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Hoops teams rep Surrey, Delta schools at season-kickoff TBI tournament

The high school hoops season has started in Surrey, Delta and the rest of the province, with games and tournaments filling gym calendars pre-Christmas.

One of the year's first and most anticipated tourneys is the Tsumura Basketball Invitational, involving 64 of B.C.'s best boys and girls basketball teams at Langley Events Centre.

North Deltan Howard Tsumura, hall-of-fame sports reporter and tournament namesake, plays a large role in selecting the participating teams.

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The 2023 Seaquam Seahawks senior girls basketball team, winners of the Tsumura Basketball Invitational tournament at Langley Events Centre. Contributed photo: Ryan Molag/LEC

The annual tournaments "are an absolute labour of love for me," Tsumura says. "As we move into our second decade here, at a place I like to think is at the very heart of our game provincially, the goal has continued to centre around showcasing the best of B.C. in terms of two separate 16-team brackets over each of our two weeks of play. To that end, we’ve got the best of best teams, and we’ve got some of the best teams that perhaps you didn’t know about.”

Admission is free at the LEC to see the games, also streamed free on TFSETV.ca. Schedules and results are posted on langleyeventscentre.com/tbi.

Saturday (Dec. 7), King George Dragons and Dover Bay Dolphins teams were crowned Select 16 and Super 16 division champs, respectively, in TBI boys tournament finals.

Next up at the TBI, from Wednesday to Saturday (Dec. 11-14), are 32 girls teams in action including four from Surrey (Semiahmoo, Lord Tweedsmuir, Holy Cross and Johnston Heights). The reigning champs of the Super 16 bracket are North Delta's Seaquam Seahawks, who face Sa-Hali (Kamloops) on opening day, 6:15 p.m. start at LEC Centre Court.

Last week in the TBI boys tournament, Surrey school teams in action were Sullivan Heights, Grandview Heights and Fleetwood Park, all of which lost opening-round games on Dec. 4. 

 



Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news for Surrey Now-Leader and Black Press Media
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