MacNeill Ravens junior boys basketball team continued its strong start to the season with a third place finish at the Rod Thomson Classic at Burnaby South.
In a exceptionally strong field, the Ravens received a steady diet of provincially ranked opponents and more than held their own. They opened with a 69-54 victory over honourable mention Carson Graham then dropped a 58-38 decision to No. 1 ranked Burnaby South in the semi-finals. McNeill closed out the tourney with a 58-52 triumph over No. 3 Centennial.
Coaches Peter Thackwray, Ben Mayan and Steward Siy have high-expectations of their group and have put together a challenging schedule that reflects that.
The Ravens already lost by 20 earlier this season to No. 2. Tupper. After the holiday break, they will take on No. 5 St. George’s in exhibition play and see more highly-regarded teams at the Vancouver College Tournament.
The stiff competition is also good preparation for city league play. The Ravens currently sit at 3-0 but there is plenty of work to be done between now and the Richmond playoffs come February.
“Outside of two teams, we believe the other seven are capable of beating each other on any given night,” said Siy. “We have a solid group of hard working coachable kids and different ones have stepped up throughout the season so far.”
The Ravens are led by Grade 9 standout Jackson Thackwray who already has earned a pair of first team all-star awards in tournament play — at the Ravens Classic and at John Oliver. Grade 10s Hudson Swaim and Omar Abumallouh, along with Grade 9 Josh Chahal have been very solid as well. Another Grade 9 — Difu Wang — has played very well over the past six games.
The roster also features — Grade 10: Ben Estrellado, Daniel Salazar, Wesley Hung, Everett Ho and Grade 9s: Miguel Salvador, Tanner Devlin and Adrian Peralta.
Key league games for the Ravens in the new year include home to Boyd (Jan. 22) and Steveston-London (Jan. 29.).
At the buzzer….
The Richmond Colts and McMath Wildcats were also busy in the senior boys draw at the Rod Thomson Classic.
The Colts opened with a 86-74 loss to eventual champion Burnaby South, then defeated North Delta 82-70, before closing out the tourney with a 74-67 loss to Kitsilano in the consolation final. Burnaby South and Kits are both top 10 ranked AAAA schools.
The Wildcats fell 92-73 to Western Canada of Calgary. That was followed by an 87-81 loss to Kits, then a 71-70 squeaker to North Delta.
