A lengthy drought for certain will end Friday night when the Steveston-London Sharks host the McMathWildcats in the Richmond Senior Boys Basketball Championships title game.
The Sharks will be looking to conclude a dominating run in city play with their first-ever Richmond senior boys title since the school opened in 2007, following the merger of Steveston and Charles London. They went 10-0 in league play and then showed why they’re currently ranked #3 among AAA schools in B.C. with a pair of lopsided wins, including a 94-62 semi-final triumph over RC Palmer on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats will be making their third straight appearance in city final but haven’t been in the winner’s circle since 2006. They fell last year to Richmond High and couldn’t stop Palmer from winning its eighth consecutive title in 2014. McMath advanced with a hard-fought 75-66 win over McNair in its final four tilt.
The West Richmond rivals have only met once this season with the Sharks producing a 94-77 home court win back on Jan. 20.
Game time is 7:30 p.m.
“We had some disciplinary issues and we had to sit some guys in the first half but I thought we played very well in the second,” said Wildcats coach Bik Chatha of the earlier meeting. “They have shown all season they are the team to beat.”
The No. 8 Wildcats must find a way to contain Sharks’ 6-foot-9 standout Fardaws Aimaq.
He is not only a major presence in the paint but he creates space for Steveston-London’s three other major scoring threats — Nigel Boyd, Pierce Strutt and Ahmed Mohamud.
Look for McMath to use its athleticism to extend its defence and try to disrupt the Sharks’ tempo. Grade 10 standout Bryce Mason suffered an ankle injury in the city junior playoffs the previous week and has yet to play.
Steveston-London raced out to a 29-7 lead on Palmer Wednesday, then put the game away with a big third quarter that opened up a 71-39 advantage.
The Wildcats had a much tougher time with a young McNair team that has made considerable progress this season.
It was a single digit lead for much of the contest until McMath looked to have pulled away with an 11-point fourth quarter run to push the margin to 17. However, the Marlins weren’t done yet as senior standout Ryan Angala caught fire from three-point range to cut the lead to just six with two minutes remaining.
The Wildcats stemmed the momentum in a feverishly paced game that saw both teams press for much of the night.
Tuesday’s opening round was highlighted by Palmer rallying for 86-84 win over Cambie in a battle of four and five seeds. Other scores included: Steveston-London 93 MacNeill 48; McMath 74 McRoberts 48 and McNair 93 Richmond High 55.
McRoberts defeated the Colts 101-85 Wednesday to clinch a Lower Mainland AAA playoff berth, joining the Sharks, Wildcats and Marlins. MacNeill was slated to play Richmond High on Thursday for the final spot.
Palmer and Cambie are headed to the Mainland AA tourney. Hugh Boyd and Richmond Christian will play Friday at 4 p.m. for the final Richmond spot.
