Two months ago Nigel Boyd was savouring the first tournament win of his life at the Bob Carkner Classic. On Saturday night, the Grade 12 standout was crying uncontrollably on the floor of the Langley Events Centre after a heartbreaking loss in the provincial championship game.
Such is the remarkable progress of the Steveston-London Sharks.
They looked like anything but a senior boys basketball team making its provincial debut, surviving three taxing games then going toe-to-toe with top ranked Southridge Storm in an epic AAA final. The South Surrey school pulled out a 78-71 win, handing the Sharks their first loss since late January, a stretch of 14 games.
Along the way, they captured the Richmond and Lower Mainland titles for the first time in the school’s brief history and will certainly be back for more next season with four Grade 11s in the starting line-up.
“We are all a bunch of rookies who have never been to the provincials before,” said Sharks head coach Mike Stoneburgh. “It’s a testament of what this program has built and what we have right now. The sky is the limit and it’s not like next year will be it either.
“It was such a tough game to lose but being so young we know we can come back. I hope this sits with our Grade 11s. Come next November and the new season, I am scared for the first team that has to play us.”
Under the same breath, Stoneburgh was heartbroken for Boyd and the handful of Grade 12s on his team.
Boyd showed why he was the city MVP this season with two superb performances in quarter-and-semi-final wins over Robert Bateman and Rick Hansen respectively. It would result in being named a second team provincial all-star.
“I honestly don’t know how I am going to say goodbye to him,” Stoneburgh reflected. “I just hugged him (after the game) and told him he will be playing (at the college level) next year. He has never been to this tournament before but he put this team on his back and showed why he is a leader and a phenomenal player.”
It was a Boyd three-pointer that capped an 11-0 run and gave Steveston-London a 69-67 lead with under four minutes remaining. Igniting the outburst was the spectacular play of 6-foot-9 Fardaws Aimaq who scored on four straight possessions from in the post, on his way to 40 points and an amazing 32 rebounds. The Grade 11 star was later named player-of-the-game and a first team all-star.
However, eventual tournament MVP Hunter Hughes answered with a three to give the Storm the lead back for good. Southridge added another trey to push the advantage to four points. A basket by Aimaq made it 73-71 with 47 seconds left but the Sharks couldn’t come up with the rebound on the Storm’s next possession and had to foul. Four points from the free throw line sealed the outcome.
The Sharks never found their range from the perimeter to compliment Aimaq’s brilliance inside. They finished the night going just 3-22 from beyond the arc.
“We just didn’t hit any threes and that was the big one,” admitted Stoneburgh. “We just needed a couple but didn’t shoot well. We tried going high low too because it was there and made some bad mistakes. But that’s what can happen when you are a young team.”
The game was a sharp contrast from when the teams met back in the opening round of the Tsumura Invitational in early December and the Storm rolled to a decisive 76-49 victory.
Again, another indication of the major strides the Steveston-London program has made this season but don’t try to convince Aimaq.
He walked off the court in tears after picking up his fifth foul in the dying seconds and actually tried blaming himself for the loss.
In truth, his play was the talk of the championships. He also recorded 31 boards, to go along with 30 points, in the semi-final win over Hansen and set a tournament record for rebounding.
“This kid is showing he is one of the best post players to come out of B.C.,” said Stoneburgh. For him to be (so emotional) just tells you what type of person he is. It’s scary to think he is in Grade 11 and what he is going to do next season.”
The championship game capped what is always an emotional time of year for Stoneburgh.
He was in tears following Friday’s semi-final win. It was 11 years to the day he suddenly lost his father to a heart attack at the age of 51.
“I usually don’t like to do much on (March 11),” he explained. “He was there for every one of my sporting games and drove me to everything. He was my best friend.
“I’m a mama’s boy too and she has been there for me through thick and thin. When she was in hospital around Christmas, the boys stepped up and were there for me in my hardest (times). We have had a hell of a season.”
