LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — Welcome to Day 1 of the 2026 B.C. senior boys Triple-A basketball championship, coming to you from the Langley Events Centre.
Please check back here regularly as our team of writers provide first-hand game coverage from the eight sudden-elimination games being contested at this tier.
Thanks for your loyalty!
Howard Tsumura
BOYS
TRIPLE A (AT CENTRE COURT)
DAY 1
NO. 1 ST. PATRICKS 126 NO. 16 MOUNT BAKER 57
By BRAD ZIEMER (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — The Mount Baker Wild receive an automatic berth into the B.C. boys high school Triple-A basketball championships as the only Triple-A school in the Kootenay Zone.
But coach Shaun Penner says the Wild never treat playing in the provincials as a given.
“We understand what this tournament represents,” Penner says. “We build our entire season with the intention of peaking here, at the most prestigious high school basketball tournament in the province.”
As the 16th-seed in the 16-team tourney at the Langley Events Centre, the Wild had the unenviable task of opening against the No.1 seed St. Patricks Celtics of East Vancouver in Wednesday’s opening round.
It went about how you would expect. The Celtics handled the Wild the way they have most of their opposition this season. St. Pats is an under-sized team chalk-full of lightning-quick guards who run, run and then run some more.
They quickly wore down Mount Baker with never-ending pressure, emerging with a 126-57 victory. The Wild certainly did not roll over. They competed hard from start to finish, but were simply over-matched.
“I mean, we played Quad-A and Triple-A basketball across Alberta and B.C.,” Penner said. “We played some of the top teams and we have never seen pressure like that. So all credit to the St. Patrick Celtics.”
The Wild were still in touch, trailing 33-21 after one quarter, but the Celtics went on a 16-0 run early in the second to take total control of the game. They led 67-31 at the half.
St. Patricks did most of their damage in transition, scoring ion one fast break after another.
Despite the lop-sided score, Penner was pleased with the way his team competed.
“I’m really proud of how they played today,” he said.
Playing in Cranbrook has its challenges. The Wild have to travel a ton to find quality opponents.
“We put on 7,500 kilometres on the highway this year,” Penner said. “So we’re going every single weekend. We’re in Lethbridge, Calgary, Kelowna, Salmon Arm, Nelson. We are all over the place just trying to get ourselves prepared for this. We are the only Triple-A team in the Kootenays, so we know if we are going to come down here we have to be ready and have a playoff-like mindset.”
St. Patricks, which won the Tsumura Invitational tourney in December, got 23 points from guard Jemuel Castro. Guard Daylen Vogt scored 19 points for Mount Baker.
The Celtics will meet the winner of the St. Thomas More Collegiate-Edward Milne opening round game in Thursday’s quarter-finals.
NO. 9 EDWARD MILNE 62 NO. 8 ST. THOMAS MORE 60
By BRAD ZIEMER (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — It was the eighth seed versus the ninth seed so you figured it might be close. It was.
The Edward Milne Wolverines survived a furious comeback by the St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights in an exciting down-to-the-last shot opening-round game Wednesday at the B.C. senior boys Triple-A basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre.
“That was a little too exciting,” said Wolverines coach Trevor Bligh, whose team looked to be in complete control heading into the fourth quarter with a 57-41 lead.
“I think our ability to switch defences on them was a key,” Bligh said. “It took them until almost the third quarter to figure out what we were doing and then they countered it, so we had to double change which was confusing for 17-year-old boys.”
The Wolverines were led by six-foot-8 Grade 12 post Malakai Hills, whose rebounding at both ends of the floor was one of the keys to the win.
“Malakai is hoping to play U sports next year,” Bligh said. “He’s a great player.”
Hills scored 15 points, had at least that many rebounds and several blocked shots. Forward Brody Sutherland had a team-high 17 points for the Wolverines.
Bligh, who has coached Edward Milne for more than 30 years, has been on quite the journey with this team.
“This group of kids, I have had since the fourth grade. So it’s a seven-, eight-year relationship and we don’t get here without that long-term togetherness and working together.”
The Wolverines arrived at the provincials with a chip on their shoulders. Bligh felt his team deserved a higher seed.
“As the No. 2 Island seed, we took the ninth seed. Brentwood College, the Island 3 Zone, took the seventh. That’s a slight to our program and we have very comparable records. And we’re using that as motivation for the weekend.”
The Sooke-based Wolverines qualified for the provincials for the first time in their 78-year history last year. Bligh is delighted to be back for a second straight appearance.
“I don’t want to ever not come back,” he said.
Logan Ball, Diego Gonzalez, Vidak Nikolic and Jaden Piamonte all scored in double figures for St. Thomas More.
The Wolverines don’t have much time to savour the win. They must now prepare to meet the top-seeded St. Patricks Celtics of Vancouver in Thursday’s quarter-finals. Tip-off is at 5:15 p.m.
NO. 4 LAMBRICK PARK 73 NO. 13 PENTICTON 54
By BRAD ZIEMER (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP— The Lambrick Park Lions climbed mountains as a team-building and physical fitness exercise this season.
It apparently worked as the Victoria-based Lions claimed the Vancouver Island No. 1 seed heading into this week’s B.C. senior boys Triple-A basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre.
They started the climb up another mountain with their 73-54 opening-round win over the Penticton Lakers.
Getting to the summit of this mountain won’t be easy for the Lions, who are seeded fourth in the 16-team tourney, but they have given themselves a chance.
“It was kind of a scrappy game,” said Lambrick Park assistant coach Chris Ball. “Penticton played hard and we didn’t execute like we wanted, but we know it’s not always going to be pretty.”
At their best, Lambrick Park plays at a fast pace, with guard Blake Pye driving the offence.
“We like to get the ball up the court and push the tempo,” Ball said. “Penticton did a good job getting us out of that today. I think the pace today was more towards them. But with that being said, we’ve got to be able to win in different ways. Today we did that.”
The Lions raced out to a 13-2 lead in the opening minutes and it looked like it was going to be easy. It wasn’t as the scrappy Lakers kept in touch most of the game. The Lions led 32-19 at the half and 48-38 after three quarters.
Pye didn’t make as many shots as he’d like, but still finished with a game-high 23 points. Fellow guard Ohm Chaisongkram added 15 points for the Lions. Twelve of those points came via three-pointers.
Guard Liam Reid led Penticton with 16 points.
Lambrick Park will meet the winner of the Argyle-College Heights opening round game in a 3:30 p.m. quarter-final game on Thursday.
Ball thinks running up those mountains this season will pay dividends as the Lions attempt to reach the Final Four.
“If we want to play at the pace we want to play, good cardio is non-conditional,” he said. “We need to have it. So, we’ve been up a few hills and mountains and feel like we’re in good shape.”
NO. 5 ARGYLE 75 NO. 12 COLLEGE HEIGHTS 54
By BRAD ZIEMER (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — Basketball coaches like to say you can’t teach size, so the Argyle Pipers feel especially blessed to have lots of it.
That size starts with six-foot-seven Grade 11 guard Illia Maydan, who put on quite the display in Argyle’s 75-54 win over the College Heights Cougars of Prince George in Wednesday’s opening round of the B.C. senior boys Triple-A high school basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre.
Maydan scored 24 of his game-high 29 points in the first half as the North Vancouver-based Pipers advanced to the quarter-finals. He also runs the team’s offence as its point guard and is a handful for the opposition. College Heights certainly had no answer for him.
“He’s our main guy,” said assistant coach Luigi Carrion, who handled the Argyle bench on Wednesday. “We run our offence and run our looks around Illia’s movement. He’s our best ball-handler and our best attacker downhill. He creates so many problems with his footwork.
“He allows us to get going really early, to get downhill and open up the court for the rest of our guys. And he did that especially well today, especially in the first half.”
Maydan is the tallest player on a big team, but plays point guard. That wasn’t always the case.
“When I first started playing basketball I was a centre, obviously, because I was tall,” he said. “But then I kind of hated playing centre, so I just started trying to develop my skills, my dribbling, and now I just stick to point guard.”
Maydan has lots of skills. He’s a great ball-handler, can knock down shots from outside and drive the basket. He also hauls in lots of rebounds.
The Pipers boast three other players who stand at least six-foot-four, including six-foot-six forward Nathan Szpak and his brother Jayden, who stands six-foot-four. Nathan had 17 points, while Jayden chipped in 16 on Wednesday.
Carrion acknowledged that Argyle’s size is a valuable asset.
“It benefits us because we close out passing pockets very well,” he said. “It makes it very difficult for a team to pass over the top of us.”
The Pipers controlled the game from the outset, leading 21-10 after one quarter and 48-25 at the half.
Guard Dillon Piddocke led College Heights with 17 points.
The Pipers will face fourth-seeded Lambrick Park of Victoria in Thursday’s quarter-finals. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Carrion said containing Lambrick Park guard Blake Pye will be a key.
“He’s very talented, so our eyes are obviously going to be on him,” Carrion said. “We will try to give him different looks and use our length to maybe alter his shots of deflect his passes.”
NO. 6 ENVER CREEK COUGARS 82 NO. 11 SIR CHARLES TUPPER TIGERS 62
By NICOLAS HAUKA (Special for Varsity Letters)
To accomplish anything in life, you need the support of those close to you. The Enver Creek Cougars coaching staff took the time pre-game to remind their players that things are no different on the basketball court.
“Our message was have each other’s backs, offensively and defensively. Always having that next level of support, covering up each other’s mistakes, getting rebounds, boxing out, putting everything on the line for your teammates,” said Cougars head coach Greg Reid.
That message landed emphatically in a decisive 82-62 victory over the Sir Charles Tupper Tigers at the Langley Events Center on Wednesday.
On paper, the Cougars had a major height disadvantage. What they lacked in verticality, they made up for with heart, putting everything on the line as they fought for every board. Center Sahaj Hans was at the forefront of this, embodying everything Reid asked of his team.
“Sahaj faced two big guys in there, really worked well off the ball, really hustled to wall up on defence and made it an emphasis to get rebounds,” said Reid of his Big man, who also dominated in the paint offensively, finishing with 28 points.
“This is our third time playing them, and just understanding if we could limit them to one shot, we could frustrate some of their shot selection, get out and run,” Reid continued.
As the Cougars were running in transition, they looked to the hands of senior guard Harshaan Toor to turn defence into offence. Toor answered the call on his way to a game-high 29 points.
“Harshaan, with his spacing and being ready off the ball to shoot, was so valuable today. He hit some big threes for us,” said Reid.
As Enver Creek built their insurmountable lead late in the third quarter, you’d never know it if you looked to the Tigers’ bench. Coach Ranell Sebastian’s group fought to the very final second, led by Tristan Carter’s 27 and Axel Greaves 23 points apiece.\
Despite their season being over, Sebastian was able to reflect on his team’s season postively with how far they’ve come.
We have such a young squad. Most of them will be back next year, so I hope this is a little motivation for them,” he said.
We always talk about resiliency being such a big thing. You’re going to face adversity regardless, but it’s about how you react to it, right? How you bounce back from it, not the initial motivation,”he continued.
“I hope it’s motivation for them. I have no doubt in their mind that they’re going to bounce back. They’ll be back next year.”
As the Tigers’ season comes to an end,the Cougars are hoping to extend theirs to the furthest degree. The best method to achieve that goal? well if you ask Reid, he’ll tell you exactly what he told his players before opening tipoff today: Have each other’s backs and put everything on the line for one another.
NO. 3 M.E.I. EAGLES 62 NO. 14 SALISH WOLVES 46
By NICOLAS HAUKA (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — With the influx of specialization and personal trainers within youth sports, there’s no doubt that young athletes are more skilled than they’ve ever been. One thing lost within all the rigorous structure has been athlete’s individual creativity.
At the Langley Events Center, in the round of 16 matchup between the No.3 M.E.I. Eagles and the No. 14 Salish Wolves, M.E.I. found themselves having trouble getting into their structure offensively against the Wolves’ suffocating zone. The solution? Some good old-fashioned freelance, read it as you go, basketball that led to their 62-46 victory.
“Over this year, we’ve been working a lot on our sets. In the last few months, we’ve been working on just playing basketball,” said Eagles head coach Mike Lee.
“When teams take you out of your stuff, you have to be able to just play. I think our guys did a pretty good job of that tonight. Instead of trying to run through our stuff, they were able to just play and find each other.”
Gabe Headley excelled in this style of play, finishing with a game-high 27 points, winning player of the game in the process. The senior guard weaved through traffic, finding open spots on the floor for his teammates to find him for open shots, or he took matters into his own hands, driving and slicing his way to the rim.
“He bailed us out. He hit some big shots. He can get hot. He can get streaky. He can get going. And we need that. We need him to hit a good amount of those,” said Lee on his star’s importance not just tonight, but every time the Eagles take the floor.
A big piece in getting Headley his touches was the paint presence of Grade 12 center Caleb Dyck. The Eagles’ big man fought down low and out-muscled his opponents for rebounds, creating extra possessions for his team.
With Headley hot, Dyck dominating down low and the rest of the Eagles reading on the fly to find one another for buckets, the Wolves didn’t have an answer.
Despite the loss, the Wolves did make history in their own right, with this being the first time ever the new Surrey program has qualified for the provincial tournament, something that seemed hard-pressed not long ago, as the team had struggled to play together, leading to a losing streak.
“If we wanted to continue going, it had to be all 13 of us. It couldn’t just be five. It couldn’t just be one. We just had to keep pushing, keep trusting each other, and just keep believing. And it got us here,” said Wolves head coach Tom Connolly.
The Wolves are proud to have made history, but have higher hopes for the future.
“We were all pumped. We were obviously hoping for better, but we fell short a little bit today, but you know, we’re primarily a grade 11 team, so next year we’ll come back even stronger.”
As for the Eagles, they’ll look to make history of their own in this tournament, as they move on to play the Enver Creek Cougars in the round of eight at 8:45 Thursday, equipped with the ability to play within or out of structure.
NO. 7 BRENTWOOD COLLEGE 78 NO. 10 BYRNE CREEK BULLDOGS 56
By NICOLAS HAUKA (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — Every team has their own winning formula. While some teams’ methods resemble one another in bits and pieces, NO. 7 Brentwood College and the NO. 10 Byrne Creek Bulldogs’ recipe for success couldn’t be any further apart.
For Brentwood, their way is ball movement to find open shooters or driving lanes, while playing true team basketball. For the Bulldogs, their method is give the ball to the best isolation scorer I’ve witnessed in my three years covering this tournament, Chuku Mabeny and get out of the way.
Let’s start with the plan of attack that led to a 78-56 Brentwood victory.
“Just trying to be us. So doing the things that we do well and that’s when we play together, when we’re unselfish and we’re battling,” said Brentwood head coach Blake Gage.
The bench bosses’ team patiently waited for open looks as the ball flew around the court. Capatilising of those open shots were Jaxen Lust and Jackson Lenaric. Lust had a team-high 25 points, while Lenaric finished with 18.
While the rock was distributed all around the Bulldogs’ end, touching each player’s hands, when Byrne Creek made their way into Brentwood teritory the ball was glued to Maebeny’s.
The Grade 12 guard made shots that seemed unfathomable. Doubled down low with no space to move? Maebeny simply would slice through, creating his own space and finishing with defenders all over him. Contested pull-up threes? No problem, a fade-away buzzer from the logo? Swish.
“Well, I feel like we planned and planned and it didn’t really work. I don’t know what he had, but he had a lot. He’s really good. Hats off to him. We couldn’t stop him,” said Gage on the terrors of trying to stop the 6’5 senior.
Maebeny had 41 points and at the start of the fourth quarter, cut a Brentwood lead to 13 points. With the momentum swaying in the favour of the Bulldogs, it was time for a grade 10 to take the stage.
Lair Hill scored 8 unanswered points. The sophomore guards’ steal and transition layup was followed by two open threes that put the dagger in the Bulldogs’ season for good. His coach couldn’t be prouder of him.
“He’s just buying into what we do. He’s only in grade 10. I’m so excited for his future, but I love where he’s bringing his energy off the bench for us right now.
With Hill and his teammates buying into the Brentwood way, they’ll look to take their winning formula tomorrow at 7 p.m, when they take on the No. 2 L.A. Matheson Mustangs of Surrey in the quarterfinals.
NO. 2 L.A. Matheson Mustangs 106 NO. 15 George Elliot Coyotes 54
By NICOLAS HAUKA (Special for Varsity Letters)
The No. 2-seeded L.A. Matheson Mustangs had never made a B.C. senior boys Double-A championship tournament until this season. Thursday at the Langley Events Center, they looked like they’d been here plenty of times prior with a 106- 54 victory over the NO. 15 George Elliot Coyotes.
“We just wanted to take it one game at a time. We’re not taking any opponents lightly. I told the guys that how we play in this first game is going to define how we play for the rest of the tournament. So we really wanted to make a statement in that first quarter and I think we did a good job of that,” said Mustangs’ head coach Tyler Ram.
You might be wondering how a group in its first provincial tournament looked unfazed and dominant in their first go-around. The answer to that question is playing in a highly competitive tournament earlier this season, at the same location they are today.
“It was very big for us to win the TBI Select Championship. We kind of positioned that tournament as a provincial preview because it’s four games in four days at LEC,” said Ram who added that the similar structure and location of the tournament has done wonders to have his group feeling comfortable and knowing what to expect. Despite perhaps a bit of deja vu, making school history isn’t lost on Ram and the Mustangs.
“We’re enjoying it. We’re drawing every morning and the main goal is to get to Saturday and play in that bowl and see what happens from there,” said Ram.
The next step towards the Bowl for the Mustangs is tomorrow against NO. 7 Brentwood College. Fresh off a 78-56 win over the NO. 10 Byrne Creek Bulldogs, this is bound to be a much tougher test for L.A. Matheson.
A far more challenging game than today won’t be something new to the Mustangs, because they’ve faced similar challenges in the same place.
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