Abbotsford's Marin Lenz, over the course of her prolific high school career with the Panthers, showed that she could not only perform magic with a basketball, but as well, put an entire team on her back. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

B.C. Girls 2019-20 Player of the Year: Abby’s compact Marin Lenz has taken giant steps to stand at the top of her game

ABBOTSFORD — It’s the highest sign of opposition respect to have your offensive game so greatly feared that you wind up facing one junk defence after another.

Meet Valleyview's Indigo Learie (left) and the rest of our first-ever B.C. Fab Five teams, the top five players as selected by the BCSSGBA from all four provincial tiers. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

B.C.’s blue-chip best for 2019-20! From Quad, to Triple… from Double to Single, here’s our Fab Five girls hoops picks from every tier!

LANGLEY — Welcome to the day before opening tip here at the 2020 B.C. senior girls basketball championships. Over a season in which teams competed within a revamped geography of zones and new league alliances, we have arrived at our annual look at the top players in the province.

High-flying Ron Putzi dunks during the Richmond Colts' 1988 title win over Seaquam at the PNE Agrodome. (Photo property of BCHSBBOA 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

…And then there were two! The Diamond Jubilee 75th anniversary fantasy bracket produces our two all-time boys team finalists!

LANGLEY — We’ve arrived at the Final Four of our 75th anniversary all-time 64-team B.C. High School Boys Basketball Association championship bracket.None of the fan bases from any of our quartet of survivors wants to hear that our committee couldn’t make a bad choice, but the truth is, these are saw-off matchups.Coins were not flipped, […]

Longtime St. Patrick's boys basketball architect Nap Santos shows his emotion as he congratulates the JV Celtics on their run to Tuesday's B.C. JV championship final. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Celtics hoping that Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day! No. 1 seeds storm Walnut Grove in JV semifinals, now set to face Churchill in all-Van City B.C. final

LANGLEY — The St. Patrick’s Celtics spent the first two days of the 2020 B.C. junior boys basketball championships looking like a team seemingly miscast as the 32-team event’s No. 1 overall seed.Yet as the second half of it’s provincial semifinal against the No. 4 seed Walnut Grove Gators of Langley began Monday evening at […]

The big Dawg in charge, Sir Winston Churchill's Filip Subotic (right) finds his way past Kelowna's Maxim Storozhuk during Monday's semifinal clash at the 2020 B.C. junior boys basketball championships at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Sir Winston Churchill set to challenge for B.C. junior boys title after Subotic directs Bulldogs to big win over Kelowna Owls

LANGLEY — It hasn’t been that long since Vancouver’s Sir Winston Churchill Secondary last experienced the sweet sensation of a provincial boys basketball championships, but after six years, Bulldogs nation might be one sleep away from adding another.Point guard Filip Subotic’s game-high 29 points, as well a healthy does of his on-court generalship proved to […]

Burnaby South's Sasha Vujisic (left) does his best to disrupt Centennial's Paul Didenko during Sunday's inaugural Fraser North Quad-A final at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Ten days before 75th B.C. boys tourney tips off, No. 1 Burnaby South and No. 2 Centennial remind an LEC sell-out crowd what is so great about this game!

LANGLEY — Once, twice, and now three times makes it a trend. At least that’s what Centennial co-coach Rob Sollero surmised Sunday night, after his No. 2-ranked Centaurs faced the No. 1-ranked Burnaby South Rebels for the third time this season, this time for the first-ever Fraser North Quad-A hoops crown.

Abbotsford's Lockhart MacGreggor (centre) battles through the defence of Kelowna's Everett Schmuland (left) and Ryan Braam during B.C. junior boys quarterfinal play Sunday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

FINAL EDITION B.C. Junior Boys Championships DAY 2: Top seeds all advance as Celtics, ‘Dawgs, Owls, Gators combine for a high-powered Final Four

LANGLEY — How’s that for a seeding committee that knows it’s stuff?It’s a draw that may be distinctly lacking in Cinderellas, yet there is no question that the whichever teams claims the 2020 B.C. junior boys basketball title is going to be full deserving.No., 1 seed St. Patrick’s, No. 2 seed Sir Winston Churchill, No. […]

Just in time, UBC's fifth-year senior Jadon Cohee led the 'Birds to their best game-closing fourth quarter of the season in an upset win over the host Calgary Dinos in the Canada West semifinals on Saturday. With the win, Cohee and the 'Birds have qualified for the U Sports Final 8. (Photo by David Moll property of Calgary Dinos' athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

A Sunday Read: How UBC played its two best fourth-quarters of season on back-to-back nights to punch its tickets to U Sports’ Final 8!

There was a moment during the final time-out of the UBC Thunderbirds’ 88-77 Canada West men’s basketball quarterfinal win over the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday night which seems especially relevant this morning.

Irish Coquiam of the No. 1-seeded St. Patrick's Celtics of Vancouver, drives to elude the defence of the Handsworth Royals on Saturday during Sweet 16 action on Day 1 of the 2020 B.C. junior boys basketball championships. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

2020 B.C. Junior Boys Basketball Championships: Powerhouses St. Pat’s, Churchill, Kelowna and Walnut Grove survive the Day 1 grind! Here’s our complete look!

LANGLEY — The top four seeds and and six of the top eight are still alive as the B.C. junior boys basketball championship hit Day 2 on Sunday with the quarterfinal round at the Langley Events Centre.

Centennial Centaurs head coach Gordon Betcher accepts the spoils of victory in 1972 after a win over the North Delta Huskies. (Photo property of the B.C. High School Boys Basketball Association 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

The 75th anniversary Diamond draw hits the Final Four! Kaz, Disbrow, Putzi, Betcher, Bradley and Parmar all share their thoughts on B.C. hoops history!

NORTH DELTA — As our Elite Eight round rolled around this week, and the committee entrusted with selecting the winners in our 75th anniversary B.C. high school boys basketball all-time tournament bracket delivered their latest set of verdicts, I knew it was time to pick up the phone and talk with some of the people […]