The Lord Byng Grey Ghosts are determined to live up to their top billing as one of B.C.鈥檚 top-five AAA senior boys basketball teams.
Ghosts are 16-5 with an unblemished league record in the VSSAA and can count as wins the close-but-no-cigar losses to competitive teams like Abbotsford鈥檚 Rick Hansen Hurricanes, the Kitsilano Blue Demons, and Steveston-London Sharks. Lord Byng started the season with a no. 1 provincial AAA ranking and are now holding steady with two weeks at no. 5.
Coming in at no. 1 was the 鈥渇irst time in a very long time this has happened,鈥� said head coach Kevin Sandher, now in his second year at senior since taking on the team when this year鈥檚 Grade 12s were in Grade 9. 鈥淲e have some strong performances against AAAA and AAA teams.鈥�
They started off the season winning their own Byng tournament and finished fifth out of 16 teams at the Tsumura Invitational, a contest named for Province sportswriter Howard Tsumura that draws some of the province鈥檚 most promising contenders.
鈥淚t was a great honour to be invited to this tournament,鈥� said Sandher, adding another season highlight came just last week against a neighbourhood rival and AAAA team, the Kitsilano Blue Demons. (A-classifications are based on the number of Grade 11 and 12 boys enrolled a school.)
鈥淚t was a rivalry game and the Byng gym was packed with students and alumni dating as far back to 1987,鈥� said the coach. 鈥淚t was a great atmosphere and it showed how far our program has come. We lost a tight one that night, and I hate losing more than anyone, but the experience that my guys got playing in front of a packed crowd will be one they will remember forever.鈥�
The Ghosts have played between 35 and 45 games each season over the past four years and are coached to hold fast on defence, making them hard to score against.
鈥淚've preached the importance of defense since day one,鈥� said the coach.
Back for Byng are versatile big man Nathan Bromige, a selection on the U17 provincial basketball team, and six-foot-seven Declan Herbertson plus six-foot-five Alex Saunders. The trio makes the Ghosts one of the tallest teams in Vancouver.
They picked up Peter Gibbons to the roster who has been their leading scorer so far this season. Peter Chae, Simon Cutler and Jackson Kocela are hard-working guards while Marc Lau and Marshall Martin contribute off the bench.
The majority of players are also good students, bringing in grades that average in the 90s, said Sandher, a teacher and the school鈥檚 athletic director.
鈥淚t has been a learning experience for me in trying to have them balance school and basketball. What I've said is that the ability to be a student-athlete --- especially with high school basketball where six-day weeks, Monday through Saturday, are very common --- will help them in whatever career they end up in.鈥�
The Ghosts are 6-0 in the VSSAA (麻豆传媒映画Secondary School Athletic Association) and play this weekend in the 16-team Timberwolves Classic at Robert Bateman secondary in Abbotsford.
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