Langley’s Walnut Grove Gators are among 20 boy’s basketball teams competing this week as the 2021 Tsumura Basketball Invitational (TBI) celebrates its 10th year at Langley Events Centre.
They include eight top-10 boys’ basketball teams from the 2A, 3A and 4A ranks as well as another five who are listed as honourable mentions for their respective tiers.
Play got under today, Wednesday, Dec. 8 and will continue until Saturday, Dec. 11.
Next Wednesday, Dec. 15, the girls’ championship will begin.
READ ALSO: Tsumura Basketball Invitational aims to resume in December 2021
Howard Tsumura, who runs the Varsity Letters website devoted to high school and university sports in B.C., handpicks the mix of top teams and honourable mentions.
He has said the event is “all about the best of B.C. basketball without tiers getting in the way.”
“I feel so fortunate to be included as part of something which at the launch of every season, gets to serve as the start of a full-circle journey that both begins and ends right here at Langley Events Centre, also of course, the site of the B.C. championships every March,” stated Tsumura.
“There is nothing that has made me prouder than to have my name attached to both this week’s boys and next week’s girls’ 20-team tournaments. And celebrating our 10th anniversary as the TBI makes it even more special,” he said. “And as we begin our 2021-22 season, hats off to the spirit of all of our invitees for the gusto they have shown in their return to the court.”
The other boy’s teams are Abbotsford Senior, A.R. MacNeill, Burnaby South, Byrne Creek, Centennial, Claremont, Duchess Park, Fleetwood Park, G.W. Graham, King George, Lord Tweedsmuir, R.A. McMath, Sands, Sir Charles Tupper, Sir Winston Churchill, St. Thomas More Collegiate, Steveston-London, Tamanawis, and Yale.
The games will be played on the LEC Centre Court and South Court and are free to attend.
Spectators must show proof of double vaccination as well as wear masks when inside the facility.
All the games will also be streamed for free at www.tfsetv.ca.
For the schedule and full results, visit www.langleyeventscentre.com/tbi
READ ALSO: Langley Christian Lightning finish third at Tsumura Basketball Invitational
Brookswood, Langley Christian and Langley Secondary are among the teams scheduled to compete in the TBI Girls Tournament that runs Dec. 15 to 18, along with Abbotsford Senior, Argyle, Burnaby South, G.W. Graham, Heritage Woods, Kelowna, Lord Tweedsmuir, M.E.I., Okanagan Mission, R.A. McMath, Riverside, Seaquam, Sir Winston Churchill, South Delta, St. Michaels University School, Terry Fox and Yale.
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