The Richmond Colts and MacNeill Ravens will be the respective teams to beat when the Richmond Boys and Girls Bantam Basketball Championships get underway next week.
The tournaments launch an action-packed three weeks of high school playoff hoops in Richmond with seven titles up for grabs.
The Colts will be the No. 1 seed at the 11-team Bantam Boys Championships, hosted by MacNeill, but it took a win on the final day of the regular season to earn that status.
Richmond High outlasted the Burnett Breakers 46-38 Wednesday in a showdown of 8-1 teams. The host Ravens (8-2) also will be right in the hunt, as will the fourth place Cambie Crusaders (6-4) who handed the Colts their only loss (48-46) earlier this month and also hung tough with Burnett in a 46-42 defeat on Monday.
Other teams in the mix include McRoberts (5-5), McMath (5-5), Steveston-London (4-5), Palmer (4-6) and McNair (4-6). Opening day action on Monday will determine which three teams will move on to join the top five seeds in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. The final is slated for 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile, MacNeill capped a 9-0 in the Bantam Girls League with a 37-24 win the McNair Marlins in a battle of unbeatens. The Marlins (8-1) will have home court advantage for the playoffs as they try to earn another crack at the Ravens in next Thursday’s title game, also slated for 5 p.m.
The third place Burnett Breakers (7-2) will enter the post-season riding a six-game win streak. Other contenders include: Steveston-London (5-3), McMath (5-4), McRoberts (4-5) and Richmond High (4-5).
Besides city bragging rights, the boys and girls winners will also host the Vancouver and District Championships, starting Feb. 12.
