Santa Margarita's Mason Hawker (left) guards Byrne Creek's Justin Pimintuan during opening day action from the 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational this past December at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Wilson Wong protected image 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. Boys Top 10 basketball rankings 02.06.24 edition: Byrne Creek burns it up! Bulldogs take down St. Pat’s North Delta, Lord Byng to win Rick Hansen tourney and move into Triple-A No. 1!

LANGLEY — It was a relatively quiet week atop the upper reaches of the B.C. senior boys high school basketball world.Quiet, that is, unless you happen to be the Triple-A Byrne Creek Bulldogs.The Burnaby-based Bulldogs made about as definitive a late-season statement as is possible outside of league and zone playoffs, beating three straight ranked […]

Dover Bay's 6-foot-7 Grade 11 Frank Linder has helped his Dolphins claw back to No. 3 in the B.C. boys Triple-A rankings this week. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. Boys Top 10 basketball rankings 01.31.24 edition: Ready for March Madness? This week, 36 overall ranking slots change teams across four tiers of Top 10 polls! Parity runs rampant across the province!

LANGLEY — Absolute insanity.That’s the only way to describe how extreme parity has brought a fragile state of affairs to all four tiers of the B.C. senior boys basketball Top 10 rankings.How topsy-turvy did it get?From last week’s total of 43 overall Top 10 rankings slots (3A, 2A and 1A each featured ties for the […]

Back in 2019, en route to being named B.C. senior boys Quad-A MVP, Lord Tweedsmuir's Arjun Samra led his team to the provincial title. This week, Tweedy hoops sit at No. 4 in the most recent rankings, it's biggest share of the spotlight in almost five full seasons. (Photo by Wilson Wong copyright 2019. All rights reserved)
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B.C. Boys Top 10 basketball rankings 01.24.24 edition: Tweed is back in fashion! Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, unranked two weeks ago, top Tammy in RCMP final to grab Quad-A Top 4 poll position!

LANGLEY  — If you bought stock in the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers a couple of weeks ago, you’ve been rewarded for your faith.Over a two-week span, Surrey’s formerly-unranked Panthers have rocketed skyward in the B.C. Quad-A Top 10, from No. 7 last week to now, No. 4 in the most recent provincial rankings.Lord Tweedsmuir edged former […]

A veteran's veteran, North Delta's Bill Edwards, serving as a consultant and assistant coach this season under head coach Jas Hothi, prowls the sidelines this past December at the 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational staged at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property Varsity Letters 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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Bill Edwards Appreciation Night: “Once a Husky, always a Husky” seems custom-coined for one so steeped in North Delta hoops history! On Thursday, it’s time to say ‘Thank You, Bill’ to the Dean of the ‘Dawgs!

NORTH DELTA — If you had to identify his place on the family tree of North Delta Huskies boys basketball, you’d first start by imagining the mighty Oak.Then, you’d fix your stare on its weathered trunk.You know, that thick, strong and absolutely unflappable part of a tree, the place where it’s always thickest… the place […]

West Vancouver Highlanders' Max Fraser was selected tournament MVP after leading his team to the Terry Fox Legal Beagle championship title Saturday in Port Coquitlam. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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Legal Beagle 2024: Led by its wrestling-themed Four Horsemen, West Vancouver Highlanders pull back-to-back-to-back wins out of the fire, then rise to No. 2 in latest Quad-A rankings!

PORT COQUITLAM — They’re named after a legendary stable of professional wrestlers ever assembled, and in a manner of speaking it’s actually very fitting because any time they’ve found themselves on the figurative ropes, a tag-team mentality has just seemed to take over.In a nutshell, that’s the best way to sum up the the quartet […]

Justin Hinrichsen of Victoria’s Spectrum Thunder during Tsumura Basketball Invitational 2023 this past December at the Langley Events Centre. The Thunder won last week’s Rich Goulet Chancellor Memorial at STM, and followed with a win over crosstown rival Oak Bay on Tuesday. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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Rolling down their own Thunder Road: Behind its Hinrichsen-Felt-Helman power trio, Saanich’s Spectrum Thunder earn old-school respect as B.C.’s new No. 1-ranked Quad-A boys basketball team!

BURNABY — Is March Madness 2024 going to play out to the strains of Bruce Springsteen’s classic Thunder Road?Or perhaps that should be AC/DC’s power-chord bonanza known as Thunderstruck?As January does its usual fast-break towards February and the stretch drive to the B.C. senior boys basketball championships, its soundtrack has indeed been thunderous, as in […]

With St. George's Kevin Zhong (left) in pursuit, St. Patrick's guard Jacob Matabalos surveys the scene during third-day semifinal action from the 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational on Friday at the Langley Events Centre. (during second-day quarterfinal action from the 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational on Thursday at the Langley Events Centre. Both the Saints and Celtics sit among the Top 10 teams at both the Quad-A and Triple-A tiers this week. (Photo by Ryan Molag property of Langley Events Centre 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. Boys Top 10 basketball rankings 01.17.24 edition: Spectrum, Lord Byng each move into No. 1 slots, while Lord Tweedsmuir and STMC enjoy this week’s healthiest climbs!

LANGLEY — The Spectrum Thunder of Saanich, and Vancouver’s Lord Byng Grey Ghosts are the new No. 1-ranked senior boys basketball teams atop the province’s two largest tiers.The then-No. 2 Thunder topped former No. 1 Oak Bay 74-65 in Quad-A South Island league play Tuesday, while Byng’s 2-0 week coupled with former No. 1 St. […]

King George guard Ashton Vij (left) and the rest of his Dragons, pictured here during championship game action against St. Thomas More at the 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational this past December, retained their position at No. 1 in the most recent B.C. senior boys Double-A Top 10 issued Wednesday. (Photo by Wilson Wong protected image 2023, All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. BOYS BASKETBALL TOP 10 RANKINGS 01.10.24 EDITION: Oak Bay back on top at Quad-A! B.C.’s newest cross-town rivalry resumes vs No. 2 Spectrum resumes Jan. 16! First ranks of 2024 are here!

LANGLEY — As 2023 gives way to 2024, it’s been a case of ‘all quiet’ atop the upper reaches of B.C. senior boys basketball.That is unless you look to the Vancouver Island South league, where the province’s top two Quad-A teams are making news each time they step on the court.The latest installement in the […]

Spectrum's Gil de Gracia (left) and Justin Hinrichsen apply the defensive squeeze to Burnaby South's Roan Mendoza during Day 4 action from the 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational on Dec. 9 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. BOYS BASKETBALL TOP 10 RANKINGS 12.20.23 EDITION: Spectrum moves into Quad-A No. 1 after topping Oak Bay in final of Bays’ own Gary Taylor Classic! Here’s all four tiers!

LANGLEY — Quad-A has a new No. 1 as an all-capital clash capped off the Gary Taylor Classic last Saturday in Victoria.The Spectrum Thunder topped Oak Bay in the championship final of the Bay’s own annual classic, a victory which moved the Thunder all the way to No. 1 while Oak Bay dropped to No. […]

Walnut Grove's Joey Adams (right) and Lord Byng's Dylan King battled last week during TBI 2023 at the LEC. The Gators used TBI to move into a tie for Quad-A No. 10 this week. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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Senior boys basketball Top 10s: TBI tourney shows its impact, St. Pat’s the new No. 1 at Triple-A!

The latest B.C. senior boys basketball rankings at all four tiers, released Dec. 13:BASKETBALLTOP 10 RANKINGSB.C. SENIOR BOYSQUAD A1 Oak Bay Bays (Victoria) (VI) (LW-1)2 Tamanawis Wildcats (Surrey) (SF) (2)3 West Vancouver Highlanders (VSS) (4)4 Spectrum Thunder (Saanich) (VI) (5)5 St. George’s Saints (Vancouver) (VSS) (6)6 Burnaby South Rebels (FN) (3) 7 Vancouver College Fighting Irish […]