High school basketball teams from Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary were very successful at recent Fraser Valley Championship tournaments last week, placing in the top four in five of the six categories.
Surrey schools were prominent at all six tournaments, which featured teams from Grade 8 to Junior (Grade 10) in both boys and girls competition.
The Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers won the Junior Boys championship tournament in Pitt Meadows, dominating the R.E. Mountain Eagles 73-34 in the final game Saturday night.
Arjun Samra of the Panthers was the tournament MVP (Most Valuable Player), while teammate Elijah Devison was named to the all-star team.
Tweedsmuir won Thursday’s quarterfinal game over the Yale Lions 66-39, then got past the Terry Fox Ravens 76-63 in Friday night’s semifinal game.
Lord Tweedsmuir will play in the Junior boys provincial championship tournament at the Langley Events Centre (LEC) tomorrow (Saturday) to Tuesday.
The Panthers also won at the Grade 9 Boys tournament in Port Moody, defeating the Seaquam Seahawks 81-45. Jaeden Reid was the MVP, with Jackson Corneil and Josh Hamulas earning all-star selections.
Lord Tweedsmuir was the third-place team at the Grade 9 Girls tournament in Chilliwack, a tournament won by the North Surrey Spartans.
The Spartans, seeded number-one, clinched the championship Friday night with a 30-25 victory over the third-seed and host school G.W. Graham Grizzlies. North Surrey had little trouble getting to the final, defeating Chilliwack Chargers 64-17 on Wednesday evening, then stopping the Heritage Woods Kodiaks 47-20 on Thursday.
Jap Chohal of North Surrey was the MVP, with teammate Sarah Fewings named to the all-star team.
The Panthers topped Heritage Woods 33-22 to clinch third place Friday evening. Tweedsmuir’s Brooklyn Deol was an all-star.
Lord Tweedsmuir teams were also fourth at both the Grade 8 Girls and Junior Girls tournaments.
In the Grade 8 tournament at Seaquam Secondary in North Delta, tournament MVP Izzy Forsythe led Semiahmoo Totems to first place. Semiahmoo, which played Deja Lee and Tara Wallack on the tournament all-star team, defeated the Walnut Grove Gators 73-34 Monday night.
The Panthers lost 42-23 to the W.A. Fraser Falcons of Abbotsford in a playoff for third place. Alyza Alkins of Tweedsmuir was named to the tournament all-star team.
The Earl Marriott Mariners lost 52-47 to the Brookswood Bobcats in the Junior Girls championship game in Abbotsford Saturday night, settling for second place. Talia Sereni of the Mariners was a tournament all-star.
The Panorama Ridge Thunder edged the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers 48-47 in a playoff for third place. Karina Sarai of Panorama Ridge and Tweedsmuir’s India Aikins were named to the tournament all-star team.
The top four teams will play at the Junior Girls Provincial Invitational at the LEC March 10-4.
At The Grade 8 boys tournament at Earl Marriott Secondary in Surrey, the Tamanawis Wildcats finished second after a 68-41 loss to the C.G. Howe Bulldogs of Abbotsford in Monday’s championship game. Saboor Bhutta and Saim Bhutta of the Wildcats were tournament all-stars.
The Queen Elizabeth Royals were the fourth-place team after a 57-45 loss to the Abbotsford Middle School Huskies. Armaan Gill of Queen Elizabeth was an all-star team selection.