The seedings are set for the first round of the Fraser Valley AAA senior boys basketball tournament, and four local teams have the luxury of playing their first-round games in Abbotsford.
The No. 3-seeded Yale Lions and the No. 5 W.J. Mouat Hawks will host opening-round elimination games on Wednesday by virtue of their high seeding, and two other Abby teams will also play at those sites.
At Yale Secondary, the No. 14 MEI Eagles take on No. 19 Fraser Heights of Surrey at 6:15 p.m., followed by the host Lions vs. No. 30 Port Moody at 8 p.m.
Over at Mouat, the No. 12 Abby Senior Panthers face the No. 21 Centennial Centaurs of Coquitlam at 6:30 p.m., and Mouat plays No. 28 Queen Elizabeth at 8:15 p.m.
The Robert Bateman Timberwolves are the only local team that has to go out of town in the first round – the 25th-seeded squad takes on the No. 8 Sardis Falcons at Sardis Secondary at 8 p.m.
The top two seeds in the draw, respectively, are the White Rock Christian Academy Warriors and the Walnut Grove Gators. Walnut Grove is coming off a victory over Yale in the Fraser Valley East league title game on Saturday.
The tournament continues over the course of the next two weeks, culminating in the top-eight placing games on Saturday, March 2 at the Langley Events Centre.
The top eight teams advance to the provincial AAA championships March 12-16, also at the Langley Events Centre.
A full schedule of Wednesday's first-round elimination games is at the bottom of this page. For a complete Fraser Valley AAA boys draw, visit fvbball.org.
EAGLES, HAWKS, LIONS GIRLS CHASE PROVINCIAL BERTH
On the AAA girls scene, the Fraser Valley tourney tips off today (Monday), and the No. 5-seeded Mouat Hawks, No. 6 MEI Eagles and No. 8 Yale Lions are in the hunt for provincial championship berths.
Yale plays No. 9 Terry Fox at Brookswood Secondary in Langley at 7:45 p.m.; Mouat plays No. 12 Centennial at Surrey's Fleetwood Park Secondary at 8:15 p.m.; and MEI faces No. 11 Walnut Grove at Maple Ridge Secondary at 7:45 p.m.
A complete AAA girls draw is available at fvbball.org.
Wednesday, Feb. 20 - Round 1 AAA boys elimination games
@ White Rock Christian
6:15 pm #16 Fleetwood Park vs #17 North Delta
8 pm #1 White Rock Christian vs #32 Clayton Heights
@ Sardis
6:15 pm #9 Enver Creek vs #24 Pinetree
8 pm #8 Sardis vs #25 Robert Bateman
@ W.J. Mouat
6:30 pm #12 Abby Senior vs #21 Centennial
8:15 pm #5 W.J. Mouat vs #28 Queen Elizabeth
@ Tamanawis
6:15 pm #13 Heritage Woods vs #20 Elgin Park
8 pm #4 Tamanaiws vs #29 L.A. Matheson
@ Walnut Grove
6:15 pm #15 Delta vs #18 North Surrey
8 pm #2 Walnut Grove vs #31 Chilliwack
@ Lord Tweedsmuir
6:15 pm #10 Gleneagle vs #23 Panorama Ridge
8 pm #7 Lord Tweedsmuir vs #26 Semiahmoo
@ Pitt Meadows
6:15 pm #11 Terry Fox vs #22 Seaquam
8 pm #6 Pitt Meadows vs #27 Johnston Heights
@ Yale
6:15 pm #14 MEI vs #19 Fraser Heights
8 pm #3 Yale vs #30 Port Moody