A trio of Vancouver teams hold down three of the four No. 1 seeds for this week’s BC School Sports Boys Basketball Championships at Langley Events Centre.
The 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A Tournaments kick off on Wednesday (March 9) and conclude on Saturday (March12) with 64 teams playing 128 games on five courts over the four days.
The four No. 1 seeds are Chilliwack’s Unity Christian Flames (1A), King George Dragons (2A), St. Patrick Celtics (3A) and St. George’s Saints (4A). The Dragons, Celtics and Saints are all Vancouver schools.
The games get underway at 8:30am on Day 1 with the four championship finals set for Saturday at 1:30pm (1A), 3:45pm (2A), 6:00pm (3A) and 8:15pm (4A).
1A Tournament
Unity Christian comes in as the Eastern Valley champion and is back to defend their 2020 title, the program’s first provincial banner. Joining them as the top four seeds are Victoria’s Glenlyon Norfolk Gryphons, Prince George’s Cedars Christian Eagles and the Fernie Falcons.
The rest of the field (in alphabetical order) has Aberdeen Hall Gryphons (Kelowna), Barriere Cougars, Brookes Westshore Gryphons (Victoria), Bulkley Valley Christian Royals (Smithers), Fort St. James Falcons, Kelowna Christian Knights, Khalsa School Lions (Surrey), King David Lions (Vancouver),Meadowridge Gryphons (Maple Ridge), Nanaimo Christian Trail Blazers, Northside Christian North Stars(Vanderhoof) and Pemberton Red Devils.
2A Tournament
Finalists in both 2018 and 2020, Vancouver’s King George Dragons enter as the top seed in search of the first championship in their program’s history. A pair of Vancouver Island schools hold down the second and third seeds with Victoria’s Lambrick Park Lions at No. 2 and Mill Bay’s Brentwood College at No. 3.The fourth seed is Kamloops’ Westsyde Whundas.
The other teams (in alphabetical order) include the Charles Hays Rainmakers (Prince Rupert), Hugh BoydTrojans (Richmond), J.L. Crowe Hawks (Trail), Langley Christian Lightning, Nechako Valley Vikings(Vanderhoof), Pacific Academy Breakers (Surrey), Samuel Roberts Technical Titans (Maple Ridge),Southern Okanagan Hornets (Oliver), Southridge Storm (Surrey), Summerland Rockets, West Point Grey Academy Wolves (Vancouver) and Windsor Dukes (North Vancouver).
3A Tournament
Vancouver’s St. Patrick Celtics – the core of the team who won the 2020 Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament – enters as the No. 1 seed. The Celtics are making their second appearance at the 3A title, having previously competed at the 2A level with a fourth-place finish being their best showing at the senior level. Surrey’s Elgin Park Orcas are the second seed, Prince George’s Duchess Park Condors and Richmond’s A.R. MacNeill Ravens are slotted in as the fourth seed.
The other dozen teams (in alphabetical order) are the Byrne Creek Bulldogs (Burnaby), Gladstone Gladiators (Vancouver), G.W. Graham Grizzlies (Chilliwack), L.V. Rogers Bombers (Nelson), M.E.I. Eagles (Abbotsford), Mark R. Isfeld Ice (Courtenay), Okanagan Mission Huskies (Kelowna), Princess Margaret Lions (Surrey), Sir Charles Tupper Tigers (Vancouver), St. Michaels University School Blue Jags (Victoria), St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights (Burnaby) and Timberline Wolves (Campbell River).
4A Tournament
The St. George’s School Saints are ranked No.1 as the Vancouver school searches for their first title since winning it all in 2009. Coquitlam’s Centennial Centaurs enter as the second seed, followed by the No. 3 Vancouver College Fighting Irish and the No. 4 Kelowna Owls.
The remainder of the field (in alphabetical order) has the Abbotsford Senior Panthers, Burnaby Mountain Lions, Burnaby South Rebels, Claremont Spartans (Victoria), Enver Creek Cougars (Surrey),Fleetwood Park Dragons (Surrey), Holy Cross Crusaders (Surrey), North Peace Grizzlies (Fort St. John),Oak Bay Bays (Victoria), Semiahmoo Thunderbirds (Surrey), Terry Fox Ravens (Port Coquitlam) and Walnut Grove Gators (Langley).
