While the prospects of a repeat as AA Basketball champions was dashed on opening day, the Charles Hays Rainmakers did rebound to a fashion to leave the annual provincials with a winning record.
Knocked out of the run for a banner on Wednesday by a highly motivated Windsor squad that claimed one of the early upsets of tournament time, the Maker's did return to form for the next three contests with strong results from Thursday to Saturday morning's farewell to tournament time.
Thursday saw the Rainmakers top Southern Okanagan by an eighteen spread with a 68-46 final, with Kole Jones named Player of the Game.
Friday was a Northern matchup with Vanderhoof's Nechako Valley with the Rainmakers once again in to double digits in a victory, topping their northern cousins 72-51, with Joseph Lewis selected as Player of the Game.
Saturday's wrap to Provincials had the Rainmakers tipping off against home town Langley Christian, which had a large crowd of supporters on hand for the contest. The play on the court responded to the audience participation from the stands, with both teams exchanging baskets and showing some strong defensive play, turnovers and rebounding proving to be difference as the Rainmakers finally built up on their lead towards the 79-64 final.
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| Kole Jones claiming his second Player of the Game award from Provincials |
Kole Jones collected his second Player of the Game award for his four days of work on the courts of the Langley Events Centre.
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| Players, Fans and High School Basketball officials with a standing ovation to herald the legendary career of Rainmaker coach Mel Bishop (all images from TFSE streamcast) |
The Langley fans, tournament officials, players and others in the Langley Events Centre on the day also celebrated Mel Bishop's last game as a high school coach with Charles Hays.
Providing the 41 year long career basketball legend with a standing ovation at game's end, a fitting salute for the highly acclaimed figure in Provincial Basketball.
The tournament Championship went to Kamloops for 2022, with the Westsyde Whonda's claiming their banner in a highly entertaining 73-71victory over Victoria's Lambrick Park in the AA championship.
A video highlight package of the AA final can be viewed here.
For those that wish to review the play, tournament video remains available on a pay per view basis through the provincial AA Tournament website.
A good source of background on Tournament time comes from the Varsity Letters blog, which has covered the High School event with a wide range of stories and background
You can review the Rainmakers season from our archive page.
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