Condor Classic Champs
The junior boys basketball team had success at its latest tournament in Prince George over the weekend, winning the 2017 Condor Classic.
“Everyone played with a lot of intensity and competitiveness. Our team worked very well together,” head coach Kevin Sawka said.
The Rainmakers led off the tourney with a dominant 98-19 win over Correlieu Secondary School (Quesnel). Colby Stephens led the team with 21 points, Kai Leighton scored 17 and Sean Sahai netted 13.
Following that, the boys defeated Kelly Road Secondary School 66-15. Leighton scored another 18 points and Tyler Jones had 16.
The next day, the squad beat Duchess Park in the closest game of the tournament, 71-40. Leighton had his best game of the tournament, dropping 27 points. Eric Lees scored 19.
In the championship game, CHSS took on DP Todd Secondary School 67-42 to become Condor Classic Champs. In that game, Leighton once again led the team with 24 points, Stephen scored 17 and Lees had 16.
“I still do not feel that we have met our ceiling and the strides that we will take over the coming weeks will have a large impact on our ability to meet the challenge of provincial competition,” Sawka said.
The junior girls Rainmakers also took part in the classic, coming in third.
The team beat Duchess Park in a tight opening game, 45-40. But the girls fell to North Peace Secondary School 59-32.
In the finale, the junior Rainmakers beat Prince George Secondary School 56-23 to claim the number three spot.
Next on the docket for the junior boys is the Coastal Clash Tournament at Charles Hays Secondary School (CHSS) on Jan. 13 and 14.
The junior girls will travel to Smithers.
Adrian Liu ends 2016 on a high
Former Rupertite badminton player Adrian Liu has found mixed success with the sport lately.
After a quiet few months following the Yonex US Open in early July, Liu took part in three competitions in November and December.
It didn’t start well, however. At the Scottish Open, Liu and his men’s doubles partner Toby Ng, fell in the first round in three straight sets. In the mixed doubles with Leanne Choo, he also lost in the first round to a Scottish duo.
Things improved at the Yonex Welsh International 2016 early last month. He and Ng made it to the second round this time, defeating a Danish pair in the first round but falling 11-21 and 17-21 to Frenchmen in round two. On the mixed doubles side, he and Choo did not find better success, being defeated in three sets.
But Liu found his best success of late in his last tournament of 2016. After being given a bye in round 1, he and Ng defeated an American duo 22-20 and 21-9. In the quarterfinals, they beat another U.S. pair before ultimately falling in the semifinals to a Danish team.
Paired with a new mixed doubles partner, Josephine Wu, the two made it to the second round.
The late success skyrocketed Liu’s world rankings from 203rd on July 8 to 94th as of Jan. 5.
