Skill and hard work can’t be substituted, but confidence is an ingredient that pulls everything together.
The Burnaby South Rebels exited the Langley Events Centre on Tuesday as the provincial junior boys basketball champions, after downing the Sir Charles Tupper Tigers 58-46 in the final.
In a showdown that saw them fall behind 10-3 early, the Rebels were unwavering in their faith in each other and the preparation that got them to the final. They also have a familiarity with their opponent that helped circle everything back to the task at hand.
“Our games against Tupper always bring out our best,” noted Burnaby South co-coach Karl Brysch. “Several players from both teams know each other and play together outside of high school. One of our players is related to the coach and a player on Tupper. We know who we need to focus on and did a pretty good job sticking to the plan.”
Down three points after one quarter, the Rebels clipped that to a single point on Jiordano Khan’s layup early in the second frame, unleashing a 13-0 run that included Jaden De Leon’s trey with five minutes before halftime. The Tigers did respond, but Burnaby held a 30-24 lead entering the second half.
The East Vancouver squad, which was seeded second to start the tourney, clawed to within three points with 2:10 left in the quarter, but the Rebels ended the third on a 6-3 mini-run, and in the fourth quarter the defence did the rest. Over the final eight minutes, Burnaby outscored Tupper 14-8.
Big-time performances from Kyle Kirmaci and Khan, with the tasks of guarding the Tigers shooting guard and six-foot-five post, respectively, earned special kudos from the coach. In Tupper’s semifinal win, Kirmaci’s assignment had rung up 29 points, including seven treys, but was limited to just 11 points and only one of the three-point variety in the final.
Tupper’s Toni Maric proved to be a handful, but Khan limited his damage on the boards before the Tigers bigman ran into foul trouble.
“Kyle was definitely a key in slowing him down and limiting his ability to do what he wanted. I also thought that Jiordano did an excellent job guarding the low post area against (Maric),” said Brysch, who shares the coaching duties with Cody Cormack.
It was truly a star turn by all those in yellow. Baltej Sohal, named the tourney MVP, joined player-of-the-game Brandon Obuyes with a team-high 14 points each, while Grade 9 Emir Krupic counted 10 points. Krupic would be selected to the first all-star team, while Khan was a second team all-star.
Entering as the eighth seed, Burnaby had already run the gauntlet, rolling off a consistent string of 20-point wins over Lambrick Park (79-55), Argyle (75-56) and Okanagan Mission (78-56) before crossing paths with West Vancouver in the semifinal. It was the Highlanders who had stymied the Rebels in the Vancouver and district finals, providing extra texture to the contest.
Revenge was sweet, as the Rebels led 18-7 after one quarter and by 10 at halftime before prevailing 67-47.
In a season where they won all but three games, those three losses stood out, said Brysch.
“Each created a greater focus on what we needed to do to succeed. If you win, as a player, I don’t think you focus so much on making the necessary changes required to continue to win. But once you lose, then everything is on the table,” he said.
The Burnaby South Rebels roster includes: Gabriel Canatoy, Jaden De Leon, Jiordano Khan, Kyle Kirmaci, Emir Krupic, Jasper Liao, Shan Lumase, Ethan Magsambol, Brandon Obuyes, Hanz Paloma, Baltej Sohal, Leonard Tesarik, Aidan Wilson and Richie Xiao
