LANGLEY — Welcome to Day 1 of the 2025 boys Tsumura Basketball Invitational and our eight Select 16 bracket games.
Please check back on this posting throughout the day as we do our best to keep loyal readers of Varsity Letters up to date on the latest results, and note that games are listed by their quadrants, meaning the report you’re looking for may be listed further down in the story, behind those set to start later in the day.
BOYS
SELECT 16
DAY 1
(South Court)
TOP HALF DRAW
QUADRANT A
4:30 p.m. — PACIFIC ACADEMY vs. MARK ISFELD
ST. THOMAS MORE 67 RICK HANSEN 65
By GARY AHUJA (Special for Varsity Letters)
Graduating all but three players from last season’s silver-medal squad, Denzel Laguerta and his coaching staff knew the St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights were in for a youth movement this year. And on Wednesday morning at the TBI Tournament, the team’s youngest player delivered.
Clinging to a 63–62 lead over the Rick Hansen Hurricanes in the final minute, Grade 10 guard Vidak Nikolic buried a three from the top of the arc, providing the cushion in a hard-fought 67–65 victory.
“We asked him to move up this year. He’s very talented with a lot of potential — still plenty to learn, don’t want his ego getting too big — but he’s a very good player. He gets it,” Laguerta said. “I was worried about the maturity, but he has responded to every challenge, and it shows in moments like that.”
The game was tight throughout, with neither team leading by more than seven and a combined seven ties and eight lead changes.
Logan Ball, one of only three Grade 12s on the Knights roster, scored 26 points while Nikolic finished with 20. For the Hurricanes, Harjap Thind had 34 and Abhi Brar added 12.
Laguerta said the early test is exactly why his team values the TBI.
“We love being here. In terms of where teams want to be at the end of the season, this is the place,” he said. “The TBI emulates that. The talent is so good, and we’re grateful Howie has us here. It is a good gauge to see where we are.”
QUADRANT B
1:15 p.m. — KING GEORGE vs. HERITAGE WOODS
7:45 p.m. — SULLIVAN HEIGHTS vs. WELLINGTON
BOTTOM HALF DRAW
QUADRANT C
3 p.m. — BRENTWOOD COLLEGE vs. STEVESTON-LONDON
COLLINGWOOD 77 SARDIS 55
By HOWARD TSUMURA
LANGLEY — Ask Andy Wong who his ‘go-to guy’ is this season with West Vancouver’s perennial title-contending Collingwood Cavaliers is, and he defers.
“We’ve got 12 seniors,” the head coach smiles.
On Wednesday, as the TBI opened its Select 16 round, the man of the hour was senior guard Peter Huang.
Playing within the rhythm of the team’s offence, Huang hung five first-quarter triples on the scoreboard en route to a 20-point performance as the Cavs toppled a talented Sardis Falcons squad 77-55.
It was a start that left no doubt.
“I mean we had 77 points for the game, and I think we had 38 points in the first quarter,” Womg said, smiling of the fact that Collingwood scored half its points in the first 10 minutes of play.
“Our shooters came ready to shoot,” added Wong who led Collingwood to the B.C. Double-A title in 2024 and to a third-place finish last season. “That’s an identity that we have, but we don’t know who it’s going to be every time and today it was Peter Huang. So every time someone sort of steps up… today was him. And so super happy with our effort. We knew how good Sardis was.”
Elliot McNeil scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter for the winners while Tomas Villamil added 10.
Landon Pomeranz led the Falcons with 16 points.
Maybe Collingwood’s identity will wind up being its dozen-strong co-op of seniors, a trait that will make them very hard to scout.
“Honestly, we’re a team that plays with a lot of confidence, and when something goes in, everyone else feels confident,” said Wong. “And so they get that catch-and-shoot three where they get rhythm and they feel really good about it. And so when we’re going, we can really go.”
QUADRANT D
6:15 p.m. — RICHMOND vs. SPECTRUM
L.A. MATHESON 75 WINDSOR 54
By GARY AHUJA (Special for Varsity Letters)
Locked in a one-point game early in the second half, the L.A. Matheson Mustangs turned to their defence.
“We went back to what we’re good at and really honed in on our ability to defend,” said Mustangs coach Tyler Ram. “Once we got some crucial stops, we were able to go on a run.”
That run pushed the lead to 18 by the end of the third quarter, and the Mustangs pulled away for a 75–54 win over the Windsor Wolves.
“They’re a great team — the defending 3A champs — and we were happy to see them because they have championship pedigree,” Ram said of the North Vancouver program, which captured the BC School Sports 3A Boys title at Langley Events Centre in March. “I told the guys: they know what it takes to win, and if we want to reach that level, we have to show what we can do.”
“We came into this tournament saying it’s a provincials preview. It’s the only other event at LEC where you play four games in four days.”
Leading the way on Wednesday was 6-foot-5 Grade 12 guard Joven Sanghera, who scored a game-high 21 points to earn Player of the Game honours. Ram was pleased to see him rebound after a tough outing in last weekend’s championship final against Grandview Heights at Queen Elizabeth Secondary.
“He’s going to be a big piece for us. He struggled a bit last week, so it was great to see him turn it up. He bounced back — that’s what we wanted,” Ram said, calling Sanghera a “high-energy, high-motor player.”
Sanghera was one of four Mustangs in double figures: Jason Hothi scored 18, Jashan Mahal had 16, and Jaiden Shergill added 12. Windsor, with just four Grade 12s on its roster, was led by Grade 11 standouts Marcus Field (20 points) and Marcus Pollock (12).
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