Island teams set for boys hoops provincials
Brentwood, SMUS, Oak Bay among favourites
Vancouver Island teams will be looking to bring home medals as the B.C. senior boys’ basketball championships begin today on all four fronts.
Brentwood College School sits atop of the double-A class, ranked No. 1 and anxious to make a much desired run after placing second in the provincial tournament in 2013, third in 2011 and fourth in 2012.
The Mill Bay school is joined by the perennial powerhouse St. Michaels University School Blue Jags (who are seeded No. 3) and the No. 5 Lambrick Park Lions, who have also flexed their muscles over the years.
SMUS won the B.C. title in 2015 and finished second in 2014 and 2016. The Lions roared to a win in 2015 and finished fourth in 2013 and 2016.
“It’s an unusual place for us to be. We’ve never been there before,” Brentwood coach Blake Gage said of the No. 1 ranking. “Our boys are excited, but I don’t think the seeding really means much. Once you get there, everyone is ready to play and every game will be tough. We’ve been playing some good basketball, hopefully, we’ll peak at the right time here, show up and do some damage.”
Gage’s squad will obviously be among the hunted.
“Any time you’re a No. 1 there’s a target on your back, for sure, but I think there’s probably a lot of different teams capable of winning this tournament and it’s whoever plays well throughout the week,” said Gage.
The leadership comes from three Garde 12s — Aaron Shulga, point guard and captain; post player Cole Hickey; and Ender McDuff. But Brentwood also has Bruno Chan, the MVP from the Island championship in which the team dusted aside both Lambrick Park in the final and SMUS in the semi.
Shulga and Casper Poelen were firstteam all-stars there and Brendan Sullivan was a second-teamer.
“You have to beat teams. If you’re going over with the intention of doing well, you have to play and you have to beat the best eventually anyway,” said Gage, whose team opens against No. 16 Prince Charles at 8:30 a.m.
SMUS is a surprising No. 3, despite being the No. 3 seed from the Island. That ranking is likely based on the competition through the season as the Blue Jags earlier beat No. 4 G.W. Graham and downed Lambrick Park twice before losing the city final to the Lions. There were also wins over quadruple-A schools like No. 9 Semiahmoo and Killarney.
The Blue Jags will face Nechako Valley at 8:15 p.m. and have an easier draw, compared with the Lions, who finished second at Islands, but weren’t shown the love by provincial rankings.
Lambrick Park will have to run the gauntlet against a tough No. 12 in St. Thomas Aquinas at 1:45 p.m. today and, should the Lions advance, they likely draw G.W. Graham and could eventually face Brentwood in a semifinal on Friday.
Should SMUS advance, the Blue Jags could ultimately face No. 2 King George in the other semi.
The championship game is set for 3:45 p.m. on Saturday and all games are at the Langley Events Centre.
At the quadruple-A level, the Oak Bay Bays are No. 3 and hope to build to a crescendo. They are joined by the Belmont Bulldogs, seeded No. 12 among the 16 teams.
The Bays open at 5:15 p.m. against No. 13 Pinetree and have No. 2 Kelowna on their side of the draw.
“They’re all good teams,” said Bays coach Chris Franklin, whose team finished fifth at B.C.’s last year.
“We’re healthy, the kids are excited and it’s a matter of staying in routine and being ready.”
Belmont faces No. 5 Holy Cross at 3:30 p.m.
At the triple-A level, Nanaimo District is No. 5 and faces Robert Bateman at 6:45 p.m., while No. 9 Wellington tackles St. Thomas More Collegiate at 3:30 p.m. and No. 13 Mark Isfeld tips off against Steveston-London at 5:15 p.m.
At single-A, Duncan Christian is No. 8 and challenges No. 9 Khalsa at 6:45 p.m., while No. 16 St. Andrews draws No. 1 Ron Pettigrew Christian at 8:15 p.m.