If opening night is any indication, it’s going to be another wild ride in the Richmond Senior Boys Basketball League.
It wasn’t long ago the city circuit was typically dominated by one team that might face a couple of hurdles on its way to the championship.
Now, parity rules with at least six of 11 schools capable of taking top honours.
Case in point was at McNair secondary Monday where the host Marlins and McMath Wildcats renewed their growing rivalry.
The Wildcats are off to a terrific start this season with impressive wins over Charles Tupper and Fleetwood Park moving them up to No. 2 in the latest provincial AAA rankings. However, McNair has also made enough noise to hold down the No. 10 spot this week. The end result was a playoff type atmosphere in early December with the Wildcats holding off the Marlins 75-70.
McMath took control in the third quarter and turned back several McNair surges including one that pulled them within two points late in the fourth quarter.
“They came out and played really, really well,” said Wildcats head coach Bik Chatha. “We had watched them play earlier and knew it was going to be a tough outing. We had a good team game tonight with contributions from everyone and that’s what we need to win going forward.”
The teams met five times last year with McMath taking the series 3-2 thanks to a win in consolation play at the provincial tournament. It should be more of the same this season as the Wildcats look to return to the city championship game.
“Other than the Fraser Valley, I think this is the toughest league right now,” added Chatha. “We are going to have to play our very best every single game to keep winning. We have good length and we try to use our athleticism to get out and run as much as possible.
“We are trying to become a better defensive team. We can score but we have to take care of the other end.”
It was encouraging performance by a Marlins team that made some serious noise in the second half of last season, led by dynamic play of Grade 12 guard Royce Sergeant.
It will take a collective effort to make up for his absence and McNair has the pieces to do it, led by the perimeter shooting of Kevin Yang and the inside presence of Owen Vint, who sent Marlin fans into a frenzy with a put back slam dunk in the fourth quarter.
“We came out flat tonight in the third quarter and it cost us,” said McNair head coach Jessy Dhillon. “They picked up their defence a bit and we had a lot of unnecessary turnovers and dug ourselves into a bit of a hole.
“I like flying under the radar a bit and make a run like we did last year but it’s only a matter of time before teams start to notice you. I think there are five or six that can win Richmond this year. It’s going to come down to who is hot come playoff time.”
Another team capable of making noise at the AAA level is the McRoberts Strikers who opened league play Monday with an impressive 91-71 win over the host MacNeill Ravens. The honourable mention Strikers broke open a tight game in the second half to avenge a 77-54 loss to the Ravens just three days earlier in the championship game of the Jokers Classic at John Oliver.
MacNeill’s 6-1 start to the season has earned them the No. 10 spot in the provincial AA rankings. The Ravens went unbeaten in city regular season play a year ago and just missed earning their first-ever B.C. berth.
The team that got in their way went on to win its eight consecutive Richmond championship. RC Palmer took a 7-3 record into the post-season and produced victories over Richmond High, MacNeill and McMath to continue its dynasty.
This time, longtime coach Paul Eberhardt has stepped aside for another veteran coach — Rob Brown — who is coming up to the senior ranks with a group of talented juniors.
The Colts will also be right in the thick of it after an impressive campaign a year ago with a young squad that ended with a loss to St. Georges at the Lower Mainland AAAA championships. Richmond opened league play Monday by beating Burnett 110-76.
The Cambie Crusaders made a big early statement Tuesday night by winning their league opener over Palmer 96-69 behind the 32 point performance from Justin Dhillon.
A young team at Steveston-London is expected to get better as the season unfolds. Boyd and Richmond Christian are also in the mix.
