Dozens of Abbotsford school basketball teams hit the hardwood over the past couple of weeks in Fraser Valley playoff tournament action, and the returns so far have been terrific.
To date, three teams have claimed Valley titles – the MEI Eagles Grade 8 girls, the W.A. Fraser Falcons Grade 8 boys and the Rick Hansen senior AA girls – while 14 teams have locked up provincial championship berths.
And with the AAAA and AAA boys tourneys still ongoing, more could be added to those numbers.
GRADE 8 GIRLS
The MEI Eagles lost to the W.A. Fraser Falcons in overtime in the Abby-Mission league final two weeks ago, but they avenged that defeat by knocking off the Falcons in the Valley final on Monday by a 29-23 score.
Sierra Joiner of the Eagles picked up Valley MVP honours, while MEI’s Nicola Peters and Fraser’s Sarah Thiessen were tourney all-stars. With the victory, MEI made a bit of history, becoming the first school to win the Grade 8 girls Fraser Valley titles in both volleyball and basketball in the same year.
GRADE 8 BOYS
MEI and Fraser also met in the Grade 8 boys final, but the result was reversed, as the Falcons prevailed 50-38.
Fraser point guard Bradley Braich was named tourney MVP, while his teammate Brett Bass joined MEI’s Noah Nickel and Jordan York on the all-star team.
The boys and girls teams from both Fraser and MEI advance to the Grade 8 invitational provincials at Pitt Meadows next week (March 6-8).
GRADE 9 BOYS
The W.J. Mouat Hawks and Rick Hansen Hurricanes met in the Valley bronze medal game, with the Hawks clawing out a 64-60 victory to clinch a berth to the provincial championships next week in Vancouver.
The Hurricanes move on to a wildcard tourney this weekend in New Westminster.
Mouat’s Kenan Hadzovic and Hansen’s Josh Dhillon were Valley all-stars.
JUNIOR GIRLS
Crosstown rivals Yale and MEI clashed in the Fraser Valley bronze medal game, with the Lions prevailing 39-32.
Yale’s Teagan Innes and MEI’s Taylor Cousins were tourney all-stars, and both teams advanced to the provincial championships at the Langley Events Centre this week. The Lions won their opener vs. Dover Bay 44-15 on Wednesday, while MEI fell 40-31 to South Kamloops.
JUNIOR BOYS
The Mouat Hawks are participating in the B.C. junior boys provincials this week at the Langley Events Centre after finishing third in the Fraser Valley. They knocked off the Tamanawis Wildcats 67-64 in the Valley bronze medal game, behind an all-star performance from Joel Klammer, and opened the B.C. tourney with a 52-33 win over Oak Bay on Wednesday.
The Yale Lions, who finished seventh in the Valley, are also at provincials, and they dropped their first game 70-51 to R.C. Palmer.
AA SR. GIRLS
The Fraser Valley final was an all-Abbotsford affair, with the Rick Hansen Hurricanes beating the Abby Christian Knights 72-56.
“It was very rewarding for our girls,” Hansen coach Bo Sidhu said. “This is the first time a Rick Hansen girls (basketball) team has qualified for the B.C.’s at any level, and it’s the first time we’ve won a Fraser Valley championship.”
Hansen’s Sukhi Birk was tourney MVP, and teammates Jasmine Gill and Revine Gill were first and second team all-stars, respectively. Moriah Konynenbelt and Amanda de Waal of the Knights were first team all-stars.
SINGLE A SR. BOYS
Abbotsford Christian hosted the Valley tourney. After spitting their first two games – falling 61-44 to Maple Ridge Christian and beating Regent 57-37 – their hopes of qualifying for provincials were snuffed with a 51-50 loss to Credo Christian.
AA SR. BOYS
The St. John Brebeuf Bears went 2-2 at the Fraser Valleys, falling 56-42 to Delview in a do-or-die game which saw the winner advance to the bronze medal game. Brebeuf’s Travis Van Vliet was a second team tourney all-star.
AAA SR. GIRLS
The W.J. Mouat Hawks and MEI Eagles survived an exceptionally tough field at the Valley tourney to earn provincial tourney berths.
The Hawks, ranked No. 4 in B.C., knocked off their No. 5-ranked crosstown rivals from MEI 67-60 in the quarter-finals en route to the bronze medal game, which they won 83-43 over Riverside. Amanda Thompson was a second team all-star.
The loss to Mouat meant the best the Eagles could do was finish fifth, which they accomplished by defeating Charles Best 74-63. They went on to beat Mount Douglas 82-47 in a wildcard game to earn a provincial berth, behind 32 points from Valley all-star Taylor Claggett and 26 from Tessa Ratzlaff.
AAA SR. BOYS
The AAA senior boys Valley tourney is still ongoing, with the late rounds being hosted by Columbia Bible College this weekend.
The Abby Senior Panthers, ranked No. 1 in the province, won their first two games in decisive fashion, 111-59 over Guildford Park and 94-59 over Sullivan Heights. That put them into the semis vs. North Delta on Thursday evening (6:30 p.m., CBC).
The Bateman Timberwolves, the second-place finishers in the Fraser Valley East, had hopes of earning a provincial berth, but they were eliminated by Samuel Robertson Technical on Wednesday, 82-66.
Bronze and gold medal games run Saturday at CBC at 1 p.m. and 2:45 p.m., respectively.
AAAA SR. BOYS
The AAAA boys Valley tourney is likewise still ongoing, and three local teams are still alive going into Thursday evening’s action.
In do-or-die consolation-side games, the MEI Eagles and W.J. Mouat Hawks clash (6:30 p.m., Fleetwood Park Secondary), followed by the Yale Lions taking on the Sardis Falcons (8:15 p.m., Fleetwood Park Secondary).
Each of the three teams have notched thrilling wins en route to deep tourney runs. MEI outlasted North Surrey 106-99 in triple OT in the second round on Monday, while Mouat edged Semiahmoo 99-98 and Yale topped Lord Tweedsmuir 81-79 to keep their seasons alive.