(A note to loyal readers of Variety Letters: Cover of the both the 2A BC final between Collingwood and Notre Dame, as well as the Quad-A final between Vancouver College and Dover Bay will appear at some stage over the next two days — Howard Tsumura)
NO. 1 ST. PATRICK 94 NO. 2 L.A. MATHESON 67
By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – They’re called the Celtics, but the St. Patrick senior boys basketball team should maybe go by the Roadrunners.
‘Beep, beep.’
That’s right, just like the Roadrunner of cartoon fame, the Celtics are swift and clever.
‘Beep, beep.’
Their feet and legs move so fast they nearly form a wheel-like blur similar to the cartoon bird who speeds away from Wile E. Coyote.
On Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre in the Triple A provincial final, St. Patrick used that speed and cunning to run L.A. Matheson ragged en route to a 94-67 victory.
“We have to,” said head coach Nap Santos with a smile. “We’re not posting anyone up.”
Not with a four guard lineup that includes one guy at five-foot-11, two others listed at six feet, although that’s certainly with some elasticity in the tape measure, and another at six-foot-one. A fifth-starter, six-foot-four Jemuel Castro is also more of a perimeter player.
“I’ve said it before,” added Santos. “We’ve got to use our speed, use our strength to our advantage. That is our advantage, to go, go, go.”
Grade 12 guard Jayden Henwood, who had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals coming off the bench, reiterated the Celtics mind set is to rely on their pace.
“We’re always undersized when we play almost any team, so we’ve just got to run and it always works out in the end for us.”
In addition to 94 points in the final, the Celtics put up 122 and 112 points in games Wednesday and Thursday. For the season, the they averaged 108 points a game
“They don’t get tired,” said Santos of his winged wonders. “Our practices are really, really hard. Then, the game is easy.”
The win finished off an incredible 37-1 season for the Celtics, with the only loss coming against Quad A No. 1 seed Dover Bay, a team they also beat this season.
“It’s a really well coached team,” Matheson bench boss Tyler Ram said of the Celtics. “They have one gear and it’s go, right.”
The Triple A title was also the third in five seasons for St. Patrick, which went back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 with Santos also at the helm.
But he wasn’t interested in debating any ‘best in B.C.’ talk or even whether he’s built something of a dynasty at the independent Catholic school off 11th Ave. and Quebec St. in Vancouver.
“That’s for other people, I don’t care about that stuff,” said Santos. “That’s not for me to say, that’s for other people to say. If it is . . . I’m just so happy for the kids. Different kids, too. I’m just so happy for the Grade 12s, they deserved it.”
His players certainly felt that way
“It just feels so good to win with this group,” said Grade 12 guard Riley Santa Juana. “Me and my guys have been working for this so long.”
He had a game-high 27 points, 15 of them coming in the third quarter when he displayed the depth of his game. He scored on pull-up mid-range jumpers, on a three-pointer, off a cleverly designed inbounds play in which he used the glass to convert and from the free throw line.
He also was a terrific distributor, dishing out 10 assists to go along with seven rebounds and five steals. He was quite rightly named the MVP.
As with so many teams that had any success in the tournament, love and brotherhood were overriding themes in post-game interviews. Honestly, it was like interviewing disciples at some kind of hoops commune.
The Celtics, not great talkers as a group, were muted but they unquestionably leaned towards the idea of love for and a trust with their teammates.
Besides that band-of-brothers bond, Santos also credited the team’s standout season to the amount of greasy diligence the players put in.
“They put in so much hard work when nobody was watching,” he said. “They put in hours and hours, six o’clock in the morning, they’ll go to another gym, not at St. Pat, another gym, just to shoot around. That’s not really a secret. You’ve got to put in those hours. They’re all so dedicated.”
St. Patrick used a 12-0 run late in the first quarter to turn around a 13-6 L.A. Matheson lead, then went on another dynamic run late in the second to take a 40-30 advantage into the halftime break.
It was keyed by suffocating man-to-man defence that continually forced Matheson into turning the ball over. Cat-quick guards Jericho Labrador and Dhyne Cotin were the biggest thieves with active hands that caused many of Mustangs 18 first-half turnovers.
“We got into foul trouble (26 free throws for the Celtics), but even with that we just turned the ball over too much,” said Ram. “You’re not going to win any basketball games turning the ball over that much (26 for the game).”
Offensively, the Celtics got piping hot from long distance as Riley Santa Juana, Jayden Henwood, Labrador and Cotin all connected from behind the arc in about a three minute stretch.
Cotin also dazzled with his Olympic sprinter-like speed. The five-foot-11 guard continually attacked the Matheson defence with dribble penetration that was so quick.
The Celtics also wound up shooting a solid 44 per cent from three-point range with treys accounting for 12 of their final 20 points.
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.
