After the first three days of the tournament went very close to form, it was a pair of upset winners in the semi-final round on Monday night.
The St. Patrick Celtics – who were the third seed – edged the No. 2 Vancouver College Fighting Irish 63-62 in the first semi-final, while the latter game saw the No. 5 Terry Fox Ravens pull off a second straight win over a higher seed, this time taking down the No. 1 ranked Oak Bay Bays 49-42.
It sets up a showdown for the championship on Tuesday night at 7:00pm at Langley Events Centre as the Junior Boys Basketball Invitational Tournament comes to a close after four days and 80 games among the 32 teams. The event has been co-hosted by Brookswood Secondary and R.E. Mountain Secondary.
The Celtics are aiming for a second title in five years while Terry Fox is looking for their first title at the tournament since 2002.
Tickets can be purchased online at click here For those unable to attend, all 80 games will be available to stream via pay-per-view at TFSETV.ca. For up-to-date results, click here or visit www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com/jrboys.
St. Patrick 63 Vancouver College 62
At the game’s most critical juncture, Riley Santa Juana stepped up and delivered.
Held to a pair of free throws over the first 16 minutes, the Grade 10 guard was unstoppable in the fourth quarter, strapping the St. Patrick Celtics on his back as they edged the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 63-62 in the first of the night’s two semi-final games.
Santa Juana – who was averaging nearly 20 points per game through the first three contests – had 13 of his team’s 15 fourth-quarter points, including the game winner late in regulation. The Irish were unable to get a shot of on their final possession, turning the ball over and the Celtics were able to run the clock out.
St. Patrick had trailed at every quarter break and did not take their first lead until the final period, but always kept the game within a handful of points.
Jericho Labrador led St. Patrick with 16 points while Jaiden Quan (11) and Heracles Mai (10) also reached double digits.
The trio of John Anthony (17), Nathan Chen (14) and Winson Del Rosario (12) each hit double figures for Vancouver College.
Terry Fox Ravens 49 Oak Bay Bays 42
The Terry Fox Ravens nearly led from start to finish as they punched their ticket to the championship final.
Terry Fox scored 11 of the first 13 points and trailed briefly early in the fourth quarter, but other that, the fifth-seed Terry Fox maintained the lead for much of Monday’s semi-final contest over the top-seeded Oak Bay Bays.
Oak Bay did mount one charge late in the third quarter as they erased a six-point deficit to tie the score and briefly pulled ahead in the fourth, 42-41, before Terry Fox scored the game’s final seven points.
Leading the way for the Ravens was Grade 9 Jayson Imani, as the 6-2 forward scored 20 of his team’s points in the victory. Oak Bay’s Noah Beck led the Bays with 18 points and Marcus Kao chipped in 13.
Day 3 scores:
Kalamalka 51 Brookswood 45
Brentwood College 57 South Kamloops 37
Richmond 67 Rick Hansen 49
Tamanawis 72 G.W. Graham 52
Mark R. Isfeld 64 Duchess Park 49
Rutland 71 Vancouver Technical 59
St. Michaels University School 57 Burnaby Mountain 55
Handsworth 58 Kelowna 54
Abbotsford Christian 82 New Westminster 50
Collingwood 59 L.A. Matheson 48
Shas Ti Kelly Road 45 Fleetwood Park 36
Enver Creek 66 Pacific Academy 41
Charles Hays 39 R.E. Mountain 36 (OT)
Photos courtesy of Ryan Molag LEC
