From a 47-point loss in December to a 10-point setback in February and the McMath Wildcats believe they can be even better.
The Richmond champions’ 73-63 defeat to the No. 1 ranked Byrne Creek Bulldogs in Friday’s Lower Mainland 3A title game at the Richmond Olympic Oval provided plenty of encouraging signs as they head to Langley next week for the provincial championships.
The Wildcats weren’t embarrassed like they were by the Bulldogs back at the Tsumura Invitational over two months ago. They just hope to get another crack at the Burnaby juggernaut and it might take reaching the provincial final to do so.
“We still had those mental lapses and a lot of missed free throws. Stuff that we can control,” said Wildcats co-coach Max Pecarsky. “That’s the discipline factor. That’s the basketball IQ factor that these kids are still working on. It has been a tough task to get them to learn about the game of basketball. They are so accustomed to having it easy for them.
“When they have tough opponent that is super aggressive they kind of get back into their shell and out of their comfort zone.”
The Bulldogs’ tremendous athleticism is a nightmare for their opponents. They play an aggressive and trapping defence that typically results in a feast of turnovers.
The Wildcats were hanging tough in the third quarter when Byrne Creek went on one of its trademark runs to open up a 16-point lead. It was enough to hold off a late charge that cut the deficit to 68-60 but McMath would get no closer despite Bulldogs’ standout Bithow Wan fouling out with eight minutes remaining.
Grade 10 forward Victor Radocaj showed why he played for the U16 national team last summer with a tremendous game defensively that caused the Bulldogs fits with his shot blocking ability. The 6-foot-9 standout was named to the Lower Mainland First All-Star Team, as was Jordin Kojima who led McMath with 19 points. Fellow senior Bryce Mason added 17 and was named to the Second All-Star Team. Rohan Balaggan, another Grade 10 starter, had 16.
“We had nothing to lose tonight and everything to gain. They were heavily favoured and we told our boys to just go out and do your best. Hopefully we learned from this and will clean up our game even more for provincials,” continued Pecarsky.
“Ever since I played, it’s been hard to beat a team three times. I would love one more shot at them. But first things first and that’s making sure we get out of the first round (at provincials). We have been a higher seed before losing our first game. Every team deserves to be there. That’s sports and anything can happen. We want take it one game at a time and be prepared as we can be for it."
