LANGLEY — Day 1 here at the 2024 Tsumura Basketball Invitational is now final.
My sincere thanks to Gary Ahuja for his reporting from the South Court site today!
Here’s tomorrow’s schedule on the championship side of the draw:
SELECT 16 QUARTERFINALS
(All games at Centre Court)
3 p.m. — Byrne Creek vs. King George
4:30 p.m. — Brookswood vs. A.R. MacNeill
6:15 p.m. — South Kamloops vs. Rick Hansen
7:45 p.m. — Collingwood vs. Richmond
BYRNE CREEK 67 LANGLEY CHRISTIAN 65
(By GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Rough game? Just forget about it and move on.
That was the mindset for Gabe Masangkay.
The Grade 12 guard was coming off arguably one of his worse shooting performances having just scored seven points the night before for his Byrne Creek Bulldogs. But a new day brings a new opportunity and Masangkay was critical in his team’s opening round 67-65 win over the Double-A No. 6 Langley Christian Lightning on Wednesday morning.
“My mindset was just letting go and not overthinking,” he said. “Whatever is going to happen, is going to happen. I feel like just letting go helped me focus.”
Masangkay and the rest of his Bulldogs teammates started slow, falling behind 17-6 before Masangkay found his stroke, scoring 11 in the quarter to cut the deficit down to 19-13.
While Masangkay’ s offence was critical in the turnaround, so was a change on the defensive end of the floor as they switched to zone on their side of the court.
“We made the switch and out of the zone, we got some steals and some easy buckets, and from there, it kind of opened things up for our guys,” said Byrne Creek coach Alex Mliezcko.
Sparked by that defensive turnaround, the Bulldogs pulled ahead in the second quarter, leading 36-27 at the half. The Lightning would not go away quietly, however, as the third quarter was back-and-forth with Byrne Creek ahead by a bucket entering the final 10 minutes.
Masangkay finished with 35 points while Chuku Mabeny and Jakerry Okot-Bitek chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively. Tyler Olson (24 points) and Tyse Wagenaar (19 points) led Langley Christian.
RICHMOND 57 WINDSOR 51
(By GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — It wasn’t their best performance, but it was enough to get them through to the next round.
The Richmond Colts overcame a shaky start – seven points in the first 10 minutes – as they held off the Windsor Wolves 57-51 in the teams’ respective opening round game in the Select 16 Bracket at the TBI Boys Tournament on Wednesday morning at Langley Events Centre.
Trailing 13-7 through a period, the Colts offence exploded for 27 points in the second quarter. And from that point forward, the Wolves faced a multi-possession deficit the rest of the way.
“Getting to our positions was key. Then we started getting to the high post, finding our shooters,” explained coach Jacob Abraham.
“They feel like they let themselves down today; they didn’t play to their potential, but I am proud of their defence. They kept them to (51) points, which isn’t bad for a big team we were playing against,” he added, referring to a Wolves’ roster featuring two 6’5 players and another who stands 6’7.
Leading the way was the Colts’ Clement Lai, who finished with a team-high 19 points and was selected the Player of the Game.
“That’s our leader, our senior, our point guard,” Abraham said. “Not his best offensive performance, but he played great on defence and lifted his teammates up when they needed it.”
Abraham was also impressed by the Colts bench, which stepped up to contribute valuable minutes and hit some key shots.
Kristian Popadich and Avraham Balitaan both scored 10 points in the victory while Perrin Taylor’s 20 points led Windsor. Oscar Rouillard added 10 for the Wolves.
King George 63 R.E. Mountain 37
(By GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
Head coach Darko Kulic has a message for all post-secondary schools regarding Faisal Shawwa
“Faisal is a very humble young fellow. If any coaches are listening out there, he is a hidden superstar who for some reason not a lot of people know about,” Kulic said. “He has been like a Tim Duncan, underrated, does everything for us. Selfless, leader, hard working. If I was coaching next level, I would be calling me right now to ask for him.”
Shawwa was a one-man scoring machine for the Dragons in their convincing 63-37 opening round win over the R.E. Mountain Eagles on Wednesday at Langley Events Centre in the 2024 TBI Boys Select 16 Bracket.
The Grade 12 6-5 forward/centre – who is in his third year with the senior team – scored 35 points in the one-sided victory, nearly matching the Eagles on his own.
Shawwa downplayed his efforts, shifting credit to his teammates instead.
“My teammates were able to find me and our system got me wide-open shots. I was just able to come through and hit those shots,” he said, adding the Dragons’ defence was a significant factor,
“We still have to work on second half, but first half, we were able to hold them to a good amount of points. (Defence) translates to offence and we are able to get points off the fast break.”
Mountain managed just a dozen points in those opening 20 minutes and had 21 heading into the fourth quarter before Owen MacMillan scored 13 of his team’s 16 points. MacMillan finished with 16 – including four triples – to lead the Eagles.
COLLINGWOOD 107 MAPLE RIDGE 55
(By GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
They may return eight players from last year’s championship-winning squad, but the focus is squarely on the path ahead for the Collingwood Cavaliers.
“We are a different team, so in our clubhouse, we are not going to talk about last year. We are a brand-new team. Last year is in the past and this year, we are going to make a new legacy,” explained Grade 12 guard Finn Murphy.
With last season squarely in the rearview mirror, the Cavaliers were lights out offensively in their opening round match in the TBI Boys Select 16 Bracket, blowing out the Maple Ridge Ramblers 107-55.
“We were playing great defence and getting up and down the floor and our shots were falling,” Murphy explained of a Cavaliers squad which scored 23 points or more in each quarter.
Murphy was selected Player of the Game following his 21-point outing which included four 3-pointers. He was one of five Collingwood players to reach double figures with Julian Hinders adding 17 and Louis Dhingra chipping in 13.
“We are a team that loves to shoot, love to get up and down the court. It is a fun team to be able to coach. They are comfortable playing the game,” added coach Andy Wong.
Maple Ridge was led by Moe Mouawia’s 14 points.
RICK HANSEN 72 GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS 69
(By GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — Lessons learned early in the season can pay dividends when the season is on the line.
“In December, I don’t mind games like this at all. If it was February, I would have a problem with this,” said coach Joban Pandher, following his Rick Hansen Hurricanes’ 72-69 win over the Grandview Heights Grizzlies in the opening round of the TBI Boys Select 16 Bracket at Langley Events Centre.
“That team over there worked hard, but I think we are a better team than we showed today, but it is December (so) I don’t mind because we got exposed in certain areas,” he said, pointing out their struggles in defensive rebounding and offensive movement.
The biggest lead for either team was six points and the game featured nine ties and 18 lead changes, including tied at 63 in the fourth quarter. But a 9-2 run down the stretch put the Hurricanes up for good.
“First half was up and down; we were getting lucky; we were getting bailed out by our shooter a little bit. Second half, I challenged them to go man-to-man, have some pride and keep their man in front of them,” Pandher said.
“We got stops on defence and some easy lay-ups at the other end. That was the difference.”
The ‘shooter’ the coach was referencing was Grade 11 guard Harjap Thind, selected the Player of the Game following his game-high 27 points.
“He has the ultimate green light. He knows he can shoot any shot once he gets across half court,” Pandher said.
While Thind led the way with 27, Grade 11 centre Pratham Bhogal had 17 while Grade 12 guard/forward Jeet Dhaliwal added 11. Connor MacLellan – a Grade 10 guard – had 26 for the Grizzlies with Grade 11 guard Cruz San Antonio adding 11.
SOUTH KAMLOOPS 68 FLEETWOOD PARK 65
LANGLEY — There is something about playing at Langley Events Centre for Larry Shyakagisa.
Last year at the provincial championships, he earned a pair of Player of the Game honours for his South Kamloops Titans team.
And in Wednesday’s opening round game in the TBI Boys Select 16 Bracket, he picked up right where he left off last March, earning that distinction once again.
“Larry has been a great leader for us. It started last year and that has just transferred over to this year. He just likes the Langley Events Centre,” said Titans coach Corey Yamaoka.
After a tense fourth quarter – the Titans led by 11 at one point – South Kamloops emerged victorious after the Fleetwood Park Dragons’ 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short, giving the Kamloops squad a 68-65 win.
“One of the things we have been working on is being a little bit more intense and they showed that here today. They kept the intensity up the whole game,” Yamaoka said.
Shyakagisa led all scorers with 22 points – a dozen of which came in the first quarter – and then another 10 in the fourth before he fouled out. Joshua Valdal added 12 in the win. Yeseong Cho scored 14 and Gurkaran Sran added 14 for the Dragons.
A.R. MACNEILL 68 MARK ISFELD 63
LANGLEY — While their shots may not have been dropping early, that did not deter the A.R. MacNeill Ravens from firing away.
The Ravens connected on 10 triples as they held off a tough Mark R. Isfeld Ice squad 68-63. The teams were playing on Day 1 of the TBI Boys Tournament in the Select 16 Bracket.
MacNeill found itself trailing 39-32 at the half but went to work in the third from long distance, turning the game with a 21-12 quarter to take the lead for good.
“The shots weren’t falling early, but the guys stuck with it and stayed together,” explained Ravens coach Steward Siy.
Of the eight field goals the Ravens hit in the third quarter, five were from beyond the arc and only one player made multiple field baskets in that 10-minute span. For the game, Chad Gammad led MacNeill with 40 points, only 3 of which came in the third.
“He has been our guy,” Siy said of the Grade 12 guard who led the Ravens in scoring last season.
The Ice were led by 24 points from Grade 12 forward Jayden Kuo.
BROOKSWOOD 80 COLLEGE HEIGHTS 54
LANGLEY — The duo of Logan Stewart and Jayden Kenyon were more than enough for the Brookswood Bobcats. The senior guard combo of the 6-5 Stewart and 6-2 Kenyon combined for 47 points as the Bobcats won 80-54 over the College Heights Cougars.
The teams were playing the last game of the Select 16 Bracket at the TBI Boys Tournament at Langley Events Centre.
Ahead 17-8 after the opening 10 minutes, Brookswood came to life in the second with a 32-point quarter, largely on the backs of their two elite guards who combined for 29 of those points
“Sometimes when it is a grind, we can go to Logan and Jaden and they can come out with a hoop for us,” explained Brookswood coach Kelsey Stewart. “They always manage to get a shot off, that’s key.
Stewart scored 26 (with 18 from beyond the arc) and was the Player of the Game while Kenyon was right behind at 21.
College Heights was led by Tolu Bankole’s 15 points while Dillon Piddocke added 14.
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