If you had told head coach Anthony Pezzente when he took over the Holy Cross basketball program that they would be Fraser Valley 4A champions, he would not have believed you.
But on Sunday night in front of a crowd of more than 1,900 fans at 黑马磁力 Events Centre, Holy Cross captured the school鈥檚 first Fraser Valley title at that level with a thorough 83-62 victory over the Terry Fox Ravens.
鈥淲hen Matt (LeChasseur) and I took over 10 years ago, we thought we could be here, but if you had to told us this would actually happen, I would call you a liar,鈥� Pezzente said as his players celebrated behind him. 鈥淲e tell the kids that we are an underdog everyday and when we play like that, loose and relaxed, we are a very good basketball team.鈥�
鈥淚 would argue the Fraser Valley is the toughest division and we won it and that鈥檚 not bad for a 2A size school playing up 4A and that鈥檚 really a credit to the kids.鈥�
READ ALSO:
The Crusaders, the Fraser Valley鈥檚 third seed, led wire-to-wire with the score tied just twice in the first quarter over the No. 1 Ravens, handing Terry Fox their biggest defeat of the season against a B.C. opponent.
Uyi Ologhola scored 32 points and was named the Fraser Valley Most Valuable Player, while Brent Padilla had 18 and Michael Risi finished with a dozen points. Both were Fraser Valley first team all-stars.
The Ravens were led by 20 points from Cam Slaymaker and 10 points from David Chien, a Fraser Valley second team all-star.
In the Fraser Valley third-place game, the No. 2 Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers held off the No. 5 W.J. Mouat Hawks 85-83 while the No. 8 Walnut Grove Gators won 75-72 over the No. 9 Centennial Centaurs in the fifth/sixth place game.
And in a battle for the seventh and final Fraser Valley playoff berth to the B.C. High School Boys 4A Championships, the No. 7 Heritage Woods Kodiaks defeated the No. 12 Guildford Park Sabres 85-72.
Joining Risi and Padilla as first team all-stars, were Terry Fox鈥檚 Grady Stanyer, Lord Tweedsmuir鈥檚 Arjun Samra and W.J. Mouat鈥檚 Gershaun Sarowa.
Second team all-stars were Chien, Dominic Parolin (Semiahmoo), Jarrett Jacobs (Walnut Grove), Austin Swedish (Lord Tweedsmuir) and Jevan Uppal (W.J. Mouat).
