Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson often tweets “No time to sleep.” For the McMath Wildcats senior boys basketball team it’s more like “No time to practice.”
No senior boys basketball team in the province has been as busy as the Wildcats and it isn’t slowing down this week either.
Head coach Bik Chatha believes when it comes to finding out about his team, nothing can replicate a game environment so he has put together a schedule that certainly reflects his vision.
By the time the Wildcats play their final game before the holiday break against St. Thomas More on Thursday night, they will have played 14 games in 18 days.
The province’s 10th ranked team at the AAA level began the campaign at the Gladstone Tip Off Tournament where it went 2-1, losing to King George 92-85 in the final. It was then off to the North Shore for the Sutherland Sabre Classic . The Wildcats again reached the final and dropped a 63-59 decision to Parksville’s Ballenas Whalers.
The focus of late has been on league and exhibition play. McMath opened its Richmond schedule with an 83-59 win over McNair, then produced exhibition victories over Windsor (59-30) and Sullivan Heights (55-51).
This week, it two more league encounters with Richmond Christian and McRoberts, before a couple of friendlies at home against Brookswood and No. 1 AAA ranked STM (6:30 p.m. tip-off).
“Especially early (in the season), we wanted to see what we have and there is no better way to do that than games,” said Chatha. “We are not that familiar with the Grade 11s and we want to know what they can give us. It’s a heavy schedule now then we will taper it off in January and February.
“We’re looking forward to St. Thomas More, the number one team in the province. It’s going to be a big test for us.”
■ Tough run for Sharks in Langley
Richmond’s pre-season favourite got a taste of elite competition last week at the fourth annual Tsumura Invitational in Langley.
The Steveston-London Sharks went 0-3 at the event, highlighted by a 74-49 opening round loss to eventual champion Southridge on Thursday.
The No. 4 ranked AAA South Surrey school broke a tight game open by outscoring Steveston-London by 10 in the third quarter to take an 18-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
The No. 3 AAA ranked Sharks also fell to Fleetwood Park (68-66) and Killarney (86-78). Mike Stoneburgh’s squad began the week with an entertaining 97-79 league opening win against RC Palmer.
■ Ravens roll at Jokers tourney
The MacNeill Ravens have taken flight to their season by capturing the John Oliver Jokers Classic last week. The Ravens defeated the hosts 69-64 in Friday’s final.
Grade 11 guard Justin Dy-Pe was named tournament MVP after pouring in 31 points in the final. Backcourt mate Josh Ignacio was an all-star.
