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Deven Johal (left) of the Kelowna Owls looks to avoid the outstretched shot block attempt of Vancouver College's Ashton Wong during third-place clash at the Kodiak Classic Invitational hosted 11.30.24 by Heritage Woods Secondary School in Port Moody. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.12.25 edition: Kelowna tops Oak Bay, St. George’s edges Van College as B.C. Quad-A Top 10 boys emerge from shape-shifting week with eight spots swapping hands!

LANGLEY — About face.Maybe everything we thought we knew about the stretch-drive finish in B.C. senior boys Quad-A basketball was a myth?Not quite.But in one of the most active, topsy-turvy weeks in recent memory, the province’s largest-school tier switched up eight of its top 10 spots from seven days ago.The Kelowna Owls have been taking […]

Brookswood Carly Taylor does her best to affect the three-point shot of Argyle's Sadie Danks during TBI Super 16 Day 3 action 12.13.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

02.11.25 edition: B.C. senior girls basketball rankings: Topsy-turvy tumult hits Quad-A! Top five of largest tier thrown for a loop as Argyle Pipers climb to the top of the heap!

LANGLEY — Everyone wants to peak at the right time, especially with provincials tipping off in two weeks.While the rest of B.C.’s tiers remained relatively static since the last polling period, the Quad-A ranks have undergone some mighty upheaval and as the dust clears, coming off Tessa’s Tournament, North Vancouver’s Argyle Pipers are standing tall […]

Zeru Abera (left) of Burnaby's St. Thomas More Knights drives on Dover Bay's Frank Linder in the championship final of the TBI Super 16 invitational Dec. 7 at the Langley Events Centre. Next season the two will be rookie teammates with the UBC Thunderbirds. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

UBC Thunderbirds’ recruit Zeru Abera has been clutch when it counts! Now, the STM Knights senior is embracing the challenge of bringing his intangibles to the Canada West!

VANCOUVER — Ask Kevin Hanson what he finds most special about his most recent high school recruit and he instantly captures the essence of St. Thomas More Knights’ senior Zeru Abera.“It’s a tough thing to teach anyone how to be clutch in a basketball game, especially at the end of the game, and then to […]

While Burnaby South defenders including Leo Milanes step up on defence, West Vancouver's Felipe Schmitz-Manseck prepares to put up a fade-away jumper during Day 1 action in the TBI Super 16 bracket Dec. 4, 2024 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.10.25 edition: West Vancouver, Dr. Charles Best top climbers in the latest edition of the all-tiered SRS Top 50!

LANGLEY — Post-season basketball has arrived and as the games that matter most continue to ramp up in intensity, we’re back with the latest edition of the SRS Top 50 from B.C. Basketball Metrics.This week’s four biggest climbers: Dr. Charles Best of Coquitlam (44-to-36) and West Vancouver (32-to-27) improved eight and five spots respectively, while […]

C.J. Zuno and the Spectrum Thunder topped rival Oak Bay in league action to reclaim No. 1 in the B.C. Quad-A rankings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.05.25 edition: B.C. Boys Top 10 ranks see Spectrum and Wellington notch huge tourney title victories!

LANGLEY — Last week’s No. 1 teams in the two largest tiers of B.C. senior boys basketball suffered invitational tournament championship game losses, yet another indication that we’re in store for four unpredicatable days of fun when the provincial tournament tips off in exactly one month’s time at the Langley Events Centre.In Quad-A’s three-team musical […]

UBC's Nikola Guzina drives to the basket against the Trinity Western Spartans in Canada West action Nov. 3 at War Memorial Gymnasium. After losing the 2023-24 season to a brain injury, the 6-foot-10 standout is playing a huge role in UBC's drive to the Final 8 national championships this March. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Bright lights, brighter future: After losing last season to concussion, ‘Birds 6-foot-10 standout Nikola Guzina can see clearly now as UBC gears up to host 2025 U SPORTS Final 8 nationals!

VANCOUVER — Nikola Guzina’s basketball dream had always been to play under the bright lights at UBC’s hallowed War Memorial GymnasiumAnd coming off an amazing two-season stretch at nearby King George Secondary School, where over his Grade 11 and 12 seasons combined (2018-20) he averaged an NBA 2K-like 30.7 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists […]

Wellington Wildcats' star forward Grayson Ritzand leans in for a lay-up against Vancouver College during Day 1 action in the TBI Select 16 bracket Dec. 4, 2024 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.03.25 edition: The SRS Top 50 returns with its take on B.C.’s top 50 senior boys teams regardless of tier!

This week’s SRS Top 50, brought to you byB.C. Basketball Metrics is here!Mark Isfeld of Courtenay is the biggest climber, the Ice moving up five spots from No. 36 to No. 31.Victoria’s Lambrick Park enter the Top 50 at No. 50.(Note — the SRS Top 50 has been updated as of 10:30 pm on Feb. […]

SFU head coach Steve Hanson has coached his Red Leafs to a 3-3 stretch following Thursday's 77-74 overtime win over the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

SFU men’s basketball: Red Leafs battle through fourth straight one-possession contest, go to OT to top Fairbanks 77-74!

By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caHeavy mettle.That’s the best way to describe the Simon Fraser Red Leafs men’s basketball team over its past six games.On Thursday night in Fairbanks, Alaska, a Red Leafs’ team which had opened the GNAC season with an 0-4 record won for the third time in their last six outings, this time going to […]

Simon Fraser's Myrlaine Shelvey on her way to scoring two of her game-high 24 points during GNAC clash against Western Oregon January 30, 2025 at the West Gym. (Photo by Gordon Kalisch/FastTrackSportsPhotographyy 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Basketball

She’s the Red Leaf rising! Myrlaine Shelvey hits six triples and Simon Fraser flirts with GNAC’s free throw record in much-needed 83-68 win over Western Oregon’s Wolves!

BURNABY MOUNTAIN — Myrlaine Shelvey knows the one thing her basketball team needs most is secondary scoring.On Thursday, as Simon Fraser continued a three-game home stand against a visiting Western Oregon Wolves team tied with them at 3-6, both locked just outside of playoff contention in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, the redshirt sophomore […]

MEI Eagles senior Olivia Sidhu has helped her team maintain a solid grip on the No. 1 ranking in B.C. senior girls Triple-A basketball this season. (Photo by Paul Funk property of MEI Eagles athletics 2025. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

MEI puts vise grip on AAA No. 1 rank ahead of BC girls championships 75th anniversary tourney! Coach Thiessen calls his 2024-25 Eagles ‘unique’ over his 31 seasons on the bench!

BY HOWARD TSUMURAVARSITYLETTERS.caABBOTSFORD — When you’ve coached basketball for three-plus decades at the same school, you arrive at a juncture of your career where your words begin to carry an-ever deeper meaning.So when MEI Eagles’ senior girls head coach Rick Thiessen, who this season finds himself in his 31st year of guiding either a senior, […]