The Salmon Arm Synergy U16 Boys’ Club Basketball Team won gold in the U16/17 Basketball BC Club Championships this past weekend in Langley.
Synergy defeated the Kootenay Bulls 54-44 in the final at the Langley Event Centre.
After a hard fought defensive battle in the first half, Synergy trailed the Bulls 18 to 14 at the break; however, with a balanced scoring attack and strong team defense, Salmon Arm outscored their opponents 40 to 26 in the second half.
All nine Synergy players made the scorer’s sheet, with Daniel Wyss leading all scorers with 10 points. Rhys Middleton and Noah Jansen added nine points each while Evan Smith and Alton Neid chipped in eight points apiece.
The provincial final was the third meeting between the two clubs this year. In their first meeting at the Thompson Rivers Tournament in early May, the Bulls defeated Synergy by 34 points.
On Friday night, the two clubs met for the second time and, while up by 16 points at one point, Salmon Arm eventually lost the lead and fell to the Kootenay squad 54 to 52. It wasn’t until their third and final match of the season that Synergy was able to defeat the older and more experienced Bulls Team.
Neid won double gold at the Club Championships on the weekend; he also plays for the BC U17 B Team which won gold in the U17 A Division.
Synergy U14 Boys’ Team lost in the bronze-medal game of the Club Championships.
The young squad made up of five Grade 8 players and five Grade 7 players competed all weekend against good Grade 8 competition. Synergy won two games and lost two games in the tournament.
The Synergy U16 and U14 teams will continue their Spring program as they competes in the Pro-Hop Tournament in Kamloops on June 17.
The U13 to U16 teams will then be competing in the Linden, Washington 3-on-3 Tournament in July, and the U16 team will be travelling to Vancouver in August to compete in the 4-on-4 Kitz Fest Outdoor tournament.
