36 after leading 26-7, 37-16 and 56-27 at the quarters. Chris Schneller paced the Tigers with 25. John Tait added 17, along with 15 boards, Niko Mottus 7, Zain Ali 5, Taylor Ross 5, Justin Cuenta 3, Christian Aurea 2, Ryan Ghirra 2 and Santi Ubial 2, while R.J. Guatlo, Kwame Jampoh, Keanu Manuel and Lucas Wu were scoreless. The Tigers hit 24-38 (.431) from the floor, 4-27 (.148) from the arc and 8 free throws, while garnering 54 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 15 fouls, 23 turnovers and 12 steals. Josh Matosevic paced the Bombers with 14. Vinnie Watson added 10, Robby Dixon 4, Brock Dixon 2, Darian Johnson 2, Stryder Scott 2 and Kai Shave 2, while Dyllen Dixon and Eamon Studer were scoreless. The Bombers hit 13-44 (.233) from the floor, 1-16 (.062) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 11 fouls, 20 turnovers and 12 steals. The Bombers (coached by Jeremy Phelan, assisted by Dean Studer and Jack Sturrup) also included Jake Anderson, Ole Von Freier and Robert Gross. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Surrey Fleetwood Park Dragons scorched the 15th-seeded Dawson Creek Wolves 84-34 after leading 25-10, 49-23 and 68-29 at the quarters. Tomas Fovenyi paced the Dragons with 17. Armaan Khangura added 14, Nikhail Berar 12, Emeka Okuma 8, Travis Erickson 7, Bhavan Dhillon 6, Jason Ho 6, Shaun Rai 4, Rajan Bir 2, Arjun Dhadda 2, Noah Licas 2, Simon Odong 2 and Jaskarn Thoor 2, while Kabir Aujla and Shawn Domingo were scoreless. The Dragons hit 26-50 from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 8 free throws, while garnering 41 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 16 fouls, 18 turnovers and 16 steals. B Sprongsen paced the Wolves with 11. Chris Schlauwitz added 10, Matt Sutton 7, along with 10 boards, Ty Halliday 3, Max Bankowski 2 and Simon Edelman 1, while Hector Baroy, James Bridges, Jesse James Doucette and Austin Moorman were scoreless. The Wolves hit 6-29 (.163) from the floor, 2-20 from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 4 assists, 9 fouls, 31 turnovers and 8 steals. The Wolves also included Ben van Spronsen and Brodie Clegg. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights nipped the 10th-seeded Nanaimo Wellington Wildcats 52-50. The Wildcats led 18-11 after one quarter and 29-26 at the half. The Knights led 43-38 after three quarters. J.J. Deslauriers paced the Knights with 14. Edward Ju added 12, Aliab Ater 9, Terrell Jana 9, Cam Morris 6 and Kieran Janes 2, along with 10 boards, while Andrew Fleet was scoreless. The Knights hit 14-38 (.279) from the floor, 5-30 (.167) from the arc and 9 free throws, while garnering 39 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 6 assist, 19 fouls, 14 turnovers and 12 steals. Anton Kamke paced the Wildcats with 14 points and 12 boards. Hayden Jeffery notched 13, along with 12 boards, Daniel Goodman 10, along with 14 boards, Nathanael Durkan 6, Alexander Stanisforth 4 and Ryder Jenks 3, while Joseph Almoete and Dylan Chapotelle were scoreless. The Wildcats hit 17-48 (.308) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 13 fouls, 26 turnovers and 5 steals. The Wildcats also included Brooks Branchi, James Sandifer, Lucas Pugh, Sean Mackay and Yas Tsuda. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats edged the 14th-seeded Coquitlam Dr. Charles Best Secondary Blue Devils 73-70. The Blue Devils led 21-15 after one quarter. The Wildcats led 35-33 at the half and 53-49 after three quarters. Sam Evanson paced the Wildcats with 23. Jess Mason added 16, Anthony Demch 11, Ido Gortler 8, Justin Albina 7, Graham Flynn 3, Ryan Yeung 3 and Tae Woo Kim 2, while Peter Bekken and T.J. Hamberger were scoreless. The Wildcats hit 20-54 (.386) from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 16 fouls, 14 turnovers and 23 steals. Graham Miller led the Blue Devils with 42 points and 16 boards. Zach Allan scored 8, Grifyn McErlean 7, along with 13 boards, Jamal Chu 6, Grayson Parkins 5 and Will Neufeld 2, while Mike Pais was scoreless. The Blue Devils hit 14-33 from the floor, 11-17 (.647) from the arc and 9-13 (.692) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 16 fouls, 31 turnovers and 7 steals. The Blue Devils also included Andrei Corpuz, Boyin Chou, Daniel Landy, David Draghici, Ethan Denum, Morgan Ruff, Nima Elmi and Salman Akhtar.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers mauled the 8th-seeded Nanaimo District Islanders 61-47 after leading 17-9, 34-23 and 40-33 at the quarters. Chris Schneller paced the Tigers with 20. John Tait added 17, Taylor Ross 15, Niko Mottus 6 and Santi Ubial 3, while Zain Ali and Ryan Ghirra were scoreless. The Tigers hit 13-32 (.393) from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 8-11 (.727) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 11 fouls, 3 turnovers and 9 steals. Tyus Barfoot paced the Islanders with 19. Max Reed added 18, Callum Gemma 6 and Garrett Goodall 4, while Sam Devries and Cole McGarvey were scoreless. The Islanders hit 18-44 (.357) from the floor, 2-12 (.167) from the arc and 5 free throws, while garnering 33 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 11 fouls, 9 turnovers and 3 steals. The Islanders (coached by Mark Simpson) also included Anders Cederberg, Chris Ilyn, Jeremy Binnersley and Shane Rogers.
The 2nd-seeded Surrey Fleetwood Park Dragons dispatched the 7th-seeded Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights 83-73 in overtime. “Clearly, it’s not how we anticipated or wanted to finish our season. … It’s not always about winning provincial titles. A lot of things have to fall into place to have that happen,” Knights coach Aaron Mitchell told Burnaby Now. The Knights led by four with 13 seconds to play but “didn’t close it out” in overtime. The Dragons led 16-6 after one quarter and 36-23 at the half. The Knights led 49-44 after three quarters. The score was knotted at 67 after regulation. Armaan Khangura paced the Dragons with 21. Emeka Okuma added 17, along with 17 boards, Nikhail Berar 17, Tomas Fovenyi 9, Noah Licas 9, Arjun Dhadda 5 and Travis Erickson 5, while Bhavan Dhillon and Shawn Domingo were scoreless. The Dragons hit 23-47 (.460) from the floor, 6-16 (.375) from the arc and 19-30 (.633) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 26 fouls, 23 turnovers and 6 steals. Cam Morris led the Knights with 21. Terrell Jana added 19, Andrew Flett 12, Edward Ju 8, Kieran Janes 5, J.J. Deslauriers 4 and Aliab Ater 4, while Montavi Kidd and Dante Trasolini were scoreless. The Knights hit 15-36 (.364) from the floor, 9-30 (.300) from the arc and 16 free throws, while garnering 40 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 29 fouls, 17 turnovers and 13 steals. The Knights also included Jason Zhang, Lachlan Williams, Nic Moretti and Peter Colistro.
The 4th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Rainmakers dusted the 5th-seeded Abbotsford Robert Bateman Secondary Timberwolves 72-58 after leading 14-12, 29-28 and 51-45 at the quarters. Rainmakers coach Mel Bishop told that while Justin McChesney had an off-night on the offensive end of the floor, he was stellar defensively. “He’s a rim protector. He just controls the defensive boards and he is such a good decision maker. Plus, a lot of other guys stepped up tonight.” Perry Terrell paced the Rainmakers with 24. Rosendo Masocol added 15, Kevin Chochrane 9, Justin McChesney 8, Jakob Henry 6, Kaine Wesley 6, Cole Marogna 3 and Brett Thompson 1, while Aiden Bull, Kyler Eckess and Jalene Stephens were scoreless. The Rainmakers hit 15-35 (.421) from the floor, 9-22 (.409) from the arc and 15 free throws, while garnering 45 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 13 fouls, 20 turnovers and 13 steals. Jacob Theil paced the Timberwolves with 11 points and 10 boards. Nate Friesen scored 10, Austin Schulz 10, Callum McDonald 9, along with 11 boards, Matt Keis 8, Hardeep Sidhu 7, Iqbal Grewal 2 and Keenan Adams-Barausse 1, while Alex Baron-Veale, Armaan Heer, Joshua Thei and Austen Zacher were scoreless. The Timberwolves hit 16-50 (.284) from the floor, 5-24 (.208) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 20 fouls, 18 turnovers and 9 steals. The Timberwolves also included Jasson Soni, Karman Boparai and Richard Ma.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats dumped the 6th-seeded Abbotsford Panthers 82-70. The Wildcats led 18-15 after one quarter and 35-30 at the half. The score was knotted at 52 after three quarters. Jess Mason paced the Wildcats with 21. Anthony Demch added 10, Ido Gortler 12, Justin Laing 10, Sam Evanson 9, Graham Flynn 6, T.J. Hamberger 2 and Tae Woo Kim 2, while Justin Albina and Ryan Yeung were scoreless. The Wildcats hit 25-44 from the floor, 7-20 (.350) from the arc and 11 free throws, while garnering 33 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 16 fouls, 11 turnovers and 7 steals. Moeiz Athaya paced the Panthers with 23. Chase Claypool added 22, along with 10 boards, Jordan Goheen 16 and Jordan Fox 9, while Manny Jhally, Kelly Nhgiem and Alex Pongracz were scoreless. The Panthers hit 25-46 (.492) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 8-20 (.400) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 16 fouls, 7 turnovers and 11 steals. The Panthers (coached by Prentice Lenz) also included Allister Provan, Josiah Hipolito, Madaraka Kuol, Nick Kim, Sim Purewal and Teis Heemskerk.
In the semi-finals, the top-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers clawed the 4th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Rainmakers 63-40. The Rainmakers led 17-15 after one quarter. The Tigers led 32-25 at the half and 52-40 after three quarters. “Oh boy, I am ecstatic,” Tigers coach Jeff Gourley told the Vancouver Province. “I am like the father with the prettiest baby in the entire world. Man oh man, I am just so proud of them. They are my sons and I couldn’t be more proud.” The Tigers switching zones befuddled the Rainmakers. “We knew how good they were and we knew they were going to put up a real fight,” said Tupper guard Chris Schneller. “We just had to stick to our game plan.” Gourley said “we had a little problem at the beginning because they were hitting shots. They are concerned with getting the ball to McChesney and who can blame them. So we kept making adjustments of they started hitting more on one side of the court than the other.” Tigers player of the game John Tait told the Vancouver Courier that “I thought it was going to be a closer game, but going up against the No. 1 team isn’t ever going to be easy. We’ve never made it this far. We want to win it for our school. We want to get one for coach.” Having grown up in Port Simpson, Tait said he was familiar with a number of the Rainmakers, particularly post Justin McChesney. “That’s how I know their strengths and weaknesses. We had to make some adjustments on the big guy. I had to stay low on him and knew to call for help when I needed it.” Chris Schneller paced the Tigers with 19 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 11 boards, 4 assists and 5 steals. Santi Ubial added 15 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 2 steals. Taylor Ross notched 12 on 0-1 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. John Tait scored 11 on 5-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 17 boards. Niko Mottus added 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 9 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. The Tigers hit 16-40 from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 7 free throws, while garnering 49 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 13 fouls, 7 turnovers and 12 steals. Rosendo Masocol paced the Rainmakers with 14 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 0-3 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Justin McChesney added 10 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 15 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Perry Terrell added 6 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 9 boards. Kaine Wesley scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Brett Thompson added 3 on 0-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 0-4 from the line and 7 boards. Jakob Henry added 3 on 1-4 from the arc, while Cole Margona was scoreless. The Rainmakers hit 9-28 from the floor, 6-30 (.200) from the arc and 4-13 (.308) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 12 fouls, 16 turnovers and 6 steals.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Surrey Fleetwood Park Dragons edged the 3rd-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats 78-75 after leading 15-10, 37-31 and 56-42 at the quarters. Wildcats coach Bik Chatha told the Richmond News that his troops were worn down by the tournament, particularly guard Anthony Dench, who was recovering from pneumonia. “We were down by about 15 points with four minutes to go and went on a late rally, hitting a bunch of three-pointers,” Chatha said. “But in the end, it wasn’t enough.” The Dragons led by 17 in the fourth quarter but the Wildcats rallied down the stretch to make it a one-possession game. “We were brutal,” Dragons point guard Armaan Khangura told the Vancouver Province in regard to the squad’s 22 missed free throws. “We’ll work on them in practice and we’ll shoot them better tomorrow. I went to sleep at 5 a.m. last night. I couldn’t sleep. This is what I have dreamt of my whole life, especially after what happened last year (an opening round loss). Dragons coach Jordan Taylor said making the final is “a school first and we’re happy to be here and get excited to enjoy it and be in the moment. I am just telling my guys to push through and leave it all on the court.” Emeka Okuma paced the Dragons with 26 on 12-17 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 16 boards. Tomas Fovenyi added 24 on 3-7 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 2 boards and 3 steals. Armaan Khangura scored 13 on 3-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7-14 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Travis Erickson added 5 on 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nikhail Berar added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-8 from the line, 4 boards and 4 steals. Arjun Dhadda added 2, along with 2 assists, Bhavan Dhillon 2 and Noah Licas 1, along with 3 boards, while Kabir Aujla and Shawn Domingo were scoreless. The Dragons hit 22-47 from the floor, 6-15 (.400) from the arc and 16 free throws, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 22 fouls, 16 turnovers and 10 steals. Anthony Demch paced the Wildcats with 31 on 10-20 from the floor, 11-18 from the line, 13 boards and 4 steals. Sam Evanson added 12 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, 19 boards and 2 assists. Ido Gortler scored 12 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Graham Flynn notched 8 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Justin Laing scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 5 boards. Jess Mason added 6 on 3-3 from the floor and 0-8 from the arc, while Justin Albina, T.J. Hamberger, Tae Woo Kim and Ryan Yeung were scoreless. The Wildcats hit 24-52 from the floor, 2-17 (.118) from the arc and 21-32 (.656) from the line, while garnering 57 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 28 fouls, 19 turnovers and 9 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Rainmakers dispatched the 3rd-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats 77-61 after leading 19-9, 34-25 and 47-40 at the quarters. Rosendo Masocol dictated the tempo and paced the Rainmakers with 23 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Justin McChesney, who was chosen defensive player of the tournament, added 21 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 18 boards and 4 assists. Perry Terrell notched 13 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 10 boards. Jakob Henry scored 10 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Brett Thompson added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-6 from the line and 3 boards. Mitchell Nelson added 2, Kyler Eckess 2, along with 2 boards, and Nicolis Campbell 1, while Bobby Bob, Kevin Chochrane, Cole Marogna, Jalene Stephens, Carter Thorson and Kaine Wesley were scoreless. The Rainmakers hit 16-38 from the floor, 9-29 (.310) from the arc and 18-28 (.643) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 14 fouls, 9 turnovers and 3 steals. Anthony Demch paced the Wildcats with 18 on 8-17 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 15 boards and 2 assists. Jess Mason added 13 on 0-4 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Ido Gortler scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 10 boards. Graham Flynn added 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Peter Bekenn scored 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Justin Albina added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 2 steals. T.J. Hamberger added 3, Justin Laing 2, along with 3 boards and 2 assists, and Sam Evanson 2, while Jonathan Fang, Samson Li and Bryce Mason were scoreless. The Wildcats hit 16-47 from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 14-22 (.636) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 22 fouls, 9 turnovers and 6 steals. The Wildcats (coached by Bik Chatha) also included Gavin Dosanj, Justice Thomas, Karlo Santos, Ryan Yeung and Tae Woo Kim.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Surrey Fleetwood Park Dragons defeated the top-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers 73-65 to capture their first provincial title. “It means all the world to us,” Dragons coach Jordan Taylor told the Langley Advance. “We said we’re going to take it play by play. That’s what we did, try to get a score and work your way back. After that we won every single quarter.” The Tigers led 21-6, 33-24 and 47-45 at the quarters, but the Dragons pulled out the win with three consecutive treys by player of the game Travis Erickson down the stretch. The Dragons trailed 21-3 early but rallied with a 22-4 run in the second quarter. “I never lost hope,” Taylor told the Vancouver Province. “We said we’ll take it play by play, just work your way back and that is all you can do and we won every single quarter after that. Once we started to attack, we found the seams and it all clicked.” Tupper coach Jeff Gourley said “I think (Duke head coach) Mike Krzyzewski said it best, that when the team wins it’s because of the players, and when it loses it’s because the coach didn’t prepare them. They are devastated right now but the sun will come up tomorrow. But maybe I worked them too hard by leaving them in for the whole game.” Tournament MVP Emeka Okuma told Surrey Now that “our coaches put in our mind that we’re here for a reason and that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Taylor noted that the squad suffered from early jitters but got on track by attacking the Tiger’s zone. “Once our guys started to attack, they really just found the seams and everything just started to click for us.” Taylor, former player at Fleetwood Park and son of long-time school athletic director Kerry Taylor, told the Surrey North Delta Leader that winning the title was “amazing. Dad has put in so much time into the program since the school opened” in 1994. They’d made six provincial draws but had never won it. “We struggled (early) and the guys were nervous. The shots wouldn’t drop. We had to keep them composed, and we had to grind our way back, a bit at a time. And that’s what we did, we won each quarter. We were down by nine at the half, and just one at three-quarter time. … I always thought we had a legitimate chance, but knew it would be a tough test. We beat three of the best teams, other than us, so we deserved it.” Tournament MVP Emeka Okuma said determination was key. “Last year with an early exit I knew I had to step up this year,” he told the Langley Advance. “I knew I had to step up in order to get this victory.” Taylor told the Vancouver Sun that he had “full faith” in Erickson coming off the bench. “He came in today and did some huge things for us. Just unreal. I knew he had it in him.” Emeka Okuma paced the Dragons with 20 on 10-13 from the floor, 18 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Noah Licas added 16 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 8-9 from the line and 2 boards. Player of the game Travis Erickson scored 14 on 1-1 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 4 boards. Tomas Fovenyi added 13 on 5-6 from the floor, 1-12 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 2 boards. Armaan Khangura notched 10 on 5-15 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 7 boards and 7 assists, while Nikhail Berar and Arjun Dhadda were scoreless. The Dragons hit 22-45 from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 8-10 from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 12 fouls, 6 turnovers and 5 steals. Chris Schneller paced the Tigers with 21 on 3-18 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Taylor Ross added 15 on 1-1 from the floor, 4-17 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. John Tait scored 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 17 boards and 2 assists. Santi Ubial added 8 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Niko Mottus notched 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 17 boards and 2 assists, while Zain Ali and Ryan Ghirra were scoreless. Ghirra nabbed 3 boards. The Tigers hit 13-42 from the floor, 11-34 (.324) from the arc and 6-10 from the line, while garnering 58 boards, including 25 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 12 fouls, 14 turnovers and 2 steals.
The bronze medalist Prince Rupert Charles Hays Rainmakers: Justin McChesney; Kaine Wesley; Perry Terrell; Kevin Cochrane; Jakob Henry; Rosendo Masocol; Nicolis Campbell; Cole Marogna; Mitchell Nelson; Brett Thompson; Aiden Bull; Bobby Bob; Carter Thorson; Jalene Stephens; Kyler Eckess; Kyler Reece; coach Mel Bishop
The silver medalist Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers: Chris Schneller; John Tait; Niko Mottus; Zain Ali; Taylor Ross; Justin Cuenta; Christian Aurea; Ryan Ghirra; Santi Ubial; R.J. Guatlo; Kwame Jampoh; Keanu Manuel; Lucas Wu; Filip Stajic; coach Jeff Gourley
The gold medalist Surrey Fleetwood Park Dragons: Tomas Fovenyi; Armaan Khangura; Nikhail Berar; Emeka Okuma; Travis Erickson; Bhavan Dhillon; Jason Ho; Shaun Rai; Rajan Bir; Arjun Dhadda; Noah Licas; Simon Odong; Jaskarn Thoor; Kabir Aujla; Shawn Domingo; Izaiah Robinson; Josh Bruce; coach Jordan Taylor; assistant Nick Day