The Burnaby South Rebels won their first-ever B.C. high school juvenile boys' basketball title.
The Rebels avenged two earlier losses this season to top-ranked Vancouver College, winning the B.C. banner following a 62-52 win over the Fighting Irish at Kitsilano Secondary on Saturday.
"The players came in fairly ready to play. They had been in that scenerio before. They knew what they had to do," said South coach Mike Bell.
In a previous meeting on home court, South lost a narrow decision to College by just two points.
At Saturday's neutral site, it was a winner-take-all matchup between South's overall superior height advantage and College's quickness.
"We used our size and were pretty dependent on the boards. We believed if we're on the boards, we'll be successful," Bell said.
Tyus Batiste played a key role in the championship final, coming off the bench midway through the opening quarter to score 12 points and spark South to an early 11point lead.
The Rebels held that lead through half time, but Vancouver College rallied in the third, outscoring Burnaby 15-5 in the quarter to take its first lead of the game.
South replied with a full-court press while netting 18 points in the final frame in the comeback win.
Batiste finished the game with a team-high 17 points, three assists and two steals.
First team all-star Nic Trninic added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Jermaine Haley was named the tournament MVP, averaging more than 12 points, six assists, seven rebounds and three steals per game through four tournament games.
No. 2-ranked South opened with a 59-49 win over Robert Bateman.
Haley led the Rebels with a double-double, scoring 17 points and adding 10 assists and seven rebounds. Trninic had a teamhigh 19 points and nine boards.
The Rebels jumped out to a 34-19 first-half lead en route to a 55-45 victory over No. 7 seed St. George's on Day 2 of the competition.
Haley and Trninic both had big games again, while second team all-star E.J. Mabone chipped in with 10 points.
In the semifinals, South knocked off host Kitsilano by a 66-37 score.
The Rebels opened up with a 15-0 run and finished the first quarter holding a 26-8 lead.
South took its collective foot off the gas in the next two quarters but got back on message in the final frame with Mike Almeida's 10-point and four-rebound contribution to advance to the final against College.
Mabone led the Rebels with 17 points and six steals. Almeida finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and a half-dozen thefts.
"I am a very proud coach. It was a season full of ups and downs," said Bell.
"I was trying to hold in tears - just raw emotion."
