REBELS, OWLS CLASH IN 4A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

March 7, 2020

4A Kelowna

 4A Burnaby South (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be the top seed Burnaby South Rebels battling the No. 3 Kelowna Owls.

The Rebels and Owls won their respective semi-final games on Friday night at Langley Events Centre to advance to the championship final of the BC High School 4A Boys Basketball Tournament on Saturday night. Tip-off is at 8:15 p.m. and the game is the fourth championship final of the day.

The Owls used dominating second and third quarters, outscoring the seventh-seed Handsworth Royals 49-26 over those 20 minutes to blow open what had been a four-point game. Kelowna won by an 84-54 final score.

Hunter Simson and Ajay Gill scored 16 points apiece to lead the Owls. Zackary Watters scored 10 for the Royals.

The second semi-final saw the Rebels holding a five-point lead over the No. 4 Vancouver College Fighting Irish with a quarter to play but Burnaby South buckled down and outscored their foes 17-5 for the 69-52 victory.

Justin Sunga led the Rebels with 18 points to go along with his five assists, three rebounds and three steals while Jareb Pineda had 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Jacob Holt led the Irish with 31 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Each team has steamrolled the competition to get to this point, winning their three games with an identical +111-point differential.

Both teams found the podium at provincials last March with Kelowna falling in the championship final to Lord Tweedsmuir, who had defeated Burnaby South in the semi-final. The Rebels did rebound to take bronze and regardless of the championship game outcome, the team will medal for a third consecutive season, having won gold in 2018.

The Owls have also been a model of consistency as the have medalled in five of the past six seasons, winning gold in 2016, silver in both 2017 and 2019, and bronze in 2015.

Both Burnaby South and Kelowna have obliterated the opposition through three games, each outscoring their foes by 111 points.

The teams have played three times with Burnaby South winning 76-62 in November and 82-58 in February. The Owls won 78-77 when they met back in December.