The Fleetwood Park Dragons fell one game short of capturing the school’s first-ever Fraser Valley senior boys class AAA hoops championship Saturday night.
Ranked fourth in the province, the Dragons’ championship quest came to an end with an 82-67 loss to first-ranked Abbotsford Panthers in the Valley finale.
“I think the best two teams were in the final,†said Fleetwood Park coach Nick Day. “We started slow and Abbotsford shot the ball really well in the first quarter and we fell behind. I don’t think our guys were nervous, but Abbottsford came out with a lot of intensity and it took us a while to figure some things out.
“There’s no doubt they were the better team; they were full value for the win.â€
Fleetwood reached the final after a hard-fought 71-60 win over Coquitlam’s Dr. Charles Best on Thursday night thanks to a 16-point effort from Emeka Okuma.
In Saturday’s title game, the Dragons were caught flat-footed as the Panthers raced out to a huge 22-point halftime lead. Fleetwood rallied in the second half and managed to close the gap to 10 points, but were unable to complete the comeback.
Okuma and point guard Armaan Khangura were both named to the first all-star team, while Kevin Alexandrov was a second team selection.
Both teams now advance to the provincials in Langley beginning March 12.