The Steveston-London Sharks are champions of the 50th annual Chancellor Tournament at St. Thomas More and they did it in convincing fashion.
The Sharks capped a dominating run in Burnaby Saturday night with a 91-68 victory over Chilliwack’s GW Graham. It was the first win at the prestigious tournament by a Richmond school since McMath pulled off the feat 11 years ago and ranks as one of the biggest triumphs by a senior boys basketball team at Steveston-London in the school’s history.
Led by 6-foot-9 Grade 11 post standout Fardaws Aimaq and dominant senior Nigel Boyd, the Sharks were the class of the 16 team event from start to finish.
They opened with an easy 72-30 win over Maple Ridge, then promptly took care of a couple of honour mention AAA schools — Byrne Creek (86-68) and South Kamloops (85-61), in the semi-finals. South Kamloops had upset
No. 3 ranked McMath in the opening round.
The championship game produced more Steveston-London dominance against the Grizzlies who entered the tournament ranked No. 4 among AA schools. The end result should have the No. 8 Sharks on the move when the new rankings are released later this week.
Aimaq was named the tournament’s most valuable player and offensive player of the game in the final. He averaged over 20 points, 14 rebounds and nearly three blocked shots per game. Boyd earned first team all-star status and also hovered around 20 points per contest, while Ahmed Mohamud’s solid tournament was recognized by a second team all-star selection.
Coached by Mike Stoneburgh, the Sharks roster also features Pierce Strutt, Taros Johal, Stefan Lim, Derek Jeary, Matt Levenstein, Jerome Fernandez, Isaiah Hunter, Daniel Chen, Kevin Bao, Zach Cantwell, Robleh Ismail and Ryan Curtis.
Steveston-London returns to league action with games against MacNeill and McRoberts on Monday and Tuesday, then host the annual Bob Carkner Memorial Tournament, starting Thursday.
The hosts open play at 2 p.m. against John Oliver. Other participating teams on the boys side of the draw include Hugh Boyd, Byrne Creek, Lord Byng, Charles Best, Windermere and Valleyview.
Lord Byng is currently ranked No. 5 among AAA schools, setting up a potential final with the Sharks on Saturday at 7:15 p.m.
The girls side features the hosts Sharks taking on league rival Cambie at 3:30 Thursday. Other teams include Burnaby South, John Oliver, Killarney, Yukon and Richmond. The girls final goes at 5:30 pm Saturday.
