No. 8 A.R. MACNEILL 70 No. 9 SOUTH KAMLOOPS 58
BY AARON MARTIN (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — The A.R. MacNeill Ravens flashed on both ends of the court Wednesday evening, nearly leading wire-to-wire in a 70-58 triumph over the South Kamloops Titans on the opening night of the B.C. Triple-A Championships.
“It’s going to be a grind,” said MacNeill head coach Steward Siy of his team’s tourney debut. “I thought we did well to stick with it. We knew they had the size advantage on us, so we had to grind. And we did – I thought we executed well when we needed to, and we got it done.”
Outmatched from a size perspective against the Okanagan squad, MacNeill dominated from the perimeter. Grade 11 guard Chad Gammad was dynamic, earning Player of the Game honours with a 36-point outburst.
Gammad not only stunned from beyond the arc, knocking down eight three-pointers, the superstar saved his best for the third quarter.
The guard seemingly could not miss in that third quarter, pulling up for transition threes, hitting shots in traffic, and getting to the line a couple of times. Not only did Gammad notch all 18 of MacNeill’s points in the frame – yes, all 18 – he also outscored the Titans (15) all by himself. Amidst a tournament filled with remarkable feats, this may end up as an all-timer.
“He was terrific,” said Siy of Gammad. “He can score with the best of them.”
Senior guard Joaquin Bautista also had a terrific game for the Ravens, posting 22 points of his own in the win. For the Titans, Charlie McKay paced the offense with 14 points.
Gammad and Siy will next be tasked with the reigning two-time champion St. Pat’s Celtics, who earned a convincing win in their opening-round match against Caledonia on Wednesday.
Faced with the top-seeded Celtics, Siy says MacNeill’s key is staying true to their roots.
All year, we’ve prided ourselves on being flexible, and being able to adapt how we need to play depending on our opponent,” assessed the coach. “We also try to use our bench – we go 10 deep if needed, guys know their roles and work hard. They defend, and they battle. We’ll need that.”
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