A “wide open” Richmond Senior Boys Championships gets underway tomorrow at Hugh Boyd and Steveston-London schools.
At least five of the eight participating teams are capable of walking away with city honours in a new format that will see the tourney played over nine days. Following quarter-final and semi-final rounds on Wednesday and Thursday, the championships will conclude with the title game on Thursday, Feb. 20 (7:30 p.m.) at Boyd which is hosting all but two opening round games.
Which two teams will be playing for city bragging rights is anyone’s guess.
The McMath Wildcats enter as the No. 1 seed thanks to an 8-1 league record. That one loss happened to be the the fourth place MacNeill Wildcats (7-2) last month. Opening round wins would mean a semi-final tilt at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday.
The defending champion Richmond Colts (7-2) award for a third place finish is a Wednesday afternoon (2:15 p.m.) quarter-final encounter at Boyd with the host Trojans (4-5) who have been ranked among the top 10 2A schools in the province all season.
The second place Steveston-London Sharks (8-1) will host the Cambie Crusaders (4-5) in the opening round (7:30 p.m.). A potential semi-final date with the Colts would set the stage for an intriguing rematch after the Sharks prevailed 105-98 just over a week ago.
McMath, Steveston-London, MacNeill and Richmond High have all made appearances in the provincial 3A rankings this season.
Other quarter-final match-ups include the the Ravens taking on the McNair Marlins (4-5) and the Wildcats up against the RC Palmer Griffins (2-7). Those games take place at Steveston-London (5:45 p.m.) and Boyd (4 p.m.) respectively.
