It proved to be a short journey for Delta teams competing at the Fraser Valley Basketball Championships.
The regional playoff tournament, for the Grade 8 and Junior levels, features the top 32 teams in each age group competing from Chilliwack to Tsawwassen. In total, 16 teams from the Delta district earned Valley berths and just three managed to advance beyond the first round. None were remaining by the time the quarter-finals tipped off on Friday.
In junior boys, Delta champions Delview was seeded 15th and edged 18th Sullivan Heights in their opening round game. The Raiders were then eliminated following a competitive 56-46 loss to second seed Panorama Ridge. District runner-up Delta Pacers drew the 21st seed and saw their season end with a 5731 loss to 12th seed Lord Tweedsmuir.
The Ladner school's depth was significantly depleted before the season even started when three key Grade 10 players were aged up to play at the senior level. However, it's not uncommon for many programs to age up up their top juniors for an extra season of eligibility. The Pacers also missed the services of Grade 9 post standout and provincial team player Sam Evanson who moved to Abbotsford just prior to the start of the season.
In Grade 8 boys, the district champion Delta Pacers and runner-up North Delta Huskies both managed to win their opening round games before falling in the round of 16.
The Pacers, seeded 11th, easily dispatched the 22nd Princess Margaret Lions 51-28 in the opening round but didn't have an answer for the intense full court pressure of sixth seed Lord Tweedsmuir, falling 65-39 to the Cloverdale school.
The 13th seed Huskies defeated No. 20 Stafford 39-24 before being eliminated 42-13 by No. 4 Clayburn.
It should be noted the Tri-Cities region, which features a number of solid basketball schools, did not participate in the Valleys at the Grade 8 level.
Success on the girls side was even more scarce with none of the eight teams getting past the first round.
The South Delta Sun Devils, district runners-up in junior girls, were seeded 15th and fell 41-25 to No. 18 Elgin Park.
The most impressive performance came in Grade 8 girls where the 27th seed seed Sun Devils hung tough with No. 6 Eugene Reimer, losing 34-21.
