Byrne Creek's Marcell Sherwood (left, 13) and teammate Clifford Ocampo battle against St. Patrick's Joey Panghulan during senior boys basketball game Feb. 3, 2022 in Burnaby. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2022. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

A Sunday Read: Why Byrne Creek’s Marcell Sherwood helps us all better cherish our bounce-back season of B.C. high school basketball!

BURNABY — Throughout the COVID-cancelled 2020-21 season, we wondered openly and talked aloud of just what was being lost by the thousands upon thousands of student-athletes across this province who were denied the myriad of benefits which come from taking part in school-based sports.Well, the answer has come this season in all of the ways […]

Seaquam's Amar Thiara (left) looks to dish in the face of defensive pressure from Argyle's Nathalie Francis during the Tsumura Basketball Classic in December of 2021. A re-birth in girls basketball at Seaquam has both its senior and junior varsity teams each sitting in the Top 10 rankings as March Madness approaches. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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Seaquam revels in a girls basketball renaissance! The Seahawks of Sunshine Hills bring long-lost, late-1980’s vibe back to their North Delta neighbourhood!

NORTH DELTA — When it comes to senior varsity girls basketball, the high school from that North Delta neighbourhood known as Sunshine Hills is finding out how good it feels to find its place in the sun.When rankings were released earlier this week, not only was the Seaquam Seahawks senior girls team ranked at No. […]

The Langley Christian Lightning seem ready to make a third run at the thus-far elusive B.C. senior girls Double A basketball championship title this March at the Langley Events Centre. It's a quest being led by the team's talented trio of seniors (left to right) Taelor Coxford, Sydney Bradshaw and Lainey Shelvey. (Photo graphic by Gabriel Lynn, photos by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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The ‘Strikes Thrice’ magic of the Langley Christian Lightning! In a tier-free girls high school basketball world, might Double-A powers be BC’s No. 1 overall team?

LANGLEY — Imagine a B.C. girls high school basketball world without any tiers of classification.Instead, replace it with a soup pot of sorts in which every team in the province is thrown together to form a chowder-like broth.Bring to a boil.Cover.Simmer.Let the cream rise to the top.And when you lift that cover, who might you […]

After her game-high 31 points on Tuesday, Riverside's Avery Sussex is averaging 23 ppg in two meetings this season against the crosstown rival Terry Fox Ravens. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Riverside stocks its mint from the free-throw line! Quad-A No. 1 Rapids make their trips count in win over crosstown No. 3 Terry Fox Ravens!

LANGLEY — The Riverside Rapids may have forgotten to bring their vaunted three-point shooting game to Tuesday’s second round in the Battle of PoCo.Yet in the end, the Quad-A No. 1 Rapids simply exchanged an icy time from distance for a white-hot one from the charity stripe en route to a decisive 88-60 win over […]

After over 1,000 days since the program's official launch, Fraser Valley Cascades' men's and women's volleyball coaches Nathan Bennett (left) and Janelle Rozema preside over their respective team's home Canada West debuts this Friday against visiting Thompson Rivers. (Photo graphic by Dan Kinvig property of UFV Athletics 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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“It’s been an Everest of a task!” After 1,003 days of waiting, gritty UFV Cascades’ volleyball teams make their Canada West home debuts Friday!

ABBOTSFORD — More times than not, it’s felt like an impossible journey for the women’s and men’s volleyball players who populate the expansion rosters of the Fraser Valley Cascades.And we’re not espousing about anything here as grandiose as either program capturing a national title in their debut seasons in U SPORTS.No.All we’re talking about is […]

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(Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. boys high school basketball rankings 02.01.22 edition: All four Top 10’s locking down their favourites as the frenzy of February hoops now upon us!

LANGLEY — Despite the uncertainties brought on by the pandemic, and teams continually re-scheduling games, B.C. senior boys basketball enjoyed its most placid seven days of the season… at least when it came to the rankings on paper holding court on the hardwood.No ranked team climbed more than two spots at any of the province’s […]

Terry Fox senior point guard Cerys Merton has been there to give her team a helping hand throughout her entire high school basketball career. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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A Sunday Read: What defines the heart of Terry Fox’s UBC-bound point guard Cerys Merton? “She never turns down a battle!”

PORT COQUITLAM — Cerys Merton was born with a drive that needs no ignition.And these days, as we hit the stretch drive to the B.C. senior girls basketball championships, it’s a most fitting way to describe the energy and the presence that the Terry Fox Ravens’ senior point guard brings each time she sets foot […]

Surrey's Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers and Fleetwood Park Dragons both took part of the 2021 Tsumura Basketball Invitational in mid-December. High school boys and girls teams have not played in tournaments since Dec. 18 and its expected Feb. 1 return has now been pushed back indefinitely. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT TAKES ROOT: Parent-launched petition opposing continued ban on BC High school sports tournaments gaining huge on-line traction!

VANCOUVER — A grassroots petition launched on-line Friday is distinguishing itself as something of a barometre for the level of frustration being felt by those opposed to Friday’s announcement by B.C.’s Ministry of Education that high school sports tournaments in this province would not be allowed to resume play on Feb. 1.Tricia Joseph, a parent […]

Claremont's Izzy Helman (left) has enjoyed a tremendous senior season for his Victoria-based Spartans, averaging just shy of 30 points per game. Pictured here at the 2021 TBI on Dec. 11, he drives against St. Thomas More's Marcus Morales. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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“Be quick, but don’t hurry!”: Claremont Spartans’ dynamic guard Izzy Helman runs his hardcourt race at a different pace!

Look at Izzy Helman’s scoring numbers over his last four games, and the natural reaction is to imagine that the Claremont Spartans’ point guard has somehow shifted his game to yet another gear.In-between dual 37 point outings in tough losses to first Mark Isfeld, and then Brentwood College, the 6-foot-3 senior poured home 35 and […]

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The latest B.C. junior boys basketball rankings. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. junior boys basketball rankings 01.25.22 edition: Surrey’s Fleetwood Park climbs to No. 3, Vancouver’s Lord Byng debuts at honourable mention in latest Top 10!

LANGLEY — The Byrne Creek Bulldogs of Burnaby and Surrey’s Tamanawis Wildcats have each moved into the Top 10 in the latest B.C. junior boys basketball rankings.While Vancouver College and Walnut Grove remain a steady one-two punch atop the polls, Surrey’s Fleetwood Park Dragons step up into the top three this week.Here’s the latest, and […]