Maple Ridge school takes home junior basketball title

Schools from across the district battled it out for the junior boys basketball champions with the Westview Secondary team laying claim to the title.

League champion playoffs were held Friday, Feb. 10, at Pitt Meadows Secondary by the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Secondary Schools Athletic Association where the Westview Wildcats battled it out against the Pitt Meadows Secondary Marauders in the championship game, winning by only two points, 43-41 – in a game that was a nail-biter until the bitter end.

The Wildcats battled back from a 26-14 deficit at halftime, and a 35-28 deficit at the end of the third quarter.

“Westview’s hard- working man-to-man defence held the Marauders to just six points in the fourth quarter,” explained Kate MacLeod with the school’s basketball academy.

Alvaro Gonzalez Zuniga scored eight points in the final quarter, including a three-pointer to tie the game with less than three minutes remaining.

Wildcats forward Simon Krepela finished as the game’s leading scorer with 26 points.

Keaton MacDonald with the Marauders led the team’s efforts with fifteen points.

It was “an entertaining game that was not decided until the final buzzer”, said MacLeod.

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“The gym was packed, with fans from both schools, cheering raucously for their team. Basketball fans were treated to an exciting final game between two teams that competed evenly all season,” she added.

Westview now advances to the Fraser North Zone Championships taking place this week, featuring the top teams from Burnaby, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school districts.

The teams will by vying for an opportunity to play at the 53rd annual 2023 Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament from Feb. 25-28 at the Langley Events Centre.

Pitt Meadows – and Maple Ridge Secondary, who defeated Garibaldi to take third place in the junior boys division – will be playing each other in a Challenge Game at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, for the final berth to play in the Fraser North Zone Championship Tournament.