Every great team has its kryptonite.
On Sunday, however, North Vancouver’s Argyle Pipers seemed to lace their figurative capes just that extra little bit tighter.
And after a 72-57 win over a No. 8-seeded Burnaby South Rebels team that Pipers head coach Jamie Oei respectfully labels as its chief nemesis, the No. 1-seeded Pipers are headed to the Final Four.
“They always play us tough,” Oei said afterwards. “They’d already beat us twice this season, they beat us last season, and they’re just a team that no matter how small or how big, they are always grinding it out, and they never give up. It’s a testament to their program from Grade 8-12 just how well-coached they are, how hard they work, every time we get on the court with them you know you’re in for a war.”
From the Rebels perspective, there’s likely a lot to that old adage about how tough it is to beat a good team three times in a season.
From Argyle’s perspective, it was more like a gut-check passed in the most timely of circumstances.
At the junior B.C.’s, the Pipers finished seventh in 2016, but they have never won the provincial title, and haven’t been to the Final Four since finishing second in 1980.
But never mind the 45 years between Finals Fours.
To Oei, the win is sweet for his program, his kids and the way they have come together to mesh their skills as one of taller overall teams in recent B.C. junior championship history.
But perhaps more important as it pertains to Monday, is the fact that the Burnaby South win was a barometre to that all-elusive thing called mojo, something all coaches look to synthesize in order to peak at just the right time.
“We have more size, we have more athleticism, but their work ethic is why they are such a good team,” said Oei. “So the fact that we were able to match their work ethic is why we were able to pull it out.”
Curiously enough, as Oei and his coaches studied film beginning late Saturday evening, one trend popped.
“Burnaby South scored 29 points in the first quarter against R.E. Mountain yesterday (in the Round of 16), and then they scored seven points in the second quarter when Mountain went to zone,” the coach said. “So we said ‘We’ve got to try it and see if it works.’ If we’re so stubborn that we’re not going to play zone, then we’re doing a disservice to the kids.”
Oei, however, is not a fan of zone defences.
“I am one of the most stubborn people at this age group,” he said. “I don’t want to do it. I don’t do it often. I have lost games this year because I wouldn’t do it. But now, being at B.C.’s, being in the quarterfinals, you’ve got to find a way to win and we knew that.”
On Sunday, the Pipers employed a zone for about the half the game and when it exhaled in the half court, it was imposing with the likes of the Szpak Brothers (Nathan, Jayden and Logan) all 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-5, the 6-foot-5 Ilia Mayden and others.
Now, it’s something Argyle can carry into the semifinals when it tips off against a Lord Tweedsmuir team it managed to beat in the only meeting between the two teams this season.
Nathan Szpak led Argyle on Sunday with 20 points, Logan Szpak added 14, Ilia Mayden 13 and Jayden Szpak 11.
Miguel Samson led Burnaby South with 16 points.
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