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After waiting 33 years to win their second Interior Savings Western Canada Basketball Tournament title in 2015, the host Kelowna Owls became only the fourth team in 43 years to repeat as champions on Saturday.
An 84-71 victory over the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs not only was the third straight this season over the No 2 ranked team in B.C. quad-A high school basketball team from Vancouver, but solidified the Owls as the runaway No. 1-seeded team in the province.
Predictably, Harry Parmar, the Owls’ head coach, was pleased to see his team stay true to its defence-first philosophy on its way to the repeat, one he relishes just as much as the past one.
“They’re all sweet. This one’s just different,” Parmar said. “Last year was unexpected, but this year the expectation was that we were going to win. I don’t think we played our best tonight, but we found a way to win. I always say that we’re going to miss shots, but if our defence is good, we’ll always be fine. Our defence was sound tonight.”
Trailing 22-21 at the quarter, the Owls went on a 7-0 run to start the second and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way. They led 48-39 at the half and went into the final quarter with a 63-55 margin.
Parker Simson, after two relatively quiet games earlier in the week, displayed the attributes that earned him the tournament MVP award a year ago by scoring a team-high 18 points and making it a double-double performance by grabbing 15 rebounds.
The Grade 12 student athlete, who will play both basketball and football for the University of B.C. Thunderbirds next season, was named to the 2016 tournament’s first all-star team, while being selected as the most inspirational player of the three-day event.
“Most inspirational, I like that,” said Simson. “Usually I don’t really care that much about awards, but this is one I take pride in. Being a leader — always trying to get on guys, but at the same time giving them a boost, inspiring them, and being that guy who keeps a steady head when things are going down. Those are things I try to do out there.”
Beyond his individual accolades, Simson is even more proud of what his team was able to do on its home court, in front of another full house at Kelowna Secondary School’s Owls’ Nest.
“It’s special to do it two times in a row,” Simson said. “It wouldn’t get old, even if we won it 10 more times. It’s amazing to do it in front of so many fans. It feels like a college game with how loud it is.
“We’ve won tournaments with big crowds before but it’s just not the same as this. This is like another level. Anyone who comes to this tournament will tell you this one is special. They want to come to this tournament because it’s a really big deal.
Teammate Grant Shephard, named the Hank Grenda Memorial Trophy award winner as the 2016 MVP and presented with the Mark McKibbon Memorial Trophy as the best Owl in this year’s tournament, echoed Simson’s comments.
“A lot of practice and hard work led up to this, so it feels really good. It feels like it’s all paid off.”
The 6-foot-9 forward, with 15 points and 11 boards in the final, deflected the praise he received as the MVP to his fellow Owls.
“All my teammates contributed and they helped set me up for my buckets. Our guards did a really good job on defence – pressing and breaking their press. They created a lot of steals and easy buckets for us.”
Meanwhile, Grade 11 point guard, Mason Bourcier, contributed 13 points in the title matchup, and not only was named to the tournament’s first all-star team along with Simson, but won the Gerald Mitschke Memorial Trophy as the Owls’ best defensive player as well.
Despite three impressive wins and all the individual accolades, the Owls believe there’s still room for improvement as they prepare to for the B.C. quad-A championship tournament in Langley March 9-12.
“We know what we need to work on for the next month,” said Simson, a KSS captain. “Now we can get back to work and keep it going. As a team we can always run our plays better, and improve on defence. Personally, I want to be lights out in shooting at provincials.”
FREE THROWS: Colin McGrath joined the list of Owls’ award winners by being named to the tournament’s second all-star team . . . He was joined by Aher Aguak of Harry Ainlay of Edmonton, Zach Giesbrecht of John Taylor (Winnipeg) Ty Rowell of Walnut Grove (Langley) and Tyrell Laing of the Prince George Polars . . . Joining Bourcier and Simson on the first all-star squad were Harry Liu and Karn Virk of Churchill, who scored 24 and 19 points respectively in the championship game. James Wagner of John Taylor rounded up the first-team all-stars . . . Although it was only the Owls’ third win in their own tournament, it was a record 10th appearance by the Black and Gold in the final . . . With his three wins this year, coach Parmar moved into third place all-time on the win list with 15, two fewer than former KSS coach and player, Mickey Welder. Randy Coutts, coach of Kitsilano, has guided the Blue Demons to 22 wins through the years . . . The John Taylor Collegiate Pipers defeated the Harry Ainlay Titans of Edmonton 79-64 on Saturday to claim third place in the eight-team tournament.
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