They did it. The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs are provincial champions for the first time in the school’s history, beating Surrey’s Holy Cross Crusaders 67 to 64 Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre.
Churchill is the first team in B.C. to win the title in the newly created Quad-A tier.
The Bulldogs, who entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed after a shocking loss to Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»College at the Lower Mainlands, knocked out defending champs, the Walnut Grove Gators (75-70) in the second game of the four-game tourney.Â
Friday night Churchill beat No. 1 ranked Tamanawis Wildcats, of Surrey, in a tense match that ended 68 to 66.
Saturday night it was pouring rain outside, but the thunder was inside the 5,000-plus-seat arena bowl.
Though the game wasn’t sold out, the noise level was off the charts as the 3,500-plus raucous friends, family and fans of both teams, decked out in their school’s colours, banged pots and pans, pounded buckets and blew horns in support of their teams.
Lelio Pierre, who sported white “Cs” for Churchill on both cheeks, was one of the many students who came out to support his team.
“It is a great moment in high school,” he said.
The Bulldogs opened the game with a two-pointer from 6’2” Grade 11 guard Gary Minhas.
Crusaders forward 6’6” Jonathan Kongbo answered immediately with a two-pointer of his own, serving the Bulldogs notice he was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
It was 19 to 17 for Churchill after the first quarter.
The story of the first half though was Churchill’s Grade 10s.
Bulldog phenom senior 6’5” Mindy Minhas got into foul trouble and was warming the bench during the second quarter when the younger players got their chance. Five-foot-nine guard Lambert Pajayon, 6’4” forward Karn Virk , 6’4” guard Izaiah Ugoalah and 6’3” forward Harry Liu racked up 48 minutes total in the first half of the game.
“All year they have been a big part of our team,” said Churchill head coach Rick Lopez.
“I knew they would all get into the game but wasn’t sure how much they would play.  It would depend on how they handled the situation and pressure and how they were doing,” Lopez added.
The Grade 10 boys rose to the occasion. Virk added nine points to the Churchill tally.
It was a great moment for Virk’s family in the stands.
“I was amazingly proud,” said Virk’s father, Daljit, with tears in his eyes.
It was 34 to 31 at the half.
The second half became the (Mindy) Minhas and Kongbo show as both teams tried to stop each other’s top scoring seniors.
Minhas, who plans to play for UBC next year, earned the most valuable player award sinking 23 of his 30 points in the second half.
Minhas was helped out by younger brother, Gary, who chalked up nine points.
Kongbo, who is slated to play football with the Wyoming University Cowboys next year, dunked 20 points.
The final score would have been a lot higher in the Bulldogs’ favour if it weren’t for the Crusaders’ great defense under the net and if Churchill had played their usual bucket-friendly game — it was a night of missed Bulldogs free-throws (11 out of 31).
With Churchill up 66 to 61 and just over 30 seconds left in the game, Crusaders’ Grade 12 guard 6’2” Brandon Pereira got a three-pointer to make it 66 to 64, but it was too late.
With the crowd on its feet in a full frenzy, Mindy Minhas’ free throw sealed the team’s fate with the final point of the game.
It was a disappointing finish for Holy Cross.
“At the end of the day we didn’t make the plays down the stretch that we needed to make,” said Crusaders head coach Matthew LeChasseur.
Holy Cross is an AA school, but punches above its weight class to compete at the Quad-A level, so LeChasseur said he was proud how close his team came to a provincial title.
For the Bulldogs, and the legions of fans who raced onto the court to celebrate, the win was all that mattered.
Circled by teammates and holding the massive wood and gold MVP statue, Mindy Minhas shook his head in amazement at his team’s accomplishment.
“I feel like a champ,” he said.
