G.P. Vanier鈥檚 annual Tucky Schellinck Junior Boys Basketball Tournament tipped off last Friday with a solid mix of local, Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland teams.

Vying for the tournament trophy were local competitors Highland Raiders and G.P. Vanier Towhees along with Ballenas (Parksville), Brooks (Powell River), Wellington (Nanaimo), St. Michaels University-SMUS (Victoria) and Steveston-London (Richmond). Cedar (Nanaimo) dropped out of the tournament a few days before tipoff.

In first round action Ballenas opened with a decisive win over Brooks, Steve Nash鈥檚 alma mater SMUS won a 49-46 nail biter over the courageous boys from Highland, and Steveston-London edged the Wellington Wildcats 53-46. With Cedar bowing out of the tournament, Vanier also advanced on Friday afternoon.

Vanier opened semifinal play Saturday by locking horns with the talented Ballenas Whalers. Following a prior meeting just before Christmas, Vanier was aware of Ballenas鈥� balanced athletic play and their strong fast break offence. Ballenas broke open a close game by ending the first half on a 12-0 run to open a 16-point lead. Vanier regrouped and narrowed the lead to five points in the final quarter, but ultimately fell 55-44 to an excellent opponent. In the other semifinal, the Steveston-London Sharks were too much for a young SMUS team in a 58-34 victory.

On the consolation side of the tournament, the Raiders balanced outside shooting with dominant inside play to rack up a 63-56 win over Brooks. Later in the afternoon the Raiders went toe-to-toe with a skilled Wellington team, narrowly losing 62-53. Other Saturday games included Wellington winning a close one over Brooks 48-42 to take fifth place.

With third place up for grabs, the Towhees tipped off a 2:30 p.m. game against SMUS. Vanier was hungry for a win in front of their home crowd and quickly jumped out into the lead. Vanier鈥檚 pressure defence forced a number of turnovers that were quickly converted into Towhee points. Credit must be given to the disciplined SMUS squad, who never wavered and managed to keep the game close with fundamental skills and timely shooting. When the final buzzer sounded, G.P. Vanier secured third place for the tournament with a 65-51 win.

The finals pitted a very quick Steveston-London team against the athletic Whalers. The Richmond squad trailed from the start as their offence struggled against the tough zone defence of Ballenas. This was a terrific battle between two tough junior teams, both willing to hit the floor for loose balls, taking charges and playing intense defence.

With just two minutes left in the fourth quarter and Ballenas with a seemingly comfortable eight-point lead, the Sharks mounted a furious comeback. The final seconds saw a flurry of clutch shots from the Sharks tying the game at 42-42 as both teams leapt off their respective benches. But a tough foul call with just five seconds remaining gave two free throws to Jordan Roy of Ballenas, who calmly knocked down both to capture the trophy for the Whalers.

Tournament all-stars were: Malcolm Lee (Steveston-London), Sean Rae (Ballenas), Ethan Schulz (Wellington), Nick Tancon (Highland) and Madison McRae (Vanier). The dual MVP awards were handed out to Josh Lindenthaler (Steveston-London) and Liam O鈥橞rien (Ballenas). 鈥═wo local boys led the tournament in scoring: Madison McRae with an average of 28 points per game, and Nick Tancon with 25 points per game (including a tournament-high 37 against Brooks), show that the future of local basketball is very bright.

Organizers thank everyone involved in making this such a great weekend showcase for the sport of basketball鈥�the referees for their consistent work throughout the weekend, the parents who ran the tournament concession and prize draws as well as Lawrence Anderson who organized and secured all of the team prizes, awards and individual plaques.

鈥淎nd a huge thank you to all of the young men and women who diligently looked after the score clock and score keeping for the tournament. Without their assistance tournaments like this simply wouldn鈥檛 run,鈥� a tourney spokesperson said.

鈥� Vanier Towhees