Unity Christian, King George, St. Patrick and Oak Bay earn No. 1 seeds

The Unity Christian Flames, King George Dragons, St. Patrick Celtics and Oak Bay Bays are the top seeds for their respective tiers at this week’s BC School Sports Boys Basketball Provincial Championships.

The 64 teams will play 128 games over the next four days, all at Langley Events Centre, getting underway on March 6 and wrapping up March 9. Games begin daily at 8:30am and each of the championship games will be played in the Arena Bowl beginning at 12:30pm on March 9.

1A Tournament

Last year’s finalist, Chilliwack’s Unity Christian Flames enter as the No. 1 seed for the 1A tournament as they look for their third title in the past four tournaments. Alongside the Flames as the top four seeds are the No. 2 Maple Ridge Christian Hornets (Maple Ridge), the No. 3 St. John’s School Eagles (Vancouver) and the No. 4 St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders (Kamloops).

The remaining teams in the field (in alphabetical order) include the Campbell River Christian Cougars (Campbell River), Cedars Christian Eagles (Prince George), Duncan Christian Chargers (Duncan), Fort St. James Falcons (Fort St. James), École Gabrielle-Roy Phénix (Surrey), Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers (Queen Charlotte), Golden Eagles (Golden), King David Lions (Vancouver), McBride Mustangs (McBride), Osoyoos Rattlers (Osoyoos) and the Similkameen Sparks (Keremeos).

2A Tournament

The defending champion King George Dragons (Vancouver) enter the 2A tournament as the top-ranked team while last year’s finalist and their opponent in that game, Brentwood College (Mill Bay) is seeded fourth, setting up a potential semi-final showdown. Joining them in the top four are Surrey’s Pacific Academy Breakers at No. 2, and the third-seed Collingwood Cavaliers (West Vancouver).

The rest of the field (in alphabetical order) features the Archbishop Carney Stars (Port Coquitlam), Britannia Bruins (Vancouver), Charles Hays Rainmakers (Prince Rupert), John Barsby Bulldogs (Nanaimo), Khalsa School Lions (Surrey), Kootenay River Bulldogs (Creston), Lambrick Park Lions (Victoria), Langley Christian Lightning (Langley), Nechako Valley Vikings (Vanderhoof), Southridge Storm (Surrey), Summerland Rockets (Summerland) and Westsyde Whundas (Kamloops).

3A Tournament

The St. Patrick Celtics aim for the three-peat as they enter the 3A tournament as the No. 1 seed with last year’s finalists, Nanaimo’s Dover Bay Dolphins are the second seed. Rounding out the top four seeds are Vancouver’s Lord Byng Grey Ghosts (who won bronze a season ago) as the No. 3 seed and the North Delta Huskies (Delta) at No. 4.

The rest of the field (in alphabetical) has A.R. MacNeill Ravens (Richmond), Caledonia Kermodes (Terrace), College Heights Cougars (Prince George), Gladstone Gladiators (Vancouver), Grandview Heights Grizzlies (Surrey), Maple Ridge Ramblers (Maple Ridge), Mark R. Isfeld (Courtenay), M.E.I. Eagles (Abbotsford), St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights (Burnaby), South Kamloops Titans (Kamloops), Wellington Wildcats (Nanaimo) and Windsor Wolves (North Vancouver).

4A Tournament

A pair of Victoria rivals have the top two seeds in the 4A tournament with the Oak Bay Bays coming in at No. 1 and the Spectrum Thunder right behind at No. 2. Rounding out the top four is the No. 3 seed West Vancouver Highlanders and the Surrey’s Tamanawis Wildcats at No. 4.

The rest of the field (in alphabetical order) features the Burnaby South Rebels (Burnaby), Heritage Woods Kodiaks (Port Moody), Kelowna Owls (Kelowna), Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers (Surrey), Mount Baker (Cranbrook), Prince George Polars (Prince George), R.E. Mountain Eagles (Langley), St. George’s Saints (Vancouver), Semiahmoo Thunderbirds (Surrey), Sullivan Heights Stars (Surrey), Vancouver College Fighting Irish (Vancouver) and the Yale Lions (Abbotsford).

Tickets are available for purchase and every game of all four championships is also available to stream through pay-per-view at TFSETV.ca. Daily schedules, scores and news can also be found at www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com.

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