Spectrum's Justin Hinrichsen (13) and North Delta's Arjun Atwal eye a rebounds Friday during TBI Rising 8 title game at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property of Langley Events Centre 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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Rising 8’s TBI 2022 final: Front-court force of Spectrum’s Hinrichsen and Felt carry Victoria’s Thunder past North Delta Huskies in title tilt!

SPECTRUM 79 NORTH DELTA 62LANGLEY — It’s not going to be too far in the distant future before Justin Hinrichsen and Tyler Felt are going to be among the most talked-about players in B.C. boys high school basketball.Shoot, it’s getting tougher and tougher by the day to ignore the Grade 10 sensations playing in the […]

Spectrum's Justin Hinrichsen (left), battling in the paint with West Vancouver's Malcolm Lotz at the 2022 B.C. junior boys Sweet 16 at the LEC, has come into his own as a 10th grader on the senior varsity Thunder, in town to play in the Tsumura Basketball Invitational beginning Wednesday at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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Tsumura Basketball 2022: A chip off the old hoops block, Grade 10 Justin Hinrichsen helps lead Spectrum Thunder precisely 30 seasons after dad Eric’s B.C. title with Carihi Tyees!

Justin Hinrichsen doesn’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about it.“It just happens,” the 6-foot-3, 165-pound Grade 10 guard/forward with Victoria’s Spectrum Thunder admits when asked how his rare combination of athleticism, talent and instinct has managed to intersect in such a timely fashion just weeks into his first season of senior varsity hoops.“I’ve […]

We've got the latest updates to boys and girls schedules for TBI 2022 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2022: Burnaby Central boys, Pitt Meadows girls draw into the fold after late cancellations, latest draws now available

LANGLEY TOWNSHIP – There have been a pair of late changes to both boys and girls Tsumura Basketball Invitational eight-team draws, prompting us to re-publish those affected brackets.In the boys TBI, Langley Secondary has dropped out of the Langley-Surrey region eight-team draw. Taking their place will be the Burnaby Central Wildcats, who will now oppose […]

Semiahmoo's Marcus Flores (12) and Andre Juco (11) are part of the Quad-A No. 1-ranked Thunderbirds' team which will face Eastside Catholic on Dec. 9 during TBI week at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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Quad-A No. 1 Semiahmoo brings Seattle-area’s Eastside Catholic Crusaders and top prospect Cofie to the LEC! 35 years after Richmond-DeMatha, the B.C.-U.S. tradition continues!

LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — The players on B.C.’s No. 1-ranked senior boys Quad-A basketball team likely aren’t aware of it, but when South Surrey’s Semiamoo Thunderbirds take to the court later next month at the Langley Events Centre, they’ll be paying a bit of a tribute to one of this province’s pioneering programs: The 1980’s-era Richmond […]

We're looking for one more girls team to complete our field at the 2022 Tsumura Basketball Invitational. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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Help! Tsumura Basketball Invitational looking for one more girls team for Dec. 14-17 tournament at Langley Events Centre!

LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — Hello B.C. senior girls basketball head coaches.It’s Howard Tsumura here, and I am writing to you with news that we are looking to fill an opening — due to a very late cancellation — in one of our brackets at next month’s 2022 Tsumura Basketball Invitational (Dec. 14-17) at the Langley Events […]

Sure to be a pair of shining stars at TBI 2022 this December are Caden Karrion of B.C. Triple-A No. 1 St. Patrick's, and Kiera Pemberton of B.C. Quad-A No. 2 Walnut Grove. (Photos by Wilson Wong 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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Tsumura Basketball Invitational 2022: The TBI has grown to 64 teams! Check out the new format as we unveil December’s boys and girls fields!

LANGLEY — The 2021-22 B.C. high school basketball season may be but a month in the rearview mirror, yet the journey to a new campaign’s tip-off is already well underway.While Varsity Letters is currently on an extended sabbatical, the one piece of news we did promise last month was unveiling the boys and girls entrants […]

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Boys TBI 2021: Our Dec. 8-11 draw unveils Burnaby South, Kelowna, Yale and Winston Churchill among our headline field at the LEC!

LANGLEY — Hello high school boys basketball fans!We’ve done a lot of waiting since we all last gathered at the home of B.C. high school basketball back in March of 2020.Today, precisely two weeks ahead of the official start of the 2021-22 season, it’s time to celebrate the return of our great game.And with that?From […]

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Girls TBI 2021: Our Dec. 15-18 draw unveils Terry Fox, Kelowna, Riverside, Langley Christian among our headline field!

LANGLEY — Hello high school girls basketball fans!We’ve done a lot of waiting since we all last gathered at the home of B.C. high school basketball back in March of 2020.Today, precisely two weeks ahead of the official start of the 2021-22 season, it’s time to celebrate the return of our great game.And with that?From […]

Sir Winston Churchill's Marah Dykstra will help lead her team as one of the new additions to the 20-team field at the 2021 Tsumura Basketball Invitational at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Wilson Wong property of Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Tsumura Basketball Invitational: Churchill, Seaquam, SMUS join girls draw as boys, girls 40-team field now official for December 2021!

LANGLEY — We are thrilled with the 40 teams who have now finalized their participation in this coming December’s 2021 boys and girls Tsumura Basketball Invitationals at the Langley Events Centre.(The full list of finalized teams is included at the bottom of this story)Yet what has us even more excited is the response we have […]

Fingers are crossed that high school basketball can make its comeback for the 2021-22 season, and with that, the return of the TBI at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Tsumura Basketball Invitational: Optimism rules as we set tentative Dec. 2021 dates for an LEC return! Here’s our list of 40 boys and girls teams!

LANGLEY — Hope springs eternal here with all of us behind the scenes at the Tsumura Basketball Invitational.While our annual two weeks of early-season ‘Welcome Back’ to the B.C. senior boys and girls basketball world was, of course, cancelled this past December due to the global pandemic, we here at the TBI have our fingers […]