Rainmakers gain number Four Seed at Provincials, will take on Abbotsford in Tournament Opener Wednesday

The Charles Hays Rainmakers
are off to Langley for the
AAA Provincials, their first game
takes place Wednesday evening

A top four seeding and some dangerous competition were the orders of the day for the Charles Hays Senior Boys Rainmakers on Sunday, as the AAA Provincial Tournament draw was streamed across the province on Sunday.

Howard Tsumura of the Vancouver Province and Chris Kennedy were the hosts of the Sunday event, highlighting all four Divisions for this weeks Provincial Tournament.

Sunday delivered some big news for Rainmaker fans, with the announcement that the Makers' have been marked as a Top Four contender, claiming the number four ranking heading into Wednesday's opening schedule

For the Charles Hays squad, the tournament tip off comes Wednesday with a game at 8:15 in the evening from the Langley Events Centre, when they will take on the number 13 ranked Abbotsford Panthers.

Though as noted by Tsumura and Kennedy, the ranking numbers may be a bit deceptive, as the Fraser Valley Squad offers up a strong line up led by Chase Claypool a dominant player on the court who can change the flow of the game quickly.

The hosts expressed some excitement for the match up and provided their props to the Rainmakers return once again to Provincials. Observing that the team coached by Mel and Ryan Bishop are no longer an unknown when they arrive in Langley, that thanks to their success in past tournaments and from their work this season. Justin McChesney  received special attention on Sunday's program, with his work from last year still keeping his profile high in BC basketball circles.

Not that they need much motivation heading into tournament week, but the Rainmakers will be looking to prove Chris Kennedy wrong, during Sunday's program the program host selected the Abbotsford squad as his Tournament pick.

The opening draw for the AAA Provincials was announced on Sunday,
with the Charles Hays Rainmakers set to take on Abbotsford
(Click to enlarge the bracket)

The AAA tournament has been described as the one that features the most likely opportunity for upsets, with a competitive block of teams and strong parity found among the 16 contenders for the title. The team to beat heading into game one is Southridge out of Surrey, which claimed the Number One seed on Sunday.

The Rainmakers are not the only Northwest representative making their way to Langley,  Nechako Lakes and Bulkley Vally Christian have both qualified for the Single A tournament, while the Smithers Secondary Gryphons are turning some heads as they prepare for Double A tournament start.

The Provincials  run from Wednesday mornings icebreaker match ups through the week, leading up to Saturday night's Grand Finales, with the AAA Provincial Tourney Championship to start at 6 PM.

With three days of high tempo basketball all that stands between the Rainmakers and another shot at a Provincial title.

You can review the breakdown of the AAA Bracket from Sunday's streamcast here.

The overview of the team match ups and some of the inside hoops background starts just after the 27 minute mark.

You can watch all of the Tournament action through the Pay Per View portal on the AAA Tournament website, there is a daily and tournament rate for those interested in the video stream presentation this week.

For updates on the Rainmaker journey to Langley see the CHSS Twitter feed here.

More items related Charles Hays athletics can be found on our archive page here.