The final four teams chasing a championship at the Surrey RCMP Classic have been determined.
The three-time defending champion Tamanawis Wildcats, last year’s runner-up Panorama Ridge Thunder, as well as the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers and Semiahmoo Totems – each among the tournament's top seeds – all did the expected and have qualified for Friday night’s semifinal round with convincing wins in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
The Wildcats are a game away from their seventh consecutive appearance in the championship game of the all-Surrey senior boys high school basketball tournament after a 75-43 triumph over the North Surrey Spartans Wednesday evening at Enver Creek Secondary.
Ten players on the Tamanawis roster scored in the one-sided win. Akash Dhaliwal led the way with 18 points, with Grade 10 forward Jeevan Sidhu adding 14 and Kyle Uppal netting 12.
Luke Son scored 12 points, tops among Spartans scorers.
Panorama Ridge rolled past the Fraser Heights Firehawks 84-58 at Fleetwood Park Secondary. Gurman Banghu and Harsimran Bhullar were the top scorers for the Thunder with 18 points each, with Gurshael Jessel adding 15.
Sumeet Singh topped the Firehawks with 14 points.
The Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, seeking their first-ever appearance in an RCMP Classic championship game, reached the semifinal round for the fifth straight year with an 88-66 triumph over the Guildford Park Sabres at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary in Cloverdale.
A 27-point effort from guard Brandon Tabing, which included five three-point buckets, helped the Panthers to the win. Dylan Kinley added 22 points for Tweedsmuir.
Two South Surrey schools battled the the final quarterfinal match, and the Semiahmoo Totems prevailed with an 85-49 victory over the Southridge Storm at Enver Creek.
Brian Wallack drained six treys for Semiahmoo and led his team with 32 points. Vlad Mihaila was good on five shots from behind the three-popint line and finished with 21 points.
The top scorer for Southridge was Landon Gill with 15 points.
Panorama Ridge will tip-off against Tamanawis in the first semifinal Friday night at 5:45 p.m. at Enver Creek Secondary. The second semifinal is at 7:45 p.m. and pits Lord Tweedsmuir against Semiahmoo.
Semifinal losers will play for third place at 5:45 Saturday at Enver Creek, with the championship game to follow at 7:45 p.m.