McMath Wildcats capped an outstanding season with a third place finish at the B.C. Grade 8 Girls Basketball Championships at Semiahmoo Secondary.
The Wildcats secured a spot on the podium with a 47-33 victory over the South Delta Sun Devils last Saturday. They took a four-point lead into the second half and a big 10-0 run to close out the third quarter gave them control for good.
The girls were ever-so-close to playing in the championship game, falling 35-33 to eventual winner York House a day earlier. McMath opened the 16-team tournament with a 46-26 win over Fraser Heights, then slipped past MEI 40-38 in the quarter-finals.
Teagan Ng and Tamar Gordon were named to the Tournament Second All-Star Team. Ng scored 22 in the win over South Delta.
The Wildcats’ road to Semiahmoo included a perfect run in city play that was capped by a win over Hugh Boyd in the final. It was then off to the Vancouver and District Championships at Burnaby South where they opened with a 45-18 win over Burnaby Central but then fell 55-40 to Seycove in the semi-finals. A rematch with Boyd in the third place game resulted in a 53-37 win.
Meanwhile, Richmond champions MacNeill Ravens also closed out their fine campaign in Semiahmoo on the boys side of the draw at the B.C. Grade 8 Boys Championships.
The Vancouver and District runners-up were edged 77-66 by Churchill in their opening game. The Ravens then rebounded with wins over Vernon (61-38), Salt Spring (66-42) and Windsor (57-42) to finish ninth.
Marco Esteban was named an all-star honourable mention.
The tournament was won by Vancouver College, defeating Walnut Grove 63-56.
In Port Moody, it was a near podium finish for McMath at the B.C. Grade 9 Boys Championships.
The Richmond champions rolled to the semi-finals of the 16-team tournament with wins over Churchill (65-52) and Queen Elizabeth (59-46). The Wildcats then dropped a 52-51 heartbreaker to Vancouver College in the semi-finals before closing out the championships with a 53-42 loss to South Surrey’s Elgin Park in the third place game.
Michael Kitka was named a First Team Tournament All-Star. He was McMath’s player of the game three times. Teammates Kenneth Wong and Rio Hutchful earned honourable mention recognition.
Earlier, the Wildcats rolled to a 56-40 win over West Vancouver to win the V&D championship.
