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Belmont junior boys basketball team feels confident heading to the provincial championships

The Bulldogs were one of the top four Island teams that made it to the tournament.
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Belmont Bulldogs Jr. boys basketball team will compete in the provincial championships in Langley starting this weekend. (Heather Grove/Breakwater Photography)

The Belmont junior boys basketball team is headed for the provincial championships this weekend at the Langley Events Centre.

Head coach Curt Spaven has helped the Bulldogs to the provincial tournament for the second year in a row.

The core of the team are Grade 10 players, returing from last year’s junior team. Some of the members on the team have played in night league basketball together for four or five years, which has helped them develop into a tight-knit group.

The team is led by co-captains Riley Merryweather and Hunter Thomsen. Thomsen, labelled the heartbeat of the team, has an excellent work ethic and leadership and does a lot that doesn’t end up on the stat sheet, Spaven said.

Grade 10, Markus Modrovic, was an Island All-Star, and will be relied on at the B.C.’s.

Spaven has a great group, and a two players in particular that have stepped up for the team this season. In order to make his bench stronger and maximize the rotation for the team, he asked Adrian Vicente and Dillan Moore - that Spaven said are definitely starter calibre - to come off the bench, and they agreed for the good of the team.

The team have had some tight games against some of the top teams in the province this season and has even beaten traditional powerhouse St. Georges from Vancouver, B.C. by six points. St. Georges is a No. 5 seed in the provincial tournament. The Bulldogs only lost by one point to the No. 2 seeded Sir Charles Tupper, as Vicente’s buzzer-beater three left his hands a hair too late. Belmont is ready and not intimidated to compete, Spaven said.

The Island has had really strong teams this season and he has enjoyed playing good teams and hopes the talent continues to grow, Spaven said. Only four teams from the Island make it to the provincial championships, but Spaven said the top eight teams from the area could have easily been competitive in the tournament.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of us knock off a big team over there,” he said.

Last year Belmont lost in the first round and didn’t place, but finished around 22 out of 32 teams.

The Bulldogs are a No. 23 overall seed this time around and will face No. 10 seed, Centennial, in their first game on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.


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lindsey.horsting@goldstreamgazette.com