Based on where they finished compared to where they were seeded, and the fact that they gave the eventual champions their toughest challenge, it could be argued that Shawnigan Lake School’s senior boys basketball team was a surprise at the provincial AA championships in Langley last weekend.
Shawnigan head coach Vito Pasquale was not among those who were surprised, though.
“When we’ve played Brentwood six times a year, you look at the games, and we were getting closer, raising our level of play,” Pasquale said. “For us, I expected us to do some damage to these teams. I expected that, based on where our curve was going.”
“Maybe we did surprise a few,” he allowed. “We probably surprised a lot of people who didn’t realize how good Vancouver Island basketball is. Our zone is the strongest in the province in AA by far. There’s not even an argument.”
Over the last five years, the Island has produced four provincial AA champions, including Brentwood College School, who won in 2017 and again this year. The one year out of those five that the Island didn’t produce the champion team, it still had three teams in the top five.
Shawnigan entered last weekend’s tournament ranked eighth, and immediately knocked off ninth-seeded Pacific Academy 71-65. Unfortunately, that set up a showdown with Brentwood, the sixth meeting of the season between the longtime rivals. Shawnigan led 35-27 at halftime, but Brentwood eventually won 75-55.
“We probably gave Brentwood their biggest scare of the tournament,” Pasquale said. “I was pretty happy with our guys.”
Shawnigan knocked off fourth-seeded Charles Hays 90-56 in the third round, then downed sixth-seeded Britannia 62-55 to finish fifth, a result that Pasquale felt could have been better had they not been on the same side of the draw as Brentwood.
“I’m optimistic we would have placed higher than fifth,” he said. “When everything is said and done, it’s unfortunate where they put us in the draw.”
Three of four quarterfinals featured the top two teams from the same region, further calling into question the way things were set up.
“It was a little bit puzzling,” Pasquale said.
Grade 10 standout Dru-Leo Leusogi-Ape was named a first-team all-star at the end of the tournament, and Sergio Pereira was selected to the second team. Pereira and fellow big man Scott Leslie are the only starters graduating this year. Most key players, including Leusogi-Ape, Grade 11 Tunde Adepitan, and the entire starting back court, are eligible to return.
“All our guards will be back,” Pasquale noted. “That’s always good in high school ball. It’s a guard game. That will be a good thing the next year or two.”
The senior team also will also welcome several players from the Shawnigan junior team that missed qualifying for their provincial tournament by a single shot. Pasquale hopes he can follow Brentwood coach Blake Gage’s lead and build a strong group of young senior players and junior additions into a contender.
“You look at what Blake’s done, he’s taken a young group, and turned them into one of the most powerful groups in the province in a decade or so. We will have an opportunity over the next few years to get back there and maybe do better than fifth.
“To do what Blake did isn’t easy, to defend a title. That’s a standard of excellence. I’m really happy for Blake and Brentwood for that.”