The SOSS grade 8 boys basketball team finished in 4th place at the Provincial Championships last weekend.The tournament, held in Pitt Meadows, featured 16 of the best grade 8 teams in B.C.

Their first opponent was Tamanawis, a number 1 seed out of Surrey. Having won the Fraser Valley tournament, Tamanawis came out supremely confident and tried to intimidate the young Hornets. Their antics during the warm-up were juvenile to say the least and only made SOSS more determined. The final score: SOSS 57  Tamanawis 52. This was considered to be a huge upset and it sent shock waves through the whole tournament!!

Kulbir Grewal hit an amazing 6 three pointers and led all scorers with 23 pts.

The second game pitted SOSS against Palmer Secondary of Richmond, the Vancouver and district champions–two number 1 seeds in row!! Not a thrilling game as both teams came out flat and appeared tired. Palmer led by 4 after the first quarter but SOSS came back to lead by 4 at the half. The Hornets found some legs in the second half, at one time scoring 18 unanswered pts to win 49 to 39. Kulbir Grewal had 19 and Gurshan Dhaliwal had 13 for SOSS.

Amazing–all of a sudden the kids from Oliver had defeated two teams ranked in the top 5 and are in the semi-finals!!

Vancouver College, last years champions,were our opponents for the semi-final game. College was BIG and the Hornets were beginning to show the effects of being away from home and not getting enough sleep. Our defense was not tough and our shooting was off and College went into half time with an 11 point lead. We changed to a zone defense in the second half which really confused College and allowed us to tie the score at 41 with only 40 seconds left on the clock. College went up by 3 with a basket and a free throw. With 9 seconds left we needed a three pointer. Kulbir Grewal’s shot rimmed out at the buzzer! College was in the final and we were in the game for 3rd and 4th.

Walnut Grove, Fraser valley #1 was our foe for 3rd and 4th. Not a good game for the Hornets as we were tired and leg weary. The kids played as hard as they could but Walnut Grove prevailed 46 to 32.

At the presentation ceremony, Kulbir Grewal was named to the first all-star team and Gurshan Dhaliwal was named to the second team. Both boys are very deserving of their awards.

This is the finest result ever achieved by a Grade 8 team from SOSS. It is also the first time we have ever had two players named to Provincial All-Star teams. At the beginning of the season we never dreamed we could go this far. Now we know we can play with the best.

This a talented group. With maturation, more self discipline and better decision making they can be the best.

Thanks to Roger McKay for this