The Charles Hays Rainmakers of Prince Rupert won the annual Airshow Tournament at Pitt Meadows secondary over the weekend, finally bringing home the big trophy after bringing contenders to the event for the past 20 years.
The Rainmakers, who rate an honourable mention in the provincial triple A top 10 rankings in senior boys basketball, will be back next year to defend their title, said Marauders coach Rich Goulet.
The host Marauders played tough in their showcase event, and beat the Belmont Bulldogs of Victoria 80-67 on Friday afternoon in a game in front of a packed house.
Ryan Severinski led the way with 31 points in the game, while Giovanni Manu put up 17 despite foul trouble that had him on the bench and then out of the game early.
The Marauders opened the tournament with a close 67-65 loss to the double A Cambie Crusaders of Richmond. Manu led the scoring with 18 points, and Caleb Kinney had 10.
Pitt lost their final game to a very strong Nanaimo team 72-49. Manu led with 16 points, while Kurtis Severinski had a strong game with seven points and 11 rebounds, and Goulet said Ross Power was the player of the game with eight points.
The Pitt all-star for the tournament was a “very steady” point guard Jaden Anderson.
Quinn Leighton, a big guard from Charles Hays, was the tournament MVP.
Coumont leads Ramblers
The Maple Ridge Ramblers senior boys played at the Victoria Police Tournament over the weekend, and finished fourth in the eight-team field.
In their first game the Ramblers defeated Ballenas of Parksville 82-42. Leading the charge for Ridge was Tristan Coumont with an outstanding 34 points and 17 rebounds. He was selected a tournament all-star. Will Chartrand also contributed 21 points and seven boards.
The second game of the tournament was against a tough Victoria team, the Lambrick Park Lions. The Ramblers were down by a point at the end of the first quarter, which was the closest they got to the hot-shooting Lions. A top-10 team in double A, they made 16 treys and won 78-63.
Coumont again led the Ramblers with 23 points and 13 rebounds, while 12 points came from each of George Panagiotopavlos, Burke Brussow and Will Chartrand.
In the third-place game, Ridge lost to the host school St. Michaels of Victoria by a score of 62-44. The Blue Jags are the third-ranked team in double A.
Coach Ken Dockendorf said his was an injury-depleted and tired team, and they were only close for the first quarter. Coumont scored 17 and Brussow 16 to lead the offence, while Chartrand crashed the boards for eight rebounds.