MacNeill Ravens got 2014 off to an impressive start, capturing the inaugural Kwantlen Polytechnic University Senior Boys Basketball Invitational Tournament in Surrey last week.
In past years, the Ravens have typically trained through the Christmas break but this time co-coaches Steward Siy and Landon Dy used the holidays to give everyone an extended rest before heading into a busy second half of the schedule.
The strategy looks to have paid off.
The province's 10th ranked 2A team opened with a 66-36 win over Rutland, then rallied for a thrilling 81-77 victory over Delview in the semi-finals. The run was completed with a most impressive 100-71 win against Okanagan Mission, ranked No. 8 among 3A teams.
"It was a very good tourney for us," said Dy. "I think the scores against Rutland and OKM were more off a reflection on how well we played. We were able to rebound the ball, despite a big size advantage for both teams, and attacked with speed which gave (our opponents) a lot of trouble.
"We wanted to use this tourney to prepare ourselves for our big league game (this week) against No. 1 Palmer. We've never had a team at the senior level come close to them (0-6 in school history including a 29 point loss last season)."
Umar Tung was the finals MVP, scoring 46 points, including 15 straight in the second quarter when the Ravens outscored OKM 29-12.
Denzel De Jesus also continued his stellar all around play with another double double in the finals - finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Josh Rivera chipped in with 15 points and 14 assists. He was key in breaking OKM's press by creating easy baskets for his teammates.
MacNeill had to overcome a short bench to defeat a Delview squad that featured a provincial team point guard and two post players listed at 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-5. "The lone post player we did have available had picked up three fouls by the midway mark of the second quarter," explained Dy who was without two starters and another key post defender. "It was quite the uphill battle. We were down by as many as 11 in the third quarter but the guys stuck with it."
The Ravens received some clutch play from their bench as Grade 11 Ernie Penas produced 10 points in the third, while Miki Macapagal and Chris Tsang combined for seven three-pointers. One of Tsang's treys tied the game at 77-77 with 25 seconds remaining.
De Jesus then came up with a big defensive play to force a turnover and scored the winning basket with 12 seconds left. It was the only lead the Ravens had the entire game Tung iced the win with a pair of free throws after another clutch defensive stop.
