The lights have been switched off at the Langley Events Centre following the 70th annual senior boys high school basketball provincials, which culminated Saturday night with four championship finals from single-A through AAAA.
Vancouver’s seven contenders included West Point Grey Academy and St. Patrick’s at single-A, the Britannia Bruins and Tupper Tigers and AA and AAA, respectively, and the Thompson Trojans and Churchill Bulldogs at the largest tier.
The Tigers went deepest by reaching the championship against Surrey’s Fleetwood Park, but the winning streak that dated to late January for Tupper as the B.C. crown slipped away by eight points. Heartbreak is only a word when you’re not the one feeling the anguish. Tigers Chris Schneller and John Tait were named to the first all-star team.
The Bulldogs, in their attempt to win back-to-back titles, a 70-68 back-and-forth semi-final to Terry Fox on March 13. Deflated by the disappointing end to a season that very nearly peaked perfectly, Churchill lost the bronze to Kelowna and finished fourth overall.
Bulldogs Lambert Pajayon was named to the first all-star team and Gary Minhas was awarded a Telus scholarship.
Also in AAAA, the Thompson Trojans lost their first game and finished outside the top 10.
The Yale Lions, on the can’t-be-contained record-setting performance of senior Jacquin Bennett-Boire, the AAAA championship over Terry Fox 69-63.
In AA, Britannia also finished out of the top 10. Victoria's St. Michael’s University School reached the final for the first time since 1992 when a promising senior named Steve Nash ran the court. As coach Ian Hyde-Lay in a  of contributing to a culture of verbal abuse at the private school, SMUS defeated Delview 66-40 to win the championship.
In single-A, St. Patrick’s and West Point Grey Academy clashed after both lost their quarterfinal match-ups to higher ranked teams. The Celtics got a 71-64 edge before going on to finish fifth overall. The Wolves finished seventh.
Eric Zhang of West Point Grey Academy and Ivan Sombillo of St. Patrick’s were both named to the second all-star team.
In single-A, Kelowna Christian beat Kelowna’s Immaculata for the championship.Â
