Duchess Park's standout Grade 11 Caleb Lyons led his team to a win over Walnut Grove in the opening round of the 2019 Tsumura Basketball Invitational last month at the LEC. Lyons is back this week with the rest of the Triple-A No. 2-ranked Condors of Prince George for the 2020 STMC Chancellor Invitational. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

STMC’s Chancellor 2020: With no talk of rankings allowed, PG’s No. 2-ranked Duchess Park Condors take a business trip to Burnaby

BURNABY — One week into the new year, and Jordan Yu is happy to report that the Duchess Park Condors have been resolute on their latest resolution.“We’ve stopped talking about rankings and championships,” Yu said Tuesday afternoon from Prince George, breaking the silence for a brief second to make an important point one day ahead […]

G.W. Graham senior forward Zach Klim leads the Triple A No. 1-ranked Grizzlies in both scoring and rebounding heading into the 2020 Chancellor Invitational beginning Wednesday at Burnaby's St. Thomas More Collegiate. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

STMC’s Chancellor 2020: No. 1-ranked G.W. Graham Grizzlies arrive following blueprint of defending champion North Delta Huskies

CHILLIWACK — As the St. Thomas More Chancellor Invitational gets set to tip off Wednesday in Burnaby, B.C.’s No. 1-ranked Triple-A team is following what it hopes is a winning recipe.“We have the best losing record in the province,” joked G.W. Graham Grizzlies head coach Jake Mouritzen, whose Chilliwack-based school is actually sitting at 8-8 […]

The two sides of Jackson Corneil are (left) as an outside hitter for Fraser Valley Volleyball Club, and as a basketball forward with Surrey's Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers. (Photos by Dale Toews (left) and Howard Tsumura (right). All rights reserved)
Feature High School Boys Volleyball University Men's Volleyball

A Sunday Read: As Tweedy hoops star Jackson Corneil chooses volleyball career with TWU Spartans, we get a fresh take on the power of multi-sport athleticism

LANGLEY — You don’t build a university sports dynasty by diligently following the same footsteps as the rest of the pack.Instead, if you’re the men’s volleyball program at Langley’s Trinity Western University, you cultivate your own belief system of what matters most and you act accordingly, bringing student-athletes into your program whom others may not […]

After meeting in the TBI title game finale two weekends ago, Kelowna's Ajay Gill (right) and Leif Skelding of Centennial saw their respective teams hold court at the top of Quad-A rankings through the end of 2019. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. senior boys basketball 12.18.19 rankings: Centaurs hold at Quad-A No. 1, Grizz new Triple-A No. 1, plus JV Top 10!

LANGLEY — Some weeks, ranking numbers struggle to hold their weight against determined, un-ranked foes. Over the past seven days, however, the Quad-A tier’s strengths, albeit only paper, were almost universally as strong as oak.Remember that our next provincial rankings won’t appear again until Jan. 8.Here’s a look at this week’s rankings:BOYSQUAD A (records, ranking reflect […]

Kelowna's Jarred Taylor (23) pays the price for guarding Centennial's Dom Parolin during Saturday's Tsumura Basketball Invitational championship final at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

TBI Boys 2019 Final: Parolin unparalleled! Centennial superstar pours home 41, stuffs stat sheet in title win over Kelowna Owls

LANGLEY — At one point pretty early on in Saturday’s Tsumura Basketball Invitational championship final, it became pretty clear that the Dom Parolin who was patrolling the court at the Langley Events Centre for Coquitlam’s No. 3-ranked Centennial Centaurs had stepped onto the hardcourt straight off the pages of a super-hero comic book.

Burnaby South's Jimmy Zaborniak (centre) splits the defence of Duchess Park's Tony Zejnulahovic and Caleb Lyons during TBI bronze clash Saturday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

TBI 2019’s Surprise Team: Despite third-place loss to powerhouse Burnaby South, PG’s Duchess Park Condors leave their mark

LANGLEY — Prince George’s Duchess Park Condors, the Triple-A interlopers with the audacity to crash the Final Four party here at TBI 2019 on Friday night, may not have gotten the finish they wanted following an 81-63 loss to the Quad-A No. 1-ranked Burnaby South Rebels in Saturday’s third-fourth place contest.Falling behind 23-4 off the […]

Claremont's Ethan Boag (right) looks for space in the post against Holy Cross' Logan Mathers on Saturday in the fifth-seventh clash at TBI 2019. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

TBI 2019’s Fifth-place game: Victoria’s Claremont Spartans ready to rise in Big 10 poll after topping three ranked teams

LANGLEY — Victoria’s Claremont Spartans are ready to do some climbing this week when the Varsity Letters’ Big 10 Quad-A senior boys basketball rankings are released.Ben Manns drained a critical three-pointer with 56.9 seconds left, a highlight in the capital city crew’s game-closing 10-2 run, in a 77-72 win over Surrey’s No. 5-ranked Holy Cross […]

It's crash-and-bang time in the paint for Kelowna's Jayden Lalonde who is met in the post by Burnaby South's Karan Aujla on Friday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Tsumura Basketball 2019: Super-powers trade thunder bolts before No. 2 Kelowna tops No. 1 Burnaby South to earn its TBI title shot

LANGLEY — No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups in high school basketball should never go quietly into the night.Thankfully, the figurative basketball spirits left to inhabit Centre Court tonight at the Langley Events Centre following just such a contest in the semifinal round of the 2019 Tsumura Basketball Invitational must surely still be kicking up […]

Guarded by Duchess Park's Emir Zejnulahovic, Centennial big man Dominic Parolin prepares to execute in the past Friday night at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Tsumura Basketball 2019: Duchess Park Condors discover the perils of Parolin! Centennial star scores 39 to lead Centaurs to final

LANGLEY — If you wanted to see what it looked like to witness one player grabbing a basketball game by the figurative scruff of it’s neck, then you had to be sitting at Centre Court in the Langley Events Centre on Friday night.With his Centennial Centaurs nursing a seven-point lead with six minutes remaining against […]

Duchess Park guard Tanner Cruz (right) does his best to shake Holy Cross' Tee Anim during dramatic TBI quarterfinal clash Friday morning at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Tsumura Basketball 2019 Day 3: Elite 8 clashes complete! Get set for No. 1 Bby South vs. No. 2 Kelowna & Centennial vs. Duchess Park

LANGLEY — We’ve punched our Final Four dance card.Following quarterfinal-round action today, the Quad A No. 3 Centennial Centaurs of Coquitlam will face the Triple A No. 3 Duchess Park Condors of Prince George at 6:45 p.m., followed by the all-Quad-A No. 1 Burnaby South Rebels against the No. 2 Kelowna Owls.KELOWNA 101 TERRY FOX […]