By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caBURNABY MOUNTAIN — Two nights after letting a 14-point second-half lead slip through their fingers, the Simon Fraser Red Leafs proved to themselves what a difference a full 40 minutes of on-court togetherness can mean.Rookie forward Sartaj Bhangu equalled his own career-high with 16 points and also grabbed set a new career-high in […]
Tag: Howard Tsumura
So who’s on the bubble for the B.C. boys basketball tourney’s four coveted ‘strength-berth’ spots? With BC Basketball Metrics’ weekly numbers, we offer thoughts, and look at the week’s biggest news!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caLANGLEY — Putting a bit of a microscope to our third week of B.C. Basketball Metrics numbers is proving to generate all kinds of fun, stats-driven questions.We’ll start out with the biggest news in terms of movement this past week, with a look at the Quad-A, Triple-A and Double-A scenes.Then, we’ll look at […]
Fourth-quarter steals highlight ‘disruptive’ UBC mindset as No. 6 ‘Birds rally to top No. 1 Vikes, setting stage for a winner-take-all Pacific Division finale Saturday in the B.C. capital!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caVICTORIA — In ancient mythology, the gods made news by stealing fire from each other.On Friday, the UBC Thunderbirds made some fourth-quarter headlines of their own by instead stealing basketballs and ultimately the game’s momentum, keeping hopes alive of an 11th-hour fastbreak to the Canada West’s Pacific Division title.Trailing by as many as […]
No. 3 Seaquam 84 No. 5 Johnston Heights 77: While Puneet and Callie combine for 87 points, we search for the silver lining in a game ‘nobody won’!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersNORTH DELTA — Ever watch a high school basketball game in which at its conclusion both teams could rightly claim a loss, yet along the way to said result, laid bare a pure guts performance so compelling that as a spectator you just felt fortunate to have been in the gym?That was […]
02.04.26 Sr. Boys Top 10 ranks: Epic home-and-home sets at 4A, 3A define the greatness of BC boys hoops! Saints-Irish, Enver-Matheson battles carry the day! Plus our final Jr. Boys Top 10!
LANGLEY — The Vancouver Independent league race between St. Georges and Vancouver College lived up to its late-season legend.Each team took turns winning on the other’s home court in a home-and-home last Thursday and Tuesday with the then-No. 1 Fighting Irish coming away with a 94-82 win in the first game, before the then-No. 7-Saints […]
Yes, it’s a marathon, but for North Van’s No. 1-ranked Argyle Pipers, the Road to the LEC can also have its share of sprints!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersNORTH VANCOUVER — Wonder what one of the best high school basketball teams in the province had planned for in the early morning hours of today, the first Tuesday in February?“Umm, we have wind sprints at 7:10 a.m., tomorrow morning… and it’s on purpose, right?” Anthony Beyrouti, head coach of the Quad-A […]
02.02.26 edition: Pipers, Panthers, Crusaders and T-Wolves hold down the fort! Are latest BC senior girls Top 10 rankings the calm before the playoff storm?
LANGLEY — The calm before the storm.That’s perhaps the easiest way, ahead of the stretch-drive run to playoffs, to describe the quietest week of the B.C. senior girls basketball season… at least as far as movement in the provincial rankings is concerned.The Lambrick Park Pride’s four-spot rise in Double-A aside, the figurative pond remained placid […]
02.02.26: B.C. Basketball Metrics boys combined team ratings: 4A Rutland, 3A Brentwood College, 2A D.P. Todd the week’s biggest climbers!
By HOWARD TSUMURAVARSITY LETTERSLANGLEY — Reader response was excellent last week as Varsity Letters and B.C. Basketball Metrics debuted with its co-operative presentation of Top 16 and Zone ratings for B.C. senior boys basketball. We’re back with Week 2 and as the post-season beckons, it’s pretty apparent that nothing beats a good regional clash, whatever […]
01.28.26 edition: Vancouver College top both the B.C. senior Quad-A and junior boys provincial Top 10 rankings! Here’s all five tiers as March Madness creeps up ever closer!
LANGLEY — So may call it an eternal question, yet more than ever, this is the week to ask if this is indeed the year of the Vancouver College Fighting Irish? At least as it pertains to the spoils of March Madness.This week, the Irish sit at No. 1 in both the Quad-A senior boys […]
For Simon Fraser’s Mikyle Malabuyoc, it’s all about the orchestration of the score! Red Leafs’ point guard set to dish dimes as team celebrates Filipino Heritage Night on Thursday vs. Alaska Nanooks!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersBURNABY MOUNTAIN — A great conductor will tell you that there is infinitely more to performing a great symphonic score than just looking at notes and abiding by time signatures.It’s more about seeing the big picture, and within the details, trusting that through the repetition of rehearsal that your vision is both […]