They have finally stepped down to their weight class but that doesn’t mean the always hard-working McNair Marlins won’t be a hand full for any team in the city.
Under longtime coaches Ranj Sangra and Jessy Dhillon, the Marlins have played up at the 3A level in recent years and have enjoyed plenty of success along the way including a couple of trips to the provincial championships.
The new South Fraser Zone, that sees Richmond teams competing against Surrey and Delta schools, was the perfect opportunity for the Marlins to play at its own 2A level come playoff time.
There have been plenty of encouraging signs they should be right in the mix for the expected three BC berths up for grabs come February.
McNair hung tough with Surrey’s top 2A team - No. 5 ranked Southridge — at a tournament last month and was also runner-up at the David Thompson Invitational on the weekend after falling to 4A Frank Hurt in the title game.
“We are off to a good start and everyone is buying in,” said Dhillon. “We took some lumps last year but our Grade 12s got a lot of experience from it. It’s encouraging to see we can compete with the teams in our tier and still go toe-to-toe with a few on the outside as well.”
Grade 12 forward Roman Nohal has elevated his game from a year ago and that was evident with his 23-point performance in Wednesday’s 83-61 loss to the Richmond Colts that dropped the Marlins to 2-1. Point guard Apaar Sahota is another key returnee while Grade 11s Javon Reed and Lukas Vint have also been impressive.
The Marlins trailed the Colts by just two points (33-31) at the half but watched their Grade 11 standout Arminas Ilciukas put on a show over the final 20 minutes — scoring 26 of his game-high 29 points including five three-pointers in the third quarter alone as the visitors opened up a 62-47 lead.
“It just got us out of the rhythm of our own game,” added Dhillon of Ilciukas’ three-point bombs. “That’s what we tried to tell them after the game that we were right there until one guy really heated up for them. We are going to see them again in the playoffs and we know we can play with them.”
The Marlins will begin the new year at the renowned 55th annual Chancellor Tournament at St. Thomas More and also at the Britannia Invitational, on top of a steady diet of city league play.
