A pair of city schools have booked their ticket into next week’s Lower Mainland AAA Boys Basketball Championship semi-finals at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
The McMath Wildcats and McNair Marlins are now just a win away from advancing to to the provincial AAA tournament for the second straight year after posting home court quarter-final victories on Wednesday night.
The No. 3 seed Wildcats toppled city rival McRoberts 88-65 and will meet the No. 2 St. Thomas More Knights next Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The Marlins took care of Byrne Creek 83-60 to earn a semi-final match-up with No. 1 Charles Tupper. That game tips off at 2:45 p.m.
McRoberts, Steveston-London and Hugh Boyd all have consolation games on Friday as they look to battle their way back into contention for the four provincial berths up for grabs. The Sharks fell 83-65 to Tupper in another quarter-final game.
Meanwhile, a difficult road got even tougher for newly crowned city champion Richmond Colts in the AAAA Mainland playoffs.
Their task was large enough to begin with in a zone that features five top 10 ranked teams and only three B.C. berths available.
Now, the Colts are having to play without leading scorer and first team city all-star Jon Mikhlin who broke his ankle last week in the Richmond championship game. The Grade 10 guard averaged over 27 points per game.
The Colts opened the Mainland tourney with a 65-62 loss to Killarney on Tuesday and face a must-win Friday against 10th ranked Kitsilano to keep their season alive.
The Cambie Crusaders are the No. 1 seed at the AA Lower Mainlands which start Monday at the Oval.
No. 3 RC Palmer Griffins and No. 5 MacNeill Ravens are also contention at the eight team tournament that will determine two B.C. berths. The final is slated for next Thursday at 8 p.m.
Despite just missing out on a berth into the city championships, the Richmond Christian Eagles have an excellent chance at advancing to the A Provincial tourney for the first time in recent memory. They have been seeded No. 2 with the eight-team tournament also starting next Monday at the Olympic Oval.
