LANGLEY — The vast majority of B.C.’s very best teams will once again take to the court when the boys 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational tips off Dec. 6-9 at the Langley Events Centre.
Yet as part of our latest December classic, which this year features two distinctly separate 16-team fields, we’re also thrilled to announce a pair of out-of-town teams, each bringing splendid credentials, as a part of our gathering at the home of B.C. high school basketball.
Coming north from the hotbed of southern California hoops will be the Eagles of Santa Margarita Catholic, a high school located in the Orange County city of Rancho Santa Margarita, and playing in the state’s top Div. 5 tier.
The high school alma mater of such athletic greats as NBA superstar Klay Thompson, and Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Carson Palmer, Santa Margarita Catholic plays in the California Interscholastic Federation’s vaunted Trinity League, noted as perhaps the most competitive football/basketball league in the U.S.
The team is coached by Justin Bell, the former UC Riverside men’s associate head coach.
As well, TBI welcomes the St. Mary’s Catholic Saints from Calgary.
Coached by Vince Marra, the Saints are coming off a successful 2022-23 season in which they finished No. 2 in the Alberta Quad-A senior rankings, the province’s largest tier.
St. Mary’s lost to 85-70 to Edmonton-Strathcona in the Alberta championship final this past March.
With all of that said, we’ll be taking a closer look at many of the tournament’s teams and revealing the actual tourney draw as we get closer to tip-off.
For now, however, here’s an early tease… the complete 16-team fields in both our Elite 16 and Sweet 16 pools, both in alphabetical order:
BOYS
ELITE 16
Brookswood Bobcats (Langley)
Burnaby South Rebels
Byrne Creek Bulldogs (Burnaby)
Dover Bay Dolphins (Nanaimo)
Elgin Park Orcas (Surrey)
Fleetwood Park Dragons (Surrey)
Holy Cross Crusaders (Surrey)
Kelowna Owls
Lord Byng Grey Ghosts (Vancouver)
Santa Margarita Eagles (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
St. George’s Saints (Vancouver)
St. Mary’s Saints (Calgary, AB)
St. Patrick’s Celtics (Vancouver)
Spectrum Thunder (Victoria)
Terry Fox Ravens (Port Coquitlam)
Walnut Grove Gators (Langley)
(Bold type — non-B.C. team)
SWEET 16
A.R. MacNeill Ravens (Richmond)
Centennial Centaurs (Coquitlam)
Claremont Spartans (Victoria)
G.W. Graham Grizzlies (Chilliwack)
Heritage Woods Kodiaks (Port Moody)
King George Dragons (Vancouver)
North Delta Huskies
St. Michaels University School Blue Jags (Victoria)
St. Thomas More Knights (Burnaby)
Sir Charles Tupper Tigers (Vancouver)
Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs (Vancouver)
South Delta Sun Devils
South Kamloops Titans
Steveston-London Sharks (Richmond)
Sullivan Heights Stars (Surrey)
Wellington Wildcats (Nanaimo)
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Good luck King George Dragons