For the third straight year, the Walnut Grove Gators are heading to the B.C. championships.
The Grade 8 boys basketball team booked their ticket for the provincial championships with a decisive 68-41 victory over Semiahmoo on Tuesday night at North Delta Secondary.
The teams were playing in the bronze medal game at the Fraser Valley championships with the winner securing the final berth to the provincial championships. The event runs March 6 to 8 at Pitt Meadows Secondary.
The Gators’ James Woods and Luke Adams earned all-star awards.
Walnut Grove was seeded second out of the 32 Fraser Valley teams and after winning their first game by forfeit, the Gators made the final eight with a 47-26 win over Pitt Meadows.
The Gators then edged No. 10 Panorama Ridge 60-52 in the quarter-finals but lost 45-29 to the No. 3 W.A. Fraser Falcons.
Semiahmoo had entered the Fraser Valleys as the top seed.
The Brookswood Bobcats placed eighth at the Fraser Valleys.
The ’Cats, who were seeded eighth, beat No. 25 Southridge 29-24 and No. 9 Westview 43-38 in a pair of games last week at Brookswood Secondary.
They lost 45-37 in the quarter-finals to Semiahmoo, 45-21 to Eugene Reimer and then 55-28 to Tamanawis.
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After winning their first two games at the Fraser Valley regional championships, the Langley Christian Grade 8 girls team went 0-3 in the championship round to finish eighth out of the 32 teams.
The Lightning — who were seeded seventh — won their first two games last week, 43-19 over Seaquam and 37-34 over Abbotsford Middle. Both games were at Langley Christian.
But down to the final eight at Maple Ridge Secondary, the Lightning lost 48-30 to Sullivan, 45-28 to G.W. Graham and 41-39 to the Howe Bulldogs.
