BEAR CREEK - There was no fairy-tale ending for the Fleetwood Park Dragons.
After a week of competitive senior boys high school basketball, the Tamanawis Wildcats dominated the senior boys' final of the Surrey RCMP Basketball Classic on Friday night, overwhelming the Dragons 88-47.The 23rd-annual showcase of Surrey hoops talent packed the bleachers at Enver Creek Secondary as family, friends and fans waited for the tip-off, which was won by Tamanawis. While Fleetwood sunk a pair of three-pointers early on, it wasn't until the second quarter that they put anymore points on the board.Meanwhile, the Wildcats gained a considerable lead by putting up tremendous defence and picking their spots under the Fleetwood hoop. Sukhraj Biring picked the ball from Jordan Mendiola for a lay-up to round out the first period 28-6. "Our strategy was basically to put the gas on and play the entire game trying to get everyone cycled through, every player cycled through off the bench and just keep the intensity up," said Wildcats assistant coach Andrew Sturgeon after the game.Tamanawis gained a 30-point lead at the start of the second period, partly due to Sukhjot Bains, who drained two three-point shots in a row, bringing his team's score to 39 and prompting the Fleetwood coach to call a time out."Sukh's a great player," said Sturgeon, noting that Bains was named MVP of the tournament. "He's the force, really. He's looking to go down south somewhere after the school year, after he graduates."The Fleetwood pep talk yielded a threepoint shot by John Tusi, only to be matched shortly after by the Wildcats.With the score 13-44 toward the end of the second period, Bains went 50 per cent on two sets of foul shots, bringing the Wildcats to 46 points at the half.At the start of the third, the teams went tit for tat, with Dragons Emeka Okuma and Arjun Dhadda each laying up two points only to be echoed by the Wildcats.A third lay-up by Akash Grewal was blocked by Sukhman Sandhu, who soon after went two for two on free throws, making the score 53-17. He followed that with a quick two points.Fleetwood started making up some ground, with baskets from Dhadda and Okuma, and a three-pointer from Grewal. They were unable to make up much ground, however, as Tamanawis matched them shot for shot to maintain a healthy lead.The fourth period started with Tamanawis up 65-36 and after Fleetwood's Mendiola dropped one of two free, the Wildcats cranked up their defence and kept the ball away from the Dragons for long stretches of play. Bains showed off his three-point shot, draining two baskets from behind the line before fellow Wildcat David Alexander added another two points with a sweet swoosh.Free-throws from Mantej Sandhu and Prince Gill pushed the Wildcats' lead to a game-high 44 points before Tamanawis put it in cruise control to close out the win.Elsewhere, the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers edged out the Semiahmoo Totems for third place, with the North Surrey Spartans closing the top five.Biring was picked for the first all-star team, along with Nimrit Plaha (Panorama Ridge), Filip Samardzic (Johnston Heights), Skylar Sheehan (Semiahmoo) and Nick Smith (Lord Tweedsmuir). Fleetwood's Kevin Alexandrov and Okuma were second team selections along with Sandhu (Tamanawis), Anoop Nahal (North Surrey) and Brett Norris (Tweedsmuir).Semiahmoo's Curtis Harvey was named most inspirational player and three-point champion, while Johnston Heights was named the most sportsmanlike team.