LANGLEY — We’ve gone final here at the Langley Events Centre.
Great games were on display at all four tiers.
Thanks for your loyalty to Varsity Letters and your patience as we get stories and photos on line as quickly as possible.
A huge thanks to our writers tonight: Gary Ahuja, Dan Kinvig and Gary Kingston.
As well to LEC photographer Ryan Molag for committing his time to the first three 1A, 3A and 4A semifinals of the card.
Thanks as well to Dan Kinvig for pulling double-duty with camera at the 2A tier, to Vancouver Sports Pictures’ guru Paul Yates for taking the time to shoot images with no guarantee of their inclusion during to a number of uncertainties we faced, and to Caitlyn MacDonald, making her first trip to the provincial boys tournament and having her first photos ever published on out site.
Caitlyn worked the Spectrum-Mt. Boucherie game at 4A, and then the dramatic MEI vs. Wellington game at 3A.
And of course, thanks to you all for believing in a website from a guy who thinks this stuff is a World Series unto itself.
Good night and be with you Friday from Langley
Howard Tsumura
SINGLE-A
FINAL 8 ROUND
TOP HALF DRAW
No. 3 UNITY CHRISTIAN 99 vs. No. 6 IMMACULATA 40
By GARY AHUJA (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – For the fifth consecutive provincial championships tournament, Chilliwack’s Unity Christian Flames find themselves in the final four. Of course, the reigning champions aspire for loftier goals: a fifth straight appearance in the title game.
The Flames – seeded third — moved one step closer to making that a reality after they slowed Kelowna’s Immaculata Mustangs 99-40 to kick off the quarterfinal round.
The Mustangs held tight for the first quarter, trailing by just six after 10 minutes, but by the time the teams went to the locker room, the deficit had grown to 28 points and the rout was on, especially after the Flames kicked off the third quarter with a quick 12-3 spurt to blow tings wide open.
Five Unity Christian players reached double figures, led by Player of the Game Caleb Friesen as the Grade 11 guard scored 24 – 15 of which came from beyond the arc. The balanced attack saw Rio Kingma add 18, Aaron Flokstra finish with 15 and Shogo Moradeyo add 14. All three are Grade 12s.
The sixth-seed Mustangs – making their first trip to the tournament since 2016 – struggled to score with only Grade 10 guard Mateo Rizzo finishing with 11 points in the loss.
No. 2 HAIDA GWAII 78 No. 7 SPARWOOD 52
By GARY AHUJA (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Whatever adjustments Desi Collinson and the coaching staff made at halftime, certainly paid off.
Through 20 minutes, the Haida Gwaii Breakers were held to just 32 points, which was still good for a 12-point cushion against the Sparwood Spartans. But coming out of the intermission, the No. 2 Breakers found their offensive rhythm, scoring 26 in the quarter alone on their way to a 78-52 win.
The victory sets up semifinal showdown with the Unity Christian Flames in a rematch of the 2024 championship game, which the Flames won by three points.
Grade 11 forward Naden Brown-Sjolund – who was not on the Breakers roster last March – led the team on Thursday with 23 points, while a pair of key returnees in Logan Jones and Loay Almahamid chipped in with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Lukas Pinchak led Sparwood with 21 points.
BOTTOM HALF DRAW
No. 1 ST. JOHN’S 75 vs. No. 8 ABERDEEN HALL 47
By GARY AHUJA (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – No matter what happens these final two games, Vancouver’s St. John’s School Eagles are guaranteed a best-ever finish in program history. The Eagles are in position to finish top-four thanks to an impressive 75-47 quarterfinal win over the Aberdeen Hall Gryphons.
Of course, as the tournament’s No. 1 seed, the Eagles are aiming for the top.
Kian Afshar scored a dozen of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter while Viv Anderson-Francois added 19, giving St. John’s a combined 40 points out of the backcourt. And for good measure, Grade 11 6’4 centre Lucas Pawlowski added 18.
For the No. 8 seed out of Kelowna, Parker Steele was the leading scorer for Aberdeen Hall with 18 while Ciro Bertolutti had 17.
No. 4 SOUTHPOINTE 95 vs. No. 5 DUNCAN CHRISTIAN 88
By GARY AHUJA (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – The highest scoring game of the day saw the Southpointe Academy Titans and Duncan Christian Chargers combine for 183 points. And in the end, it was Southpointe which outlasted the Chargers, icing the game from the free throw line in a 95-88 quarterfinal win.
Four Titans reached double digits, led by Devin Khunkhun’s 36 points with Nidhan Brar and Armaan Kanwal each adding 18 and Dylan Olak chipping in 14.Grayson Dunn finished with 36 for the Chargers.
If you’re reading this story or viewing these photos on any website other than one belonging to a university athletic department, it has been taken without appropriate permission. In these challenging times, true journalism will survive only through your dedicated support and loyalty. VarsityLetters.ca and all of its exclusive content has been created to serve B.C.’s high school and university sports community with hard work, integrity and respect. Feel free to drop us a line any time at howardtsumura@gmail.com.
