The Richmond Youth Basketball League Celtics turned in a strong showing at last weekend's Basketball B.C. U13 Girls Provincial Club Championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
The girls were coming off a successful spring season with a second place finish. They came up just short in an entertaining and competitive game against the South Burnaby Screaming Eagles, falling 35-28.
In round robin play on Saturday, the Celtics defeated the Seymour Storm 37-16 and the Slamma Jamma Orange 43-23, before falling 36-34 Tri-Cities Chaos to finish in first place in their pool.
The Celtics then defeated the Vancouver Bobcats 37-26 in the semi-final on Sunday morning to set the stage for a rematch with league champion South Burnaby.
The Celtics played a closely contested final, leading at the end of the first quarter 11-6 and trailing by just one point at halftime (16-15). The Screaming Eagles took a 24-21 lead into the final quarter and Richmond was unable to make up the deficit.
After forming the team at the end of February the Celtics posted a 2-1-1 exhibition record prior to the provincials and also ended the tournament as the highest scoring team in their division and allowing the second fewest points - an indication of both their individual ability and how quickly they came together as a team.
The roster was comprised of Sophia De Le Torre, Jalen Donaldson, Sophia Kostiuk, Emily Latrace, Carlene Lock, Annie Morrison, Jessica Porter, Tayah Takasaki, Jennifer Vonas, Ellen Yam and Abby Zawada. The Celtics were coached by Andrew Zawada, Jessica Zawada, Justin Porter and Scott Porter.
