The Burnaby South Rebels and the St. Thomas More Knights both advanced to the B.C. high school junior boys' basketball championships.
South earned the No. 1 Vancouver and District seed with a convincing 7337 victory over McMath of Richmond in the zone final last week.
Jermaine Hayley led the Rebels with 24 points, while E.J. Mabone chipped in with 13.
"We had our best game of the year," said South coach Mike Bell.
South had a more difficult time of it in the semi-final, getting by the top North Shore seed West Vancouver 60-51.
After a season of injury and illness, the South side is buying at the right time, said Bell.
One key player is 6-6 Nicolas Trninic, who is learning to bring his outside game closer to the hoop and was rewarded by scoring 14 points in the semifinl win over West Van.
"The biggest lesson is they have accepted the roles they need to play. We're starting to bond and we're all peaking at the right time now," added Bell, who last season helped guide the Grade 9 South boys to a B.C. hoop title.
The provincials will be hosted by Vancouver College, running from March 6 to 9.
STM also advanced to the JV provincials with a 51-47 win over independent rival St. George's last Wednesday.
J.J. DesLauriers led the Knights with 18 points, while Terrell Jana and Edward Ju added 16 and 15 points to the win.
"I'm proud of the boys and they're becoming a team," said STM alumnus and JV coach Dominic Zimmermann. "I don't think anyone expects us to make a noise, so it's a good position to be in."
