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McMath Wildcats will play Vancouver College Fighting Irish in the semifinals tonight at 8 p.m. at the B.C. Junior Boys’ Basketball Championships at Langley Events Centre.
Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures
‘Cats claw way to B.C. Final 4
By Don Fennell
Published 3:50 PST, Mon February 25, 2019
Even fighting a cold, it wasn’t hard to hear
the excitement in Jon Acob’s voice.
With McMath Secondary’s junior boys’
basketball team set to face Vancouver College Fighting Irish in semifinal play
tonight (Feb. 25) at 8 p.m. at the provincial championships in Langley, the
veteran bench boss wasn’t at a loss for words.
“These are good times,” he said.
Indeed they are, after the Wildcats, seeded
sixth entering the 32-team B.C. tournament, went on an unexpected run to reach
the Final Four.
The run began with a 66-48 win over Sahali of
Kamloops last Saturday morning, a game that reflects what the Wildcats are all
about: team. Thirteen different players contributed to the scoring, led by
player-of-the-game Rio Hutchful’s 17 points.
McMath then pulled off a 57-56 win over St.
Georges Saints, a team that had spent much of the year ranked in the top five
provincially. St. Georges got off to a quick 10-0 lead and held a four-point
advantage with two minutes to play before a timely three-point shot from
Michael Kitka found the range. A put-back basket from Miguel Vargas then
propelled the Wildcats onto the quarter-finals, with Travis Hamberger pacing
the Wildcats with 19 points.
McMath reached the semis with a 49-41 win
over Fraser Valley champion Yale Lions.
Going into the tournament, McMath had only
one top-eight finish in school history (fourth in 2011). They hope to become
the first Richmond school to win a B.C. basketball title since Richmond High in
1998.
Regardless of the outcome, Acob says it’s
already been both a memorable and rewarding season.
“I’m really proud of this team,” he says. “It’s
very satisfying to see these guys rewarded.”
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