She is recognized as one of the top players in the country and is a safe bet to win her third consecutive city MVP award tomorrow night. Yet, Anmol Mattu will gladly trade in some of that glory if her basketball team is still playing in March.
That would mean the Steveston-London Sharks are participating in the B.C. "AAA" Senior Girls Championships - something a Richmond school hasn't done for a decade.
Since Mattu started playing at the senior level in Grade 8, the Sharks have come close. Typically, they lose a placement game at the Lower Mainland Tournament that would at least put them in position to be part of a do-or-die provincial wild card battle.
This season, the Mainland zone will be another immense challenge. Top 10 ranked teams York House, Handsworth, New West and Argyle are expected to secure the four guaranteed B.C. berths.
However, the fifth place finisher will be part of the wild card scenario and that is where the Sharks come into the mix.
They are favoured to win this week's city playoff tournament which concludes tomorrow night (7: 30 p.m.) at McRoberts. However, the McNair Marlins served notice it won't be a cake walk by handing the Sharks their first league loss last week, a 55-53 defeat. Two weekends earlier, McMath rallied in the second half to hand them a loss in the final of the Wildcat Invitational.
The Sharks at least got off to a positive start with a 78-52 opening round win over Palmer on Monday and were slated to try and avenge their loss to McNair in the semi-finals last night.
"I feel our team has tremendous potential," said Mattu. "We al have one common goal of getting to the provincials but we have to take it one step at a time and the first one is winning Richmond.
"This might be our best year to do it."
Despite not reaching B.C.'s biggest high school basketball stage to date, it has hardly slowed down Mattu's development as a player.
Last summer, she played for the national under 16 team, helping Canada secure a berth into the upcoming U17 World Championships in Amsterdam. She has also been a regular with the provincial team program and continues to work on her game at the DRIVE Academy, run by her longtime mentor Pasha Bains. It should all add up to opportunities on both sides of the border once she begins exploring her postsecondary options this summer.
Earlier in her basketball career, Mattu had the opportunity to transfer to another high school where a B.C. berth might have been easier to obtain. She wanted no part of it and credits longtime coach Les Hamaguchi for sticking around.
"He has always wanted the best for me," she said. "Sure there have been some up and downs but at the end of the day Les is one of a kind and I want to be here.
"He has a lot of knowledge of the game and I admire him for that. I also like the transition of the summer (elite level) to here. It really has worked out well."
