By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caBURNABY MOUNTAIN — Two nights after letting a 14-point second-half lead slip through their fingers, the Simon Fraser Red Leafs proved to themselves what a difference a full 40 minutes of on-court togetherness can mean.Rookie forward Sartaj Bhangu equalled his own career-high with 16 points and also grabbed set a new career-high in […]
University Men’s Basketball
Fourth-quarter steals highlight ‘disruptive’ UBC mindset as No. 6 ‘Birds rally to top No. 1 Vikes, setting stage for a winner-take-all Pacific Division finale Saturday in the B.C. capital!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caVICTORIA — In ancient mythology, the gods made news by stealing fire from each other.On Friday, the UBC Thunderbirds made some fourth-quarter headlines of their own by instead stealing basketballs and ultimately the game’s momentum, keeping hopes alive of an 11th-hour fastbreak to the Canada West’s Pacific Division title.Trailing by as many as […]
For Simon Fraser’s Mikyle Malabuyoc, it’s all about the orchestration of the score! Red Leafs’ point guard set to dish dimes as team celebrates Filipino Heritage Night on Thursday vs. Alaska Nanooks!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersBURNABY MOUNTAIN — A great conductor will tell you that there is infinitely more to performing a great symphonic score than just looking at notes and abiding by time signatures.It’s more about seeing the big picture, and within the details, trusting that through the repetition of rehearsal that your vision is both […]
Abby’s hometown hero Dil Randhawa finds three-point redemption, fires game-high 24 points as UFV Cascades snap 11-game UBC win streak with 91-85 victory over No. 3-ranked Birds!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersABBOTSFORD — The Fraser Valley Cascades opened the Pacific Division men’s basketball campaign back on Oct. 24 at UBC’s War Memorial Gym with an injury-riddled line-up and a shooting game in desperate need of bandages.Yet despite taking an 85-67 loss to the hometown Thunderbirds that night and starting the season with an […]
A Sunday Read, TBI 2025 edition: The path of Victoria’s Diego Maffia from the depths of his 11th-hour torn ACL, to a Vikes’ national title, and now his return to the LEC as Oak Bay’s new head coach!
LANGLEY — Diego Maffia never thought basketball could break his heart.Once, in his Grade 12 season (2018-19) with Victoria’s Oak Bay Bays, he poured home 94 points in a 114-88 win over Edmonton’s Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds, the greatest single-game scoring performance in B.C. boys high school basketball history.And over a university career with his hometown […]
Buchanan Cup 2025: As UBC beats Simon Fraser in the 38th edition of the ‘Crosstown Clash’, we celebrate the Brothers Maric as a symbol of the game’s enduring ties to the B.C. hoops community!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caBURNABY MOUNTAIN — No word yet if Toni Maric ever let the Buchanan Cup out of his hands on Saturday night after he and his UBC Thunderbirds topped the host Simon Fraser Red Leafs 66-54 in the 38th edition of the crosstown basketball brouhaha.Who knows? Maybe the ‘Birds 6-foot-8 fifth-year forward took it […]
A SUNDAY READ: UBC stuns No. 1-ranked, defending national champ Victoria, snapping Vikes’ 33-game win streak with stoic resilience and improved prowess in the paint!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caVANCOUVER — Was the biggest surprise on Friday night the way in which the UBC Thunderbirds turned in one of their most inspired and complete team performances in recent memory en route to defeating the No. 1-ranked team in the country?Or was it, upon hearing the final horn sound in its 93-87 win […]
Buchanan Cup 2025: As the timeless SFU vs. UBC men’s basketball rivalry gets Nov. 15 re-start atop Burnaby Mountain, it’s time to examine the weird, wonderful origin story 1968’s debut crosstown clash!
By Howard Tsumura(VarsityLetters.ca and Special for Simon Fraser Athletics)BURNABY — If the Buchanan Cup could speak, the first thing you’d hear would be a chuckle most identifiable as a last laugh.Too many times a pawn in the machinations of the Lower Mainland’s two most enduring university athletic programs, it has nonetheless aged with dignity to […]
Simon Fraser men’s hoops: As Canadian Tip-Off Classic nears at the LEC, new head coach Barnaby Craddock melds newcomers and holdovers in build-up to 2025-26 GNAC season!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caBURNABY — With a brand new coaching staff and half of its roster new to the fulltime climes of Burnaby Mountain, it’s no stretch to say that Simon Fraser Red Leafs men’s basketball is set to open a new chapter in its program’s history.And page one of that treatise will begin write itself […]
UBC-Trinity Western men’s hoops: Fifth-year vet Tobi Akinkunmi earns kudos for new three-point prowess! Thunderbirds unleash long-bomb barrage early to top host Spartans in early-season crosstown clash at LEC!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caLANGLEY — The UBC Thunderbirds may only be one weekend into the new Canada West men’s season, but they’re shooting the basketball from distance like they’re in mid-season form.On Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre, the Birds came bursting out of the gates behind the three-point shooting of fifth-year forward Tobi Akinkunmi, […]