King George's Faisal Shawwa draws a trio of Collingwood Cavaliers including Tony Li (6) during TBI Select 16 championship final 12.07.24 at the Langley Events Centre. Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2024 Select 16 Final: How King George coach Darko Kulic topped No. 1 Collingwood with hoops game-plan designed around NFL’s 2013 Super Bowl champion Seahawks! Huh?

LANGLEY — Sometimes, you can’t help but think Darko Kulic is a genius.Quirky, unconventional and unapologetic are three other ways to describe the persona of the King George Dragons head coach, a guy who loves his players and truly uses the game of hoops to teach them about life.It’s all true.He won’t deny it.But about […]

Dover Bay's Frank Linder went on to be named MVP during TBI Super 16 finals 12.07.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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A Sunday Read: For Dover Bay’s TBI Super 16 champ Dolphins, why an honorary assist to Taylor Swift and a ‘no-cell phone’ policy symbolize a truly holistic hoops weekend!

LANGLEY — When the Dover Bay Dolphins senior boys basketball team prints up its final 2024-25 season statistics this March, they may want to add one new name to the box score even though she never played for the team.The name?Taylor Swift.The stat?One assist.Even though the pop icon had the nerve to no-show for the […]

After foul troubles dogged his teammate Zeru Abera, St. Thomas More guard Jacob Oreta (left) brought his physical style to the fore against Vancouver College and guard Lucas Tan-Ngo during TBI Super 16 semifinals 12.06.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2024 Super 16 Semis: So just how did underdog St. Thomas More upset Vancouver College? Here’s the empowering details!

LANGLEY — The St. Thomas More Knights of 2024-25 first gained their notiriety in the B.C. high school basketball world by winning the junior provincial title in 2023 as the No. 11 seed in the massive event’s 32-team bracket.As that tournament’s history will tell you, it’s not always a translateable guarantee of success at the […]

Dover Bay switched its philosophy from set offence to pure transition, and that suit point guard Joe Linder just fine as his team topped St. Patricks during TBI Super 16 semifinals 12.06.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2024 Super 16 Semis: Hey, Joe it’s time to score! Dover Bay’s G10 Linder wins grand battle with St Pats’ Santa Juana!

LANGLEY — On a team filled with talent, being able to find the right player with that true point guard mentality is never a guaranteed thing.Go ahead, try to find that selfless playmaker you can trust to put the team’s overall well-being above any pursuit of individualism.But, in those times when schematics change and situations […]

King George's Faisal Shawwa was the key in the pivot as the King George Dragons defeated the Brookswood Bobcats during TBI Select 16 semifinals 12.06.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL: Day 3 TBI 2024 Select 16 Final Four Friday Game Reports! Collingwood to face King George in final!

LANGLEY — We’ve gone  final on Final Four Friday here at the 2024 Tsumura Basketball Invitational.The Collingwood Cavaliers and King George Dragons are set to do battle at 3 p.m. in a Sea-to-Sky conference final for the Select 16 crown. Both game reports are now published below.Howard TsumuraKING GEORGE 51 BROOKSWOOD 44LANGLEY — The King George […]

King George's Kio Nickel battles hard against the Byrne Creek Bulldogs during TBI Select 16 quarterfinals 12.05.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2024 Day 2: Select 16 Elite 8 game reports! Dragons-Cats, ‘Canes-Cavs punch Final 4 tickets!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Select 16 here at TBI 2024!Tonight, Gary Kingston provides game reports! Please check back throughout the evening for updates!KING GEORGE 50   BYRNE CREEK 36By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)LANGLEY – In a sparsely filled gym at the Langley Events Centre, Darko Kulic’s full-throated voice reverberates like a […]

The star of the day Thursday is STM's Zeru Abera who dropped 41 points during his team's rally from a 20-point fourth quarter deficit against St. George's in the TBI Super 16 quarterfinals 12.05.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL: TBI 2024 Day 2: Super 16 Elite 8 game reports! Its STM-VC, St Pats-Dover in Friday Final 4!

Welcome to Day 2 of the TBI boys Super 16.It’s Elite 8 Thursday.We’ve already had an all-timer with STM’s incredible rally past St. Georges. Keep checking back for updates from our final three games throughout the evening.(All stories by Howard Tsumura)ST. THOMAS MORE 82 ST. GEORGES 80LANGLEY — At one point in the second half, […]

St. George's Roman Simmons (left) tries to keep Heritage Woods' Afu Bullock under wraps during game 1 of 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)
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We’ve gone final: You can read all eight TBI 2024 Super 16 Day 1 game reports right here!

LANGLEY — We’ve gone final!After eight championship round games in the Super 16 round, here’s a game report and photos from each. Many thanks to photographer Wilson Wong for his contributions to the post!Before we get there, here’s all of tomorrow’s quarterfinal matchups:SUPER 16 QUARTERFINALS(All games at South Court)3 p.m. — St. George’s vs. St. […]

Byrne Creek's Gabe Masangkay (right) is guarded by Langley Christian's Tyse Wagenaar during game 1 of 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)
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We’ve gone final: You can read all eight TBI 2024 Select 16 Day 1 game reports right here!

LANGLEY —  Day 1 here at the 2024 Tsumura Basketball Invitational is now final.My sincere thanks to Gary Ahuja for his reporting from the South Court site today!Here’s tomorrow’s schedule on the championship side of the draw:SELECT 16 QUARTERFINALS(All games at Centre Court)3 p.m. — Byrne Creek vs. King George4:30 p.m. — Brookswood vs. A.R. […]

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)
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TBI Boys 2024: Vancouver College comes to TBI ready to shoot the three! Inspired Irish, under head coach Shams, not weighed down by program’s lengthy B.C. title drought!

PORT MOODY —  On Saturday night, just a handful of hours away from the clock striking December, the Vancouver College Fighting Irish basketball team put on a demonstration of passing, three-point shooting… and the contagious nature of shared smiles.The occasion was the third-place game of the Heritage Woods Kodiak Classic senior boys tournament, and as […]