In multiple gyms and age brackets, Surrey high school basketball teams are shooting for provincial championships this week and well into March.
Ten separate tournaments are detailed on bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com, for boys and girls teams in different divisions.
Junior “invitational” tournaments in Surrey and Langley will crown provincial champs, due to BC School Sports rules that forbid calling them championships.
Teams of junior girls are playing at Pacific Academy in Fraser Heights from Friday until Sunday (Feb. 23-25), while the boys battle at Langley Events Centre (LEC) for four days starting Saturday, Feb. 24.
The girls’ schedule, posted on frontcourtevents.com, involves junior teams from Surrey including Holy Cross, Semiahmoo, Lord Tweedsmuir, Pacific Academy and North Delta’s Seaquam school. The championship game will be played Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
In Langley, the junior boys action is found on bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com/jrboys.
The 32-team, 80-game tournament involves several Surrey teams repping LA Matheson (ranked #4 heading in), Tamanawis, Enver Creek, Fleetwood Park and Pacific Academy.
Congratulations to @LAM_Mustangs Junior Boys South Fraser champions @Surrey_Schools . Great work by Mr. Sandhu and the boys. pic.twitter.com/QM7n32T0aP
— Sunny Deol (he/him) (@SunnyDeolSD36) February 16, 2024
On Feb. 10, LA Matheson junior boys won the Surrey championship and a rare basketball banner for the school, followed by the South Fraser regional title with a win over Enver Creek, at Holy Cross.
“We thought there was a curse, so I was telling the boys that we have to break this curse (of not having a championship banner for boys basketball),” coach Marik Sandhu said.
“They’re driven,” he added last week. “We just had three hard games and they’re all there in the gym practicing right now. I said, ‘Guys, take a break, sleep in.’ They’re like, ‘Nope, we’re back to work, Sandhu.’”
Saturday at Langley Events Centre, junior boys will each play twice on opening day. A champion will be crowned Tuesday night (Feb. 27) in a game starting at 7 p.m.
Meantime, senior high school teams are battling for championships in multiple divisions based on school population size, from A (smallest) to AAAA (largest), in boys and girls brackets.
South Fraser Basketball Commission scores and schedules are posted to https://sites.google.com/view/southfraserbasketball/home.
Congratulations to our Senior Girls
— Clayton Heights Secondary Athletics (@CH_Athletics) February 16, 2024
Basketball team for winning the South Fraser Championship last night. @chslearn @SSSAA_SD36 @Surrey_Schools pic.twitter.com/95YAzGUKar
Clayton Heights won the seniors girls AAA South Fraser championship on Feb. 15, giving the squad a higher ranking heading into provincials.
In AAAA girls action, Lord Tweedsmuir won the South Fraser title Feb. 16 with a 95-49 win over Seaquam.
In four divisions, senior girls teams will play for provincial crowns at the LEC from Feb. 28 to March 2 ,with 64 teams and 128 games.
In boys AAAA, Tweedsmuir hosts regional playoffs Feb. 21-29. Wednesday’s opening-day games saw wins by Holy Cross, Fleetwood, Queen Elizabeth and Sullivan. The action continues Friday with Semiahmoo facing Holy Cross, Tamanawis vs. Fleetwood Park, Elgin Park vs. Sullivan and Tweedsmuir vs. Queen Elizabeth. South Fraser receives four berths to the provincial championships, meaning four Surrey teams (not yet decided) will advance to the big tournament at Langley Events Centre starting March 6.
Last year, Semiahmoo won the AAAA boys B.C. title in an all-Surrey final over Fleetwood Park.
