Four Richmond teams among the top eight seeds of the Lower Mainland “AAA” Boys Basketball Championships means more playoff action here this week including a potential “rubber match” between the McNair Marlins and Richmond Colts.
The 12-team tournament tips-off on Tuesday and will conclude next week at the Richmond Olympic Oval. At stake are four spots into next month's B.C. “AAA” Championships at the Langley Events Centre.
Defending champion and current provincial No. 1 Byrne Creek Bulldogs are the top seed. Newly-crowned Richmond champion McMath is No. 2 and is joined among the top eight by city rivals McNair (No. 4), Richmond High (No. 5) and Steveston-London (No. 8).
The Colts host No. 12 Lord Byng on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) with a win sending them to McNair 24 hours later for what would be an intriguing quarter-final match-up. The Marlins slipped past Richmond 91-88 at last week’s city championships. It was also a three-point margin back in December in league play with the Colts coming out on top in overtime.
Also on Tuesday, the Sharks will be hosting No. 9 Windermere at 7:30 p.m., looking to earn a trip to Burnaby to face the Bulldogs.
McMath will host the winner of No. 7 Magee and No. 10 Point Grey on Wednesday (7:30 p.m).
The tournament then shifts to the Oval for the semi-finals and elimination games on Feb. 21. The final goes Feb. 23 at 6:15 p.m.
Meanwhile the Lower Mainland “AA” Boys Championships will see three Richmond teams in action, starting Thursday.
No. 9 seed McRoberts and No. 10 Boyd both play elimination games against No. 8. Cariboo Hill and No. 7 West Point Grey respectively.
The quarter-finals take place Monday at the Oval with No. 4 seed Palmer facing No. 5 Notre Dame at 4:30 p.m. A year ago, the Griffins lost a heartbreaker to St. Pat’s for the the final B.C. berth and it could very well be a rematch on Feb. 22 if the draw goes to form.
In senior girls action, the No. 1 seed McMath Wildcats will begin their provincial tournament quest Tuesday afternoon when they take on Burnaby Central in Vancouver. A win would mean a semi-final game Thursday night against No. 4 Lord Byng or host No. 5 Carson Graham.
The No. 12 seed Steveston-London fell 100-47 to Carson Graham on Saturday.
The Hugh Boyd Trojans and McNair Marlins are at St. Thomas More for the Lower Mainland “AA” Championships.
The Trojans face Tupper on Tuesday while the Marlins take on Little Flower Academy.
