The Delta Pacers and South Delta Pacers are guaranteed to be part of the 32-team Fraser Valley "AAA" Senior Boys Basketball Championships. What paths they are about to take will be determined this week.
The two local teams have already earned their way into next week's main draw which starts with a single game elimination round on Feb. 22. Their crucial seeding positions will be determined at the Fraser Valley Southwest League playoff tournament which features quarter-final round action today at Tamanawis secondary in Surrey.
The Pacers (8-2) finished tied for second in the final standings with the White Rock Christian Warriors but were given the nod over the private school powerhouse thanks to winning the lone head-to-head meeting three weeks ago. They were slated to face the winner of seventh place Elgin Park (4-6) and 10th place Semiahmoo (1-9) at 4: 45 p.m. The Pacers handily defeated both schools in the regular season play by 54 and 31 point margins respectively.
Meanwhile, the Warriors were also expected to make short work of sixth place Seaquam which would set up a semi-final date with Delta on Thursday at 6: 30 p.m. The Pacers surprised ninth ranked White Rock 68-61 back on Jan. 25.
After a 69-67 home court defeat to the North Delta Huskies, then hanging tough in a 72-60 loss to Tamanawis, the Pacers locked up second place by cruising to a 78-60 win at Seaquam last Thursday.
Star point guard Lucas Goosen finished with a triple double, scoring 22 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing 10 assists. Evan Messenger added 19 and Andrew Jones 17.
The featured quarterfinal match-up in the Southwest League playoffs will see the Sun Devils meeting the Huskies for the second time in a week. The teams finished tied for fourth with 7-3 records and the Tsawwassen school earned the tiebreaker thanks to an impressive 79-59 win last Tuesday.
South Delta then closed out the regular season with an encouraging performance against unbeaten Tamanawis, hanging tough from start to finish in a 6053 loss. North Delta also finished on a high note, losing 65-58 to White Rock Christian.
Should the Sun Devils duplicate their result against their north rivals, it would set-up a probable rematch with Tamanawis in the semi-finals on Thursday at 8 p.m. If the tournament stays to form from start to finish, then the Devils and Pacers could very well meet in Friday's third place game at 6: 30 p.m. The teams have split the season series with Delta winning an overtime thriller in the Stebbings/ Murray Cup game back on Jan. 31.
The Fraser Valley Championships, which will conclude March 2 at the Langley Events Centre, will determine which seven teams will advance to the same venue for the provincial "AAA" tournament. The Pacers last qualified for the showcase event in 2010. The Sun Devils are seeking their first B.C. berth in school history.
mbooth@delta-optimist.com
