It was a slam dunk for the Dover Bay Dolphins to make provincials.
Dover Bay Secondary School’s senior AAA boys’ basketball team won the Vancouver Island championship in convincing fashion this past weekend, Feb. 22-24, at Wellington Secondary School.
Dover defeated the Mark Isfeld Ice in the final, 105-79, after winning their quarterfinal and semifinal games by even larger margins. Tarman Sandhu led the Dolphins with 23 points in the final and Hudson Trood and Oyama Crouch each scored 14.
“The whole plan of peaking at the right time is coming together perfectly,” said Darren Seaman, the team’s coach.
Isfeld played an unpredictable style of defence, but Seaman said his team was well prepared to handle whatever the opposition brought. He said the process to get back to provincials started a month after the 2022-23 season ended.
“They’re really excited because they really have worked hard, and so to get the results – and convincing and dominating – was really great,” the coach said.
There’s a week and a half until provincials March 6-9 at the Langley Events Centre, and the Dolphins, last year’s B.C. runners-up, anticipate receiving a top-three seed.
“We’ll keep them sharp, we’ll keep their feet fast,” Seaman said. “We’re still trying to improve individually – we do a lot of skill work even at this time of year, so we’ll try and keep our shooting sharp and their skills work sharp and some specific details.”
The Wellington Wildcats have also qualified for provincials on the strength of a bronze-medal win at Islands. Welly defeated Alberni District Secondary 80-66, with Grayson Ritzand scoring 29 points and Jacob Merilees adding 22.
Dover’s Frank Linder was selected MVP at Islands. Crouch, Sandhu and Ritzand were first-team all-stars and Dover’s Joe Linder and Wellington’s Merilees and Jackson Peters were second-team all-stars.
At senior AA boys’ Islands at Brentwood College, the John Barsby Bulldogs finished second, losing 79-61 to the host team in the final on Saturday, Feb. 24. Jonny Durkan and Cohen Cadieux each scored 18 in the final and both were first-team all-stars.
Barsby’s boys get to compete at provincials at the Langley Events Centre from March 6-9.
At senior AAAA boys’ Islands at Oak Bay Secondary, the Nanaimo District Secondary School Islanders placed fourth after falling to the Belmont Bulldogs in the bronze-medal game, 66-61. Boyd Anderson led NDSS with 22 points in the game and was a second-team all-star.
Nanaimo Christian School’s senior A boys were seventh at Islands this past weekend in Duncan.
Senior girls’ basketball provincials start Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Langley Events Centre. The only local team participating is the senior A Nanaimo Christian School Trail Blazers. NCS was second at Islands Feb 12-13 at Duncan Christian School, falling 72-40 to Pacific Christian in the final. Elizabeth Rocha led the Trail Blazers with 16 points and she and Nicole Hobbs were first-team all-stars. Ava Manshanden was a second-team all-star.
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