Now into his fourth decade of coaching B.C. high school basketball, Grandview Heights Grizzlies senior head coach Drew Gallacher has always valued character as the cornerstone of his programs. Here he is in action during South Fraser Quad-A regular-season finale Feb. 9, 2026 in Surrey. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2026. All Rights Reserved)
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A Sunday Read: It’s a new high for No. 3 Grandview Heights, and for Grizzlies head coach Drew Gallacher, the chance to inspire seems a role he was born to play! Just ask the Fighting Finnegan himself!

By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caSURREY — Did you happen to see the current week’s B.C. senior boys high school basketball rankings for the Quad-A tier when they were published on these pages Wednesday afternoon?There they were, South Surrey’s Grandview Heights Grizzlies perched all the way at No. 3!You could say ‘Who?’ and you wouldn’t be wrong, yet […]

Holy Cross head coach Anthony Pezzente is one of several South Fraser Quad-A head coaches ready to begin what will be one of its most hotly-contested conference championship tourneys ever with ffive teams ranked in the current B.C. Top 10. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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02.11.26 Top 10 edition: Vancouver Sea-to-Sky, South Fraser, Van Isle zones wielding the late-season hammer as the countdown to B.C. boys high school tourney-tip off reaches three weeks!

LANGLEY — Three weeks from today, a total of 32 sudden-elimination games will be on the docket as the 2026 B.C. senior boys high school basketball championships tip off at the Langley Events Centre.For a fun exercise in fortune telling, look at the projected Final Fours based on the top four at each of B.C.’s […]

Jashan Mahal (left) and teammate Joven Sanghera of the L.A. Matheson Mustangs play bookend defence on Abud Shawwa of the King George Dragons during TBI Select 16 championship final played Dec. 6, 2025 at the Langley Event Centre's South Court. (Photo by Jacob Mallari property of Langley Events Centre 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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So who’s on the bubble for the B.C. boys basketball tourney’s four coveted ‘strength-berth’ spots? With BC Basketball Metrics’ weekly numbers, we offer thoughts, and look at the week’s biggest news!

By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caLANGLEY — Putting a bit of a microscope to our third week of B.C. Basketball Metrics numbers is proving to generate all kinds of fun, stats-driven questions.We’ll start out with the biggest news in terms of movement this past week, with a look at the Quad-A, Triple-A and Double-A scenes.Then, we’ll look at […]

Roman Simmons of St. George's is guarded by Logan Ball of St. Thomas More during 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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02.04.26 Sr. Boys Top 10 ranks: Epic home-and-home sets at 4A, 3A define the greatness of BC boys hoops! Saints-Irish, Enver-Matheson battles carry the day! Plus our final Jr. Boys Top 10!

LANGLEY — The Vancouver Independent league race between St. Georges and Vancouver College lived up to its late-season legend.Each team took turns winning on the other’s home court in a home-and-home last Thursday and Tuesday with the then-No. 1 Fighting Irish coming away with a 94-82 win in the first game, before the then-No. 7-Saints […]

Jaxen Lust of Brentwood College is guarded by Steveston-London's Nishan Sergeant during Day 1 action from the 2025 TBI Select 16 draw, Dec. 3, 2025 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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02.02.26: B.C. Basketball Metrics boys combined team ratings: 4A Rutland, 3A Brentwood College, 2A D.P. Todd the week’s biggest climbers!

By HOWARD TSUMURAVARSITY LETTERSLANGLEY — Reader response was excellent last week as Varsity Letters and B.C. Basketball Metrics debuted with its co-operative presentation of Top 16 and Zone ratings for B.C. senior boys basketball. We’re back with Week 2 and as the post-season beckons, it’s pretty apparent that nothing beats a good regional clash, whatever […]

MEI's Jayce Sidhu has an outlet in teammate Jaiden Buttar (left, 0) but the swarming Vancouver College defence of Lucas Holt (15), John Anthony (rear) and Nathan Chen closes in quickly during TBI Super 16 quarterfinal action Dec. 4, 2025 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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01.28.26 edition: Vancouver College top both the B.C. senior Quad-A and junior boys provincial Top 10 rankings! Here’s all five tiers as March Madness creeps up ever closer!

LANGLEY — So may call it an eternal question, yet more than ever, this is the week to ask if this is indeed the year of the Vancouver College Fighting Irish? At least as it pertains to the spoils of March Madness.This week, the Irish sit at No. 1 in both the Quad-A senior boys […]

MEI's Kaden Vandervelden (back) and Vaughn Robinson of Dover Bay battle for a loose ball during Day 1 action from the 2025 TBI Super 16 draw, Dec. 3, 2025 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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01.26.26: B.C. Basketball Metrics boys combined team ratings: Top 16s for all four tiers, plus ratings for all four tiers broken down by zone and provincial berths!

By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersLANGLEY — Today, Varsity Letters teams up with B.C. Basketball Metrics for a second straight season to present BCBBM’s analytical lookout the best senior boys basketball teams in the province.As you will see below, the weekly package this season has expanded to include eight different sets of statistical packages. Perhaps more simply, […]

Centennial's Alex Birsan takes it at the Argyle defence of Jayden Szpak (25) and Logan Szpak during Day 1 action at the 2025 Tsumura Basketball Invitational Dec. 3, 2025 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsityletters.ca)
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A Sunday Read: With family roots in Bucharest and Belgrade, and a deep love of Euro-hoops in his soul, Centennial’s Grade 12 big man Alex Birsan turns versatility into 35 points-per-game!

By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersCOQUITLAM —  He may still be only 17 years old, but ask Alex Birsan to name the NBA player who has perhaps been the most influential in terms of his approach to the game, and his response just confirms his old-school cool.“Obviously, nowadays it’s Luka Dončić  and (Nikola) Jokić,” the 6-foot-7 senior […]

LA Matheson's Jashan Mahal (right)is guarded by Richmond's Tomiwa Aderinto during TBI Select 16 quarterfinal action Dec. 4, 2025 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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01.21.26 edition: Surrey’s L.A. Matheson Mustangs, East Van’s Notre Dame Jugglers punch above their weight class with Quad-A TKO’s to climb in latest BC boys basketball Top 10 rankings!

LANGLEY — Remember those days, when it seemed like about 95 per cent of the time that the teams at the high end of B.C.’s highest-tiered class of Top 10 senior boys basketball rankings beat similarly-ranked teams from the smaller tiers?If you watched top-ranked hoops this past weekend, you know that as part of an […]

Argyle's Ilian Maydan (right) grimaces as he looks to create space against Centennial's Josh Onyango during opening-round action of the TBI Super 16 2025 on Wednesday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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01.14.26 edition: B.C. senior and junior Tops 10s all tell their own stories! Quad-A sees Holy Cross, Kits and Centennial make a concerted push!

LANGLEY — With pool play complete for the 2026 Surrey RCMP Tournament, the Tamanawis Wildcats were are all set to begin official Round 1 action today against the Southridge Storm as B.C.’s No. 1-ranked Quad-A team.Yet beneath them, the province’s largest tier was turned head over heels based on the results of this past week […]