NO. 10 SIMILKAMEEN 69 NO. 3 VERNON CHRISTIAN 67
By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Known as the ‘Fruit Stand Capital’ of Canada, Keremeos, in the cradle of the B.C. Okanagan, is more than just abundant orchards of cherries, peaches, apricots and apples.
It’s also producing some growing boys who are ripe with on-court potential. Fresh-faced kids with spring-loaded legs who could probably pick the best fruit off the trees without need of ladders.
The Similkameen Sparks senior boys basketball team, seeded just No. 10 in the 16-school Single A championships at the Langley Events Centre recorded their third consecutive upset – 69-67 over No. 3 Vernon Christian – to advance to Saturday’s final.
It was a spine-tingling contest in which the Sparks needed a heroic fourth quarter from their captain, six-foot-four Grade 11 forward Balkaran Lidhar, the athletic marvel who had 12 of his team-high 24 points in the final frame.
“He’s a great player, he’s the leader of our team and he was definitely clutch in that fourth quarter,” said Similkameen head coach Aaron Kessler before doused with a water bottle shower from his players in the post-game lockerroom.
With Similkameen trailing 56-52 early in the fourt, Lidhar’s back-to-back baskets – one on a powerful drive through the lane, the other on a short one-handed floater in which he elevated well above the defenders – allowed the Sparks to stay close.
Then later, it was a deep three-pointer from seemingly outside the gym, to pull the Sparks within one point, and another trey with 2:02 left to tie the game at 67. With just over a minute to go, he rolled to the basket, took a perfect feed from Jasdeep Dhaliwal (six assists on the game) and finger-rolled in the winning points.
For good measure, he followed it up on the defensive end with a big block on Vernon Christian’s leading scorer JD Vass. When VC’s Gingras’ desperation shot clanged off iron at the buzzer, it was pandemonium on the Similkameen sideline.
“At the start of the game, I was ice-cold,” said Lidhar. “And I was forcing things . . . passing it around, waiting for the right shot. And in the end, it paid off.
“Of course,’’ he added of wanting to take the clutch shots late. “It’s a leader thing.”
Lidhar had nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and that huge rejection to go along with his 24 points. Dhaliwal had 17 points to go along with his team-high six assists and four steals.
Similkameen is tied for the most provincials Single A appearances with 22, but hasn’t won it all since going back-to-back in 2000 and 2001.
“It’s fantastic,” said Kessler of making a final, 25 years after the school last won a title. As (the No. 10 seed), we knew we were a great team and believed in each other. We’re peaking at the right time, but we’re just taking one game at a time, putting our heads down. And now we’re in the big dance.”
But their dance power is a Single A powerhouse.
The Sparks will face No. 1 seed St. John’s of Vancouver, the reigning champions in the final (1230 p.m. Saturday in the LEC’s Arena Bowl.
“They’re a really good team, a well-coached team,” said Kessler. “They pass the ball well, know how to play great defence. We’re just going to have to execute well, stick to our game plan and believe in ourselves.”
Vass led Vernon Christian 29 points, while Caden Kooger added 19.
“I thought we had it, but props to them,” rued Vernon Christian head coach Nick Purvis. “But hey, we had a lot of Grade 11s and we’ll be back next year.”
If you’re reading this story or viewing these photos on any website other than one belonging to a university athletic department, it has been taken without appropriate permission. In these challenging times, true journalism will survive only through your dedicated support and loyalty. VarsityLetters.ca and all of its exclusive content has been created to serve B.C.’s high school and university sports community with hard work, integrity and respect. Feel free to drop us a line any time at howardtsumura@gmail.com.
