The spotlight was clearly on the 'bigs' to start Friday's key semifinal matchup.
Burnaby South Rebels' post Sasha Vujisic was more than happy to be there and on centre stage.
Getting to back up his six-foot-10 frame with a standout performance against a rival towering centre, Vujisic played a key role as the Rebels defeated the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 69-52 to advance to Saturday's 4-A provincial championship final.
The Grade 12 forward may have shot a season-low seven points over 12 minutes, but his work in Burnaby's paint set in motion a powerful impact that resonated throughout the semifinal. Coupled with nine boards and five blocked shots -- and just as many shots prevented just by being in the way -- Vujisic anchored a stellar team effort in shutting down a dangerous attack.
He said it felt good going toe-to-toe with College's Jacob Holt, a six-foot-nine centre who drove the No. 4-seed Fighting Irish's offence.
"I brought back the finger-wag today. ... I didn't have a great game offensively, but i think i held my own on defence," said Vujisic.
The No. 1-ranked Rebels never trailed on the night, cruising out to a 20-7 lead midway through the first quarter. In that span, Vujisic batted away two in-close shots, as both Holt and six-foot-four Hunter Cruz-Dumont were given no easy shots.
Up 28-13 to start the second frame, Burnaby South got into some foul trouble as Vancouver got on a roll to narrow the gap a bit to 13 points by half time.
Demonstrating the explosive ability that catapulted them past Abbotsford 101-87 in Thursday's quarter-final, the Fighting Irish got into a better shooting groove in the third quarter and hit 50 per cent from the field, to creep within five points with 10 minutes left.
That fourth quarter, however, was another shining example of the Rebels defence, as they kept a seemingly gassed Van College squad off the scoresheet for the first six minutes, while hitting 11-straight points to restore the lead to 16 points. Van College was held to just five points over those 10 minutes, firing a dismal two-for-14 from field goal range.
Vujisic, who sat through portions of the second and third quarter due to fouls, said memories of last year's run, which saw him suffer an ankle injury in the 2019 quarter-finals, was additional fuel.
"It brings back memories. This was a place i should have been last year, so I'm going to make sure that this time we get it for sure," he said of Saturday's championship final.
Justin Sunga led Burnaby South with 18 points and five assists, while fellow Grade 11 guard and Player of the Game Jareb Pineda netted 17 points, including four treys, and five rebounds. Grade 10 post Karan Aujla delivered 13 points and eight boards, while Emir Krupic scored 10.
For Van College, Holt finished with a game-high 31 points, while Cruz-Dumont, who put up 40 against Abbotsford on Thursday, was liimited to just 10 after going just three-for-16.
Neither team shot particularly well, with the Rebels cashing in on 35.7 per cent of their field goal attempts, while the Fighting Irish were 32.1 per cent, after connecting on 62 per cent a day earlier.
Now, Burnaby South faces the No. 3-seed Kelowna Owls, who dispatched Handsworth 84-54 in their semifinal. The two teams met a month ago in the Western Canada Challenge on the Owls turf, with the Rebels emerging with a 82-58 victory. They also met twice in the opening weeks of the season, with Burnaby taking the first match 72-62 in a Port Moody tournament, and Kelowna prevailed 78-77 at the Tsumura Invitational at the LEC a week later.
Vujisic, who was a young player on the team when it won the 2018 B.C. championship and sidelined for last year's third-place finish, said getting to the final one more time presents a perfect opportunity.
"We came through (against Van College) and we're going to bring it tomorrow," he said.
The final tips off at 8:15 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
