In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors dusted the 13th-seeded Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 72-49 after leading 14-13, 42-27 and 58-39 at the quarters. Caleb Lyons “He got a bunch of naked looks and when you have players like Soren (Erricson) and Dan (Zimmerman), those guys are keyed on, so he’s fortunate enough to be overlooked,” Condors coach Jordan Yu told Varsity Letters. “He is one of our best shooters. He is dead-eye, and he’s a long kid who can go inside.” Caleb Lyons paced Duchess Park with 25, including 4 treys. Dan Zimmerman added 11, Connor Lewis 10, Isaac Northrop 6, Emir Zijnulahovic 6, Jackson Kuc 4, Sorren Erricson 4, Tanner Cruz 2, Tony Zejnulahovic 2 and Ethan Wood 2, while Ben Dyck, Owen MacDonald, Graydon Wolitski, Sam Istok and Zach Hitz were scoreless. The Condors hit 23-71 (.324) from the floor, 7-27 (.259) from the arc and 19-24 (.792) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 14 assists, 16 turnovers, 2 blocks and 16 steals. Jackson Netzel paced Caledonia with 21. Matthew Stewart-Clayton added 7, James Gagnon 6, Ty Giesbrecht 5, Cole Oullet 4, Spencer Schulte 3, Everett Poole 2 and Jonathan Boutilier 1, while Brock Neid, Jimmy Nijar, Trai Zips, Nahim Jack, Liam Bains and Milan Dhesi were scoreless. The Kermodes hit 17-56 (.304) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 10-13 (.769) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 9 assists, 25 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. The Kermodes (coached by Joe Dominiguez, assisted by Cam MacKay) also included Brody Mckay. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Richmond A.R. MacNeill Ravens dispatched the 11th-seeded Abbotsford Robert Bateman Timberwolves 77-67. The Timberwolves led 23-16 after one quarter and 39-37 at the half. The Ravens led 56-52 after three quarters. They pulled away down the stretch by continuing to dominate the paint. Hudson Swaim paced A.R. MacNeill with 17. Usman Tung added 16, Jackson Thackwray 16, Omar Abumalouh 12, Sky Tan 8, Everett Swaim 5, along with 11 boards, and Shane Kleyn 3, while Nikko Bondoc, Difu Wang, Noah Vargas, Marco Esteban, Tanner Devlin, Oscar Hung, Daniel Salazar, Wesley Hung and Ben Estrellado were scoreless. The Ravens hit 30-75 (.400) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 14-25 (.560) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 9 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals. Isiah Peters paced Robert Bateman with 22. Darsh Brar added 15, Sam Davenport 13, Ty Martens 8, Logan MacDonald 5, Marcus Rauch 2 and Carter Squire 2, while Isiah Ridder, Michael Bourke, Caleb Voth, Theo Chapman, Jack Weinkauf, Sahil Sekhon, Bhavi Baqri and Josh Van deVelde were scoreless. The Timberwolves (coach Ravi Sidhu, assistants Callum McDonald, Dilraj Brar and Bill Mueller, manager Elizabeth Hargrave) hit 25-85 (.294) from the floor, 12-35 (.343) from the arc and 5-7 (.714) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 14 assists, 19 turnovers and 11 steals. …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded North Vancouver Argyle Pipers spanked the 3rd-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders 85-69. The Pipers led 18-14 after one quarter. The Marauders led 39-34 at the half and by 13 midway through the third quarter. The score was knotted at 58 after three quarters. “I honestly think that part of it was (Pitt Meadows’) fatigue,” Argyle coach Mike Finch told Varsity Letters. “Their bigs are two big boys and they have two excellent guards on the outside. It was about putting as much pressure on those four points as possible.” The Marauder bigs got in foul trouble down the stretch, which opened up the paint for the Pipers. Gerial Larosa paced Argyle with 28, including 6 treys. David Finch added 16, along with 10 boards, Alex Whal 16, along with 10 boards, Boris Zaviryukha 14, Colin Gratham 7 and Marco Tancon 4, while Harrison Archer, Jack Ferguson, Kai Hunt, Minami Sato, Ethan Hanlon, Ben Sawiuk, Jamal Bala, Ahoura Radpey and Nick Frederick were scoreless. The Pipers hit 28-68 (.412) from the floor, 11-35 (.314) from the arc and 18-22 (.818) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 20 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 blocks and 8 steals. Cole Leon paced Pitt Meadows with 25. Ryan Tougas added 19, Iman Ostovari 13, Benjamin Pollard 9, Ethan Verzosa 2 and Brendan Pardy 1, while Dustin Chute, Lorenzo Leoncio, Kiefer Wedel, Jackson Juriga, Kenly Hoeg, Evan Bawa, Benjamin Roemer and Levi Kongolo were scoreless. The Marauders (coach Brody Herman, assistants Mike Leon, Dale Kurylyk and Trevor Severinski, managers Alicia Esplin and Ryan Crockett) hit 28-76 (.368) from the floor, 3-12 from the arc and 10-24 (.417) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 9 assists, 13 turnovers, 4 blocks and 11 steals. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers pounded the 15th-seeded Victoria Reynolds Roadrunners 83-44 after leading 24-7, 40-17 and 58-34 at the quarters. Kevin Morgan paced Vernon with 24, along with 12 boards. Isaiah Ondrik added 19, along with 11 boards, Zack Smith 11, Liam Reid 10, Jimmy Atwal 7, Thomas Hyett 7, Trent Charlton 4 and Carson Dohnal 1, while Saajan Klair was scoreless. The Panthers hit 34-81 (.420) from the floor, 2-18 (.111) from the arc and 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 10 assists, 7 turnovers, 4 blocks and 9 steals. Takeshi Croke and Ephrem Woldu each scored 15 to pace Reynolds. Amado Acosta added 7, Zu Chan 3, Seth Bunton 2 and Noah Cunningham 2, while Rish Samoy, Jono Allen, Sam Pratap, Momar Niang, Edoarado Fillipi, Elijah Goluza, Dustin Stothart and Parker Cote were scoreless. The Roadrunners (coach Tyler Olsen, assistant Jeff Loukes) hit 16-70 (.229) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 8-17 (.471) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 6 assists, 13 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers dumped the 16th-seeded Courtenay Mark Isfeld Ice 73-58 after leading 21-19, 37-31 and 56-41 at the quarters. The clawed to a one-point lead midway through the third quarter but the Tigers found a new gear and led by as many as 22 in the fourth. “I think it all came from the defensive end when we started to press a little harder,” Tigers coach Jeff Gourley told Varsity Letters. “Our guys had been through so much this week, from debuting their pink jersies to all the attention they are receiving at school, the list just goes on and on. I think they were tired. Bottom line. And they’re playing a team they’re not familiar with, and it didn’t seem to matter how much we told them how well-coached (Mark Isfeld) was going to be (under Tom Elwood), I am sure they were going ‘OK, we’re No. 1 and they are No. 16.’” The Tigers played without starting guard Norben Buloson, who was recovering from an ankle injury. Simon Crossfield paced Sir Charles Tupper with 20. Gaurab Acharya added 14, Mitchell Morgan 10, Matthew Dunkerley 10, Sebastian Lemos 7, Joven Dhillon 5, Luke Tobias 4 and Liam Stanley 3, while Abessan Rajaratnam, Trew Petersen, Kieran Sherestan, Benny Bradford, Lloyd Macinas, Derek Le, Michael Domingo and Noah Basas were scoreless. The Tigers hit 30-78 (.385) from the floor, 11-35 (.314) from the arc and 2-6 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 16 assists, 9 turnovers, 4 blocks and 15 steals. Aidan McDonald paced Mark Isfeld with 19. Temwa Mtawali added 13, Thaskani Mtawali 12, along with 13 boards, Hayden Fieret 6, Ian Rutledge 3, E-Jay Escosia 3 and Jacob Volkers 2, while Jordan Peacock, Koome Huff, Amha Mulatu, Sam Purcell, Lucas Santana, Tynan Levesconte and Dawson Fox were scoreless. The Ice (coach Tom Elwood, assistants Kate McLeod and Colin Cunningham, manager Harriette Cunningham) hit 21-63 (.333) from the floor, 9-33 (.273) from the arc and 7-10 from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 8 assists, 19 turnovers and 4 steals. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies stomped the 12th-seeded Richmond Steveston-London Sharks 85-59 after leading 22-12, 39-23 and 64-36 at the quarters. Geevon Janday paced G.W. Graham with 18, along with 14 boards. Jude Hall added 17, Zachary Klim 17, Anmol Shoker 11, Cairo Almarez 6, Ty Hall 6, Liam Dueck 5, Max Bergin 2, Cole Wicker 2 and Matthias Klim 1, while Josiah McGrew, Bedza Mannes, Riley Murphy, Jake Lawson, Travis Martin, Aaron Keats and Armaan Shoker were scoreless. The Grizzlies hit 31-70 (.443) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 14-26 (.538) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 18 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Jhonell Vergara paced Steveston-London with 11. Kouki Kawano added 9, Vincent Zheng 8, Aidan Cox 8, Umer Shahzad 7, Ethan Wight 6, Dayton Brucker 4, Brendan Man 2, Jalen Johal 2 and Adrian Wong 2, while Marco Wong, Mill Cai, Anderstine Tan Jr, Logan Nelson, Kaiden Brucker and Andrew Wong were scoreless. The Sharks hit 22-66 (.333) from the floor, 6-23 (.261) from the arc and 9-10 from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 23 turnovers, 4 blocks and 7 steals. The Sharks (coach Mike Stoneburgh, assistants Taros Johal and Malcolm Lee, managers Aaron Sun, Spencer Chow and Jas Sidhu) also included Jhonelle Dela-Cruz. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes smacked the 10th-seeded Courtney G.P. Vanier Towhees 86-71 after leading 27-16, 41-31 and 66-50 at the quarters. Gurkaran Mangat paced Rick Hansen with 23, along with 14 boards, Guautam Dhaliwal 21, Harjot Dhaliwal 16, Monty Gill 13, along with 10 boards, Jayden Bains 8 and Ravdeep Brar 5, while Aman Grewal, Mohin Narang, Tanveer Kaler, Sahil Gill, Sartaj Bhatti, Rajvir Sidhu, Gurshawn Sekhon and Vikram Gill were scoreless. The Hurricanes hit 33-80 (.413) from the floor, 4-18 (.250) from the arc and 16-21 (.762) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 12 assists, 11 turnovers, 3 blocks and 14 steals. Peter Greaves paced G.P. Vanier with 25, along with 14 boards. Jacob Tortorelli added 12, Brayden Waugh 11, Cameron Bell 9, Sidney Woodrow 8, Macyn Leopky-J. 4 and Jeff Powell 2, while Lucky Nguyen, Benjamin Demierre, Jefferson Destura, Jeremy Knopp, Curtis Trask and Justin Watt were scoreless. The Towhees (coach Larry Street, assistants Fabian McCarthy and Colton DeRycke, and managers Ethan Lloyd and Jay Parker) hit 31-78 (.397) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 5-9 (.556) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 16 assists, 20 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded North Delta Huskies dusted the 8th-seed Burnaby Byrne Creek Bulldogs 74-48 after leading 21-11, 41-20 and 53-35 at the quarters. Guard Suraj Gahir played with an injured ankle but told Varsity Letters that while, “I am not healthy yet, (centre) Vik (Hayer’s) not, you’ve seen his (knee) brace, but it’s been about all of these other guys stepping up. … And I have to shout out to Ryan Cabico,” who was stellar on defence. Huskies coach Jesse Hundal said “we said the first five minutes were going to be the key to this game. We said it was going to be about heart. … There is no pressure on us. I know there are teams that counted us out because of our injuries, but we’ve got nothing to lose. We’re just going to go out and fight. That’s all you can do. And when you have a fighting chance, you have chance.” Arun Atker paced North Delta with 23. Bhavraj Thiara added 13, Suraj Gahir 11, along with 16 boards, Jagraj Johal 11, Vikramit Hayer 10, Eshaan Kapoor 4 and Ryan Cabico 2, while Sagar Ranouta, Gurjiwan Dhindsa, Abbiel Mate, Parm Hothi, Gary Singh and Manraj Singh were soreless. The Huskies hit 28-72 (.389) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 10-18 (.556) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 14 assists, 9 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals. Bithow Wan paced Byrne Creek with 22, along with 15 boards, Adam Muhammad 10, Sufi Ahmed 6, Mukhatar Afadish 5, Bobby Mabeny 3 and Mac Chamboko 2, while Gabe Bondoc, Chida Nkoloagu, Arnauld Alandou, Ashton Chisholm, Yohanes Mamo, Daniel Moges, Alex Flores, Sami Agosom, Trevor Shisogoro and Alex Flores were scoreless. The Bulldogs hit 19-67 (.284) from the floor, 5-20 (.250) from the arc and 5-13 (.385) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 8 assists, 9 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals. The Bulldogs (coached by Balraj Dhillon, assistants Shaun Hake and Nigel Palma, manager Mohammed Mohammed) also included Alisina Moradi, Haj Dzebic and Dino Demirovic.
In the quarterfinals, the 6th-seeded Richmond A.R. MacNeill Ravens defeated the 14th-seeded North Vancouver Argyle Pipers 77-68. The Pipers led by 13 early, by 20-11 after one quarter and 32-31 at the half. The Ravens led 52-46 after three quarters. The Ravens told Varsity Letters that they felt no pressure. Coach Steward Siy said “we were happy just to get to Oval (Richmond Olympic Oval, site of the Lower Mainland playoffs). So everything here is just bonus and we’re taking it as a learning experience of how we can get better.” Usman Tung said “we were blown out in the (Richmond) city final, and we were blown out (by Charles Tupper) in the Lower Mainland final. So we have nothing to lose.” Tung told the Richmond News that “when you get blown out in the city final there is nothing to lose anymore. We have been at our lowest and now we are just looking up and hoping to do better. Today was a great team win. … The last six games I haven’t been able to hit anything. I also had a streak where I went pretty well so I guess I’m just going back into that rhythm again. I timed it right.” Assisant Landon Dy said “everyone has bought into our program, from Grade 8 to Grade 12, even our coaching staff. Come playoffs, they had to to stay at their levels but after that we knew we can bring everyone up. They practice all year together in the same group. Our Grade 9 is one of the most composed guys out there. It’s a great feeling. I’m out of words right now. The boys played well and they stuck to the game plan. Now we are going to the arena! I remember graduating from this school 10 years ago and we couldn’t even make to the Lower Mainlands and here we are.” Usman Tung paced A.R. MacNeill with 30. Sky Tan added 20, Hudson Swaim 10, Everett Swaim 8, Ben Estrellado 4, Jackson Thackwray 2, Shane Kleyn 2 and Omar Abumalouh 1, while Nikko Bondoc, Difu Wang, Noah Vargas, Marco Esteban, Tanner Devlin, Oscar Hung, Daniel Salazar and Wesley Hung. The Ravens hit 27-78 (.346) from the floor, 8-35 (.229) from the arc and 15-25 (.600) from the arc, while garnering 39 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 17 assists, 14 turnovers and 15 steals. David Finch paced Argyle with 32, along with 12 boards. Gerial Larosa added 14, Boris Ziviryukha 11, Alex Whal 6, Harrison Archer 2, Colin Gratham 2 and Ahoura Radpey 2, while Jack Ferguson, Marco Tancon, Minami Sato, Kai Hunt, Ethan Hanlon, Ben Sawiuk, Jamal Bala and Nick Frederick were scoreless. The Pipers (coaches John Crowley and Mike Finch, managers Lauren Ritchey and Tianna Leask) hit 24-74 (.324) from the floor, 7-18 (.389) from the arc and 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 6 assists, 24 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals.
The 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers dispatched the 7th-seeded Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes 66-57. The Panthers led 19-17 after one quarter and 33-28 at the half. The Hurricanes led 41-34 after three quarters. With the score knotted at 52, the Panthers ripped off a 9-0 run to take command. “It was an uphill battle tonight, Rick Hansen played extremely well and we knew going in that it was going to be a war,” Panthers coach Malcolm Reid told Varsity Letters. “Isaiah (Ondrik) was struggling with his shot, but he found a way to win it for us with a couple of big threes.” Thomas Hyatt paced Vernon with 17. Kevin Morgan added 16, along with 11 boards, Isaiah Ondrik 12, Zack Smith 10, Trent Charlton 6 and Liam Reid 5, while Saajan Klair, Roan Reid, Sajan Klair and Jimmy Atwal were scoreless. The Panthers hit 23-70 (.329) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 14 assists, 12 turnovers and 12 steals. Gurkaran Mangat paced Rick Hansen with 20, along with 14 boards. Jayden Bains added 13, Monty Gill 12, Gautam Dhaliwal 5, Harjot Dhaliwal 5 and Vikram Gill 2, while Aman Grewal, Ravdeep Brar, Mohin Narang, Tanveer Kaler, Sahil Gill, Sartaj Ghatti, Rajvir Sidhu and Gurshawn Sekhon were scoreless. The Hurricanes (coach Steve Twele, assistants Sukhpaul Dhaliwal and Virinder Braich, manager Alan Henderson) hit 22-62 (.355) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 8 assists, 16 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals.
The 9th-seeded North Delta Huskies stunned the top-seeded Vancouver Sir Charles Tupper Tigers 74-67 after leading 20-11, 40-23 and 57-45 at the quarters. They led by as many as 21. Huskies coach Jesse Hundal told Varsity Letters that his troops “are doing it themselves and when the team takes over from the coaches, special things are going to happen. … We’ve talked about the numbers (i.e., the seeds). But one and nine are just numbers. At the end of the day we have a fighting chance, and we’ll live with whatever happens.” Suraj Gahir paced North Delta with 19, along with 12 boards and 10 assists. Arun Atker added 13, Bhayraj Thiara 12, Vikramjit Hayer 11, Jagraj Johal 10 and Ryan Cabico 9, while Sagar Ranouta, Gurjiwan Dhindsa, Abbiel Mate, Parm Hothi, Eshaan Kapoor, Gary Singh and Manraj Singh were scoreless. The Huskies hit 30-62 (.484) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 9 fouls, 15 assists, 9 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals. Simon Crossfield paced Sir Charles Tupper with 17. Joven Dhillon added 13, Mitchell Morgan 10, Gaurab Acharya 10, Norben Bulosan 9, Matthew Dunkerley 4, Liam Stanley 2 and Luke Tobias 2, while Abessan Rajaratnam, Sebastian Lemos, Trew Petersen, Kieran Sherestan, Benny Bradford, Lloyd Macinas, Derek Le, Michael Domingo and Noah Basas were scoreless. The Tigers hit 25-62 (.403) from the floor, 10-28 (.357) from the arc and 7-10 from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 9 assists, 12 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. The Tigers (coach Jeff Gourley, assistants Patrick Cumaual, Warren Liang and Jordan McAlpine, managers Kehl Petersen, Zoe Fenster, Nicola Ruby and Ryan To) also included Rhys Maestre.
In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors dispatched the 5th-seeded Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies 72-64. The Condors led 19-17 after one quarter. The Grizzles led 39-29 at the half and 53-50 after three quarters. The Condors trailed by eight in the fourth quarter but slowly rallied. They cut the deficit to 65-64 on a Caleb Lyons trey and then Soren Erricson pilfered the ball for a runout to give them a 67-64 lead with 17 seconds to play, all part of a 16-0 closing run. “It was an unbelievable sequence,” Duchess Park coach Jordan Yu told Varsity Letters. “Caleb has been hot all weekend, and when he gets those naked looks, you pray it’s going to go down. Then Soren gets a steal and gets out into transition and has an easy bucket. That was one of our keys as well. We knew we were the smaller team and we knew we had to keep it uptempo. So getting it to the rim without their big guys being there was important. That’s why getting out in transition was so huge for us.” Sorren Erricson paced Duchess Park with 25. Caleb Lyons added 18, Dan Zimmerman 15, along with 11 boards, Emir Zejnulahovic 6, along with 14 boards, Connor Lewis 3, Ethan Wood 3 and Jackson Kuc 2, while Tanner Cruz, Ben Dyck, Owen MacDonald, Isaac Northrop, Graydon Wolitski, Sam Istok, Zach Hitz and Tony Zejnulahovic were scoreless. The Condors hit 25-74 (.338) from the floor, 11-35 (.314) from the arc and 11-24 (.458) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 12 assists, 9 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. Geevon Janday led G.W. Graham with 18, along with 12 boards. Cole Wicker added 16, including 4 treys, Ty Hall 12, Zachary Kim 8, Anmol Shoker 6 and Jude Hall 4, while Cairo Almarez, Max Bergin, Liam Dueck, Josiah McGrew, Bedza Mannes, Riley Murphy, Jake Lawson, Travis Martin, Aaron Keats, Armaan Shoker and Matthias Kim were scoreless. The Grizzlies (coach Jake Mouritzen, assistants Sean Wicker, T.J. Klim and Curtis Kmyta, managers Hannah Rachey and Tori Fedrau) hit 24-65 (.369) from the floor, 10-31 (.323) from the arc and 6-14 (.429) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 15 assists, 9 turnovers, 5 blocks and 3 steals.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers clocked the 5th-seeded Richmond A.R. MacNeill Ravens 89-65 after leading 17-16, 38-29 and 61-45 at the quarters. “There is no question that these guys are a special group,” Panthers coach Malcolm Reid told Varsity Letters after his team of predominantly grade 11s (nine of 10) handled the more experienced Ravens. “(Assistant coach) Sean (Smith) and I were talking about it yesterday. If we can achieve this, if we can win another game, we’ll have accomplished something very special for Vernon Secondary. But it’s not like these guys haven’t already done some special things. All they’re doing is trying to build on past successes.” The Panthers used a 13-0 run to build a 27-16 lead but Richmond countered with a 10-0 run to draw within 33-29. But the Panthers, many of whom also played football, began to assert their superior physicality and romped. “I would say there is a football factor there for sure,” said Reid. “But also it goes back to these guys having played road hockey together since they were little kids. They know how to play together and they are not afraid of the tense moments. It doesn’t throw them off their game. … The way MacNeill came out and worked hard, we knew they were scrappy. Their constant pressure and constant scrappiness… they don’t go away and they proved that over the course of the tournament. They have been down and they have come back. We talked about how they wouldn’t go away… that we had to be patient, that we had to get back on defence, that we couldn’t turn the ball over. All the little things.” Kevin Morgan paced Vernon with 28 on 11-21 from the floor, 6-11 from the line, 9 boards and 4 blocks. Isaiah Ondrik added 22 on 9-21 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 13 boards, 12 assists and 2 steals. Thomas Hyett notched 19 on 8-13 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. Liam Reid scored 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 2 boards. Zack Smith added 4 on 1-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Trent Charlton scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 assists, while Saajan Klair, Roan Reid, Sajan Klair and Jimmy Atwal were scoreless. The Panthers hit 35-80 (.438) from the floor, 7-12 (.583) from the arc and 12-22 (.545) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 18 assists, 13 turnovers, 6 blocks and 9 steals. Usman Tun paced A.R. MacNeill with 16 on 6-23 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Jackson Thackwray added 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Sky Tan notched 7 on 3-12 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 2 assists. Everett Swaim scored 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 8 boards. Daniel Salazar notched 6 on 2-5 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Shane Kleyn scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Hudson Swaim added 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 steals. Omar Abumalouh scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 8 boards. Tanner Devilin added 3 on 1-2 from the arc. Ben Estrellado notched 3 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-3 from the line. Nikko Bondoc scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. Oscar Hung added 2 on 1-4 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc, while Difu Wang, Noah Vargas, Marco Esteban, Tanner Devlin and Wesley Hung were scoreless. The Ravens hit 24-80 (.300) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 12-17 (.706) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 13 assists, 13 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals.
In the other semi, the 9th-seeded North Delta Huskies nipped the 4th-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors 62-61 as Suraj Gahir hit a trey with 3 seconds to play. The Condors led 16-12 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 28 at the half. The Huskies led 47-46 after three quarters. Gahir had missed a trey shortly before the game ended and Huskies coach Jesse Hundal told to drive to the basketball for a layup on the last play. “He took the early three that went in-and-out,” Hundal told Varsity Letters “Then he said I’ll make up for it.’ I said to go to the hoop, but he saw the shot and took it and the basketball gods are with us.” Gahir said “I took it because in Grade 9 (at junior provincials), I missed a shot against South Kamloops for the win, and Mr. Hundal (North Delta head coach Jess Hundal) said that we either go for the win or we lose. This feels great because after the Robert Bateman tournament, after I hurt my ankle and we lost Vik (Hayer to a knee injury) everyone counted us out. Now we’re proving everybody wrong. It feels great.” The Condors trailed 57-52 after Gahir had notched an and-one but Caleb Lyons notched back-to-back treys with 2:45 left (57-55 North Delta) and 1:32 left (59-58 North Delta). Condor Jackson Kuc hit two free throws to give Duchess Park a 61-59 lead, setting the stage for Gahir’s game-winning heroics. Gahir had been forced to the bench with 1:32 to play in the first half after picking up his third foul. “After the third, I am not going to lie, my coaches had to calm me down,” Gahir said. “I knew that now, going on the attack, I had to be more cautious. It worked out.” Hundal sat Gahir for the final 92 seconds of the first half but started him to begin the second half: “We battled through it. He is a special player, man. He is a special player who when you need him to step up, it seems like 10 out of 10 times, delivers.” Suraj Gahir paced North Delta with 28 on 10-25 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 15 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Arun Atker added 12 on 5-16 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 4 boards. Ryan Cabico notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Bhavraj Thiara added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Jagraj Johal added 5 on 2-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 3 boards. Vikramjit Hayer scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor and 4 boards, while Sagar Ranouta, Gurjiwan Dhindsa, Abbiel Mate, Parm Hothi, Eshaan Kapoor, Gary Singh and Manraj Singh were scoreless. The Huskies hit 24-69 (.348) from the floor, 6-20 (.300) from the arc and 8-11 from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 3 assists, 9 turnovers, 4 blocks and 9 steals. Caleb Lyons paced Duchess Park with 16 on 6-18 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Sorren Erricson added 15 on 6-16 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 8 boards and 2 assists. Jackson Kuc notched 13 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Dan Zimmerman scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Emir Zejnulahovic notched 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 10 boards, 2 assists and 3 blocks. Connor Lewis scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 6 boards. Tony Zejnulahovic added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc, while Tanner Cruz, Ben Dyck, Owen MacDonald, Isaac Northrop, Graydon Wolitski, Sam Istok, Zach Hitz and Ethan Wood were scoreless. The Condors hit 24-63 (.381) from the floor, 10-34 (.294) from the arc and 3-4 from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 13 assists, 14 turnovers, 7 blocks and 6 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors pounded the 5th-seeded Richmond A.R. MacNeill Ravens after leading 12-4, 33-17 and 58-28 at the quarters. Emir Zejnulahovic paced Duchess Park with 16 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 8 boards. Defensive player of the tournament Dan Zimmerman added 11 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 8 boards and 5 assists. Sorren Erricson notched 10 on 3-14 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 5 boards. Jackson Kuc scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 steals. Caleb Lyons added 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 5 boards. Graydon Wolitski notched 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Isaac Northrop added 6 on 2-4 from the floor. Connor Lewis scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Sam Istok added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-3 from the line. Tanner Cruz scored 1 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 2 assists, while Ben Dyck, Owen MacDonald, Zach Hitz, Tony Zejnulahovic and Ethan Wood were scoreless. The Condors hit 27-73 (.370) from the floor, 10-32 (.313) from the arc and 11-20 (.550) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 14 assists, 13 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals. Usman Tung paced A.R. MacNeill with 14 on 5-18 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 9 boards and 3 steals. Sky Tan added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Omar Abumalouh scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Tanner Devlin notched 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-5 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Shane Kleyn added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 0-4 from the line. Hudson Swaim scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Jackson Thackwray notched 3 on 1-14 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Nikko Bondoc scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 assists. Everett Swaim added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 assists. Oscar Hung scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Difu Wang, Noah Vargas, Marco Esteban, Daniel Salazar, Wesley Hung and Ben Estrellado were scoreless. The Ravens hit 21-70 (.300) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 7-19 (.368) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 11 assists, 15 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals. The Ravens (coaches Steward Siy and Paul Wu, assistants Peter Thackwray, Landon Dy and Miki Macapagal, managers Miko Macapagal, Daniel Hong, Sereen Abumallouh and Eryzel Orpillah) also included Malcolm Tan and Miguel Salvador.
In the final, the 9th-seeded North Delta Huskies nipped the 2nd-seeded Vernon Panthers 46-44. Huskie Arun Atker hit a trey with 1:03 to play to draw North Delta within 44-43, and then Suraj drove for a layup with 11.9 seconds to play to give them a 45-44 lead. The Panthers turned the ball over with 6.7 seconds remaining, before Gahir hit a free throw to ice the win. The Huskies led 13-9 after one quarter. The Panthers led 22-19 at the half. The Huskies led 35-33 after three quarters. Assistant coach Bill Edwards told Varsity Letters that he wore his championship ring from 1990, when he steered the Huskies to their last title, for the first time in decades. “Twenty-nine years. I haven’t worn it in 29 years, but today I wore it for luck. … Even if we had all been healthy this year, it would have been amazing. But with the injuries we’ve had, it was simply outstanding. I couldn’t be prouder.” Gahir said Edwards “showed the ring” to the players before the game. “The thing he said to us was ‘Take a look at this ring because the next one you’re going to see is your own.” Vernon had taken a 44-40 lead after Liam Reid swatted three consecutive rebounds off the glass to a teammate to retain possession, ultimately leading to a Thomas Hyett layup with 1:14 to play. North Delta called a timeout and then 10 seconds later, Atker hit his trey. “We took a time out (after the Hyett basket) and the first thing coach says is we’re going to run a play for Arun, and it’s going to be for three. We were all thinking the same thing.” Huskies coach Jesse Hundal said Edwards “is the one who said we needed to get Arun a shot. Manvir (Gahir) drew up the play. Arun is a lights-out three-point shooter. There is no one who has more confidence than him, and he made the shot.” Atker said “that was supposed to be my shot and I shoot that all day in practice.” Panthers coach Malcolm Reid said “there is nothing else we could have done. We did everything we were supposed to do, but great games are won by big shots. Kudos to North Delta. They came up with the big shots when it counted.” Atker said “since Grade 8, we have wanted this. But we just haven’t had the chance (in a championship game).” Gahir said “this season taught me to trust all of my guys, that I don’t have to do everything by myself and that I don’t have to take all the biggest shots. Like today, Arun hit the biggest shot.” Hundal said “I haven’t even told the guys yet but every time we have been in the provincials, whether it was at juniors (in 2017) or last year at seniors (2018), I’ve had a dream that we lost. … This year I had no dream. It kind of made me feel like things would go our way. But I didn’t want to jinx myself. Even last night, I was thinking myself ‘Oh my God, is that dream going to happen again?’ but it never did.” Tournament MVP Suraj Gahir paced North Delta with 18 on 6-16 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Player of the game Arun Atker added 11 on 4-17 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 steals. Jagraj Johal notched 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 steals. Vikramjit Haver scored 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Bhavraj Thiara added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists. Ryan Cabico scored 1 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-6 from the line, 4 boards and 4 steals, while Sagar Ranouta, Gurjiwan Dhindsa, Abbiel Mate, Parm Hothi, Eshaan Kapoor, Gary Singh and Manraj Singh were scoreless. The Huskies hit 15-55 (.273) from the floor, 9-30 (.300) from the arc and 7-14 from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 9 fouls, 7 assists, 7 turnovers, 3 blocks and 12 steals. Isaiah Ondrik paced Vernon with 13 on 6-23 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 7 boards and 7 assists. Kevin Morgan added 12 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 18 boards. Thomas Hyett notched 11 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 8 boards and 2 assists. Trent Charlton scored 6 on 2-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Zack Smith added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 9 boards and 2 steals, while Liam Reid, Saajan Klair, Roan Reid, Sajan Klair and Jimmy Atwal were scoreless. The Panthers hit 19-66 (.288) from the floor, 4-21 (.190) from the arc and 2-6 from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 13 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 5 steals.
The all-tournament first team included MVP Suraj Gahir (North Delta); Arun Atker (North Delta); Soren Erricson (Duchess Park); Kevin Morgan (Vernon); Geevan Janday (G.W. Graham); and Isaiah Ondrik (Vernon)
The 2nd team featured Usman Tung (A.R. MacNeill); Gurkaran Mangat (Rick Hansen); Simon Crossfield (Sir Charles Tupper); Thomas Hyett (Vernon); and Ryan Cabico (North Delta)
The bronze medalist Prince George Duchess Park Condors: Tanner Cruz; Ben Dyck; Connor Lewis; Owen MacDonald; Isaac Northrop; Caleb Lyons; Graydon Wolitski; Dan Zimmerman; Sam Istok; Zach Hitz; Tony Zejnulahovic; Soren Erricson; Ethan Wood; Emir Zejnulahovic; Jackson Kuc; coach Jordan Yu; assistant Leewai Yu; assistant Al Ericsson; assistant Sam Zhang
The silver medalist Vernon Panthers: Zack Smith; Liam Reid; Saajan Klair; Trent Charlton; Isaiah Ondrik; Carson Dohnal; Jimmy Atwal; Kevin Morgan; Thomas Hyett; Roan Reid; coach Malcolm Reid; assistant Bob Corbett; assistant Sean Smith
The gold medalist North Delta Huskies: Sagar Ranouta; Gurjiwan Dhindsa; Ryan Cabico; Vikramjit Hayer; Jagraj Johal; Suraj Gahir; Arun Atker; Bhavraj Thiara; Abbiel Mate; Parm Hothi; Eshaan Kapoor; Gary Singh; Manraj Singh; coach Jesse Hundal; assistant Bill Edwards; assistant Gary Sandhu; assistant Manvir Gahir