Raj Bagry coached the Lord Tweedsmuir junior boys into the Final Four at the 2025 B.C. junior boys basketball championships. Forty years ago Thursday, as a member of the 1984-85 Alderove Totems, he hit the first three-point basket in B.C. boys provincial championship tournament history. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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Raj Bagry: 40 years ago he hit first-ever three-pointer at BC Provincials! Now, at 57, he reflects on the cradle of coaches who saved him at Aldergrove Sec!

By HOWARD TSUMURAVarsity Letters(Today we finish our short series celebrating the 40th anniversary of the three-point shot in B.C. boys high school basketball)LANGLEY — Ever wonder how important it can ultimately be to save score sheets from high school basketball games?As I began my research on three-point shooting in B.C. boys high school basketball for […]

Fleetwood Park's Izaec Oppal drained three straight triple in the second half during Day 3 Final Four action at the B.C. senior boys high school basketball championships, March 10, 2023. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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Happy 40th Birthday to the BC Boys High School Three-Pointer! Born in 1984-85, we trace its origins from near-total anonymity to its place as the game’s signature shot!

By HOWARD TSUMURA(Varsity Letters)(The first of a two-part series which concludes Tuesday, March 4)LANGLEY — In the first week of the new year, I took out my notepad and my voice recorder and I started to interview a lot of the acquaintances I have made over what has been a lifetime spent within our province’s […]

Seaquam Seahawks (clockwise l to r) Mackenzie Henderson, Neelum Sidhu, Camryn Tait, Callie Brost and Syra Toor can sense impending victory, something not lost on Brookswood's Fabi Taylor during B.C. Quad-A senior girls basketball championship final March 1, 2025 at the Langley Events Centre's Arena Bowl. (Photo by Garrett James property of Langley Events 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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Fourth-quarter flurry once again turns the tide, Seaquam repeats as B.C. Quad-A champions as Toor’s three-point parade and Tait’s MVP ways carry the day against Nohr and Brookswood Bobcats!

LANGLEY — If you dissect an entire high school basketball season into its thousands upon thousands of shiny 10-minute quarters, there will always be one above all others that is worth its weight in gold.It is, of course, the one that follows every other quarter that comes before it.And because it arrives, full of mystery […]

As a phalanx of photographers each attempt to tell a thousand stories, Joss Olcen of Victoria's SMUS Blue Jags tells one of pure joy after a win over Holy Cross in the B.C. Double-A senior girls basketball championship final March 1, 2025 at the Langley Events Centre's Arena Bowl. (Photo by Garrett James property of Langley Events 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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SMUS Blue Jags turn tables on the Myth of Sisyphus! After two years of heartbreak, MVP Avery Geddes helps push rock to top of the hill in B.C. Double-A title win over Holy Cross!

B.C. CHAMPIONSHIPSDOUBLE-ANO. 2 SMUS 62 NO . 1 HOLY CROSS 54By HOWARD TSUMURA (Varsity Letters)LANGLEY — They didn’t just borrow a page from the mythical tales of Sisyphus.No.In fact at times over their prior two seasons, it almost felt like the senior girls basketball team from Victoria’s St. Michaels University School was gathering the kind […]

MEI head coach Rick Thiessen erupts with joy after his 2024-25 Eagles gave him his first B.C. girls basketball title Saturday at the LEC's Arena Bowl. (Photo by Garrett James property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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Fairytale finish! MEI tops Sa-Hali Sabres for B.C. 3A crown, Eagles first in 26 years and head coach Rick Thiessen’s first ever!

NO. 1 MEI 50  NO. 2 SA-HALI 49By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)LANGLEY – As the final buzzer sounded and his MEI team raced to centre court to join students, relatives and others in a raucous celebration after the Eagles’ 3A championship final win, longtime head coach Rick Thiessen stood by himself on the […]

Pacific Christian's Kealayna Tupas-Singh looks to create the space she needs to get past Sir Alexander Mackenzie's Emily Coe during championship game action at the 2025 B.C. senior girls Single-A basketball championships 03.01.25 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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Pacific Christian breaks quarter-century title drought as Pacers top SAM Grizzlies to win B.C. girls 1A crown!

SINGLE ANO. 1 PACIFIC CHRISTIAN 70  NO. 2 SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE 63 (BY GARY KINGSTON, SPECIAL FOR VARSITY LETTERS)LANGLEY – The Cinderella story ended in agonizing fashion Saturday afternoon, but there was still a celebratory marriage of sorts in the Single A final of the B.C. senior girls basketball championships.The Pacific Christian Pacers, bridesmaids in 2023 […]

Brookswood's Jordyn Nohr eyes a pull up shot as Argyle's Cassidy Nugent closes during B.C. senior girls Quad A Final Four, 02.28.25 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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02.28.25 Day 3 reports from the 2025 B.C. senior girls QUAD-A Final Four round!

We’ve gone final from Day 3 of the 2025 B.C. girls high school basketball championships with complete reports from today’s two semifinals.NO. 2 SEAQUAM 75 NO. 3 RIVERSIDE 61BY HOWARD TSUMURA, VARSITY LETTERSLANGLEY — The game of Neelum Sidhu’s life came on the second-to-last day of her high school basketball career.It came from off the […]

St. Thomas More's Demicah Arnaldo is guarded by Holy Corss' Solene Jackson during B.C. senior girls Triple-A Final Four, 02.28.25 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL: 02.28.25 Day 3 reports from the 2025 B.C. senior girls DOUBLE-A Final Four round!

We’ve gone final from Day 3 of the 2025 B.C. girls high school basketball championships with complete reports from today’s two semifinals.NO. 1 HOLY CROSS 81  NO. 4 ST. THOMAS MORE 73By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)LANGLEY – The Holy Cross Crusaders senior girls basketball team will run opponents dizzy with their speed. And […]

MEI's Ella Tatlock was a huge fourth-quarter factor in the Eagles' game against Vernon during semifinal-round action at the 2025 B.C. senior girls Triple-A basketball championships 02.28.25 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property of Langley Events Centre 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL: 02.28.25 Day 3 reports from the 2025 B.C. senior girls TRIPLE-A Final Four round!

We’ve gone final from Day 3 of the 2025 B.C. girls high school basketball championships with complete reports from today’s two semifinals.NO. 1 MEI 64, NO. 4 VERNON 55BY DAN KINVIG (Special for Varsity Letters)The MEI Eagles are so deep and tall and talented and versatile, they can beat you in any number of ways.But […]

Keylana Tupas-Singh (left) of the Pacific Christian Pacers is geared by Unity Christian's Kenna Friesen during the B.C. Single-A Final Four semifinals Friday at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property of the Langley Events Centre 2025. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL: 02.28.25 Day 3 reports from the 2025 B.C. senior girls SINGLE-A Final Four round!

We’ve gone final from Day 3 of the 2025 B.C. girls high school basketball championships with complete reports from today’s two semifinals.NO. 1 PACIFIC CHRISTIAN 50  NO. 4 UNITY CHRISTIAN 23By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)LANGLEY – Boss Bakery in Vancouver’s Chinatown makes legendary turnovers, apple ones being the best sellers.At the Langley Events […]