A Lower Mainland team will be crowned champion as four teams remain alive as the field of 32 is down to the Final Four.
Two days of action are complete at Langley Events Centre and the semifinals are now at the Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament.
Top-ranked Burnaby South, No. 2 Vancouver College, No. 4 St. Patrick and No. 6 R.A. McMath.
Burnaby South will battle St. Patrick in one semifinal on Monday at 6:30 p.m. while the other features Vancouver College against McMath at 8 p.m.
The victors play for gold the next night at 7 p.m. while the remaining two battle for bronze at 5:30 p.m.
McMath Wildcats (No. 6) 49 Yale Lions (No. 3) 41
The McMath Wildcats raced out to an early lead, fell behind in the middle stages and then rallied in the second half to earn a spot in the semifinals.
The Richmond squad, ranked No. 6, led by nine points in the first quarter but found themselves down 31-24 at the half after mustering just five points in that second quarter. But the second half was a different story as they got their offence on track while the No. 3 Yale Lions could not buy a bucket, managing just 10 points over the last two periods.
The Wildcats took the lead for good midway through the third quarter, puling ahead 39-34 after three periods and Yale would get within a bucket, but no closer.
McMath was led by the three-headed attack of Mike Kitka (13 points), Rio Hutchful (11 points) and Miguel Vargas (11 points).
Joseph Ho led the Lions with 19 points, including six three-pointers.
St. Patrick Celtics (No. 4) 55 Okanagan Mission Huskies (No. 5) 47
A dominant third quarter helped the No. 4 St. Patrick Celtics hold off the No. 5 Okanagan Mission Huskies.
The Huskies scored six points over that eight-minute span, bookending the quarter with three-pointers. But in between was a 19-0 St. Patrick run which turned a 27-25 deficit into a 39-27 lead. Okanagan Mission would chip away at the lead but never got closer than eight points, falling 55-47.
Daniel Marcelo (18 points) and Jose Malabanan (16 points) led St. Patrick while the Huskies received a dozen points from Cameron Parker and another 11 from Brandon Nemes.
Burnaby South Rebels (No. 1) 64 Claremont Spartans (No. 9) 48
The Burnaby South Rebels scored 12 of the first 14 points as they led wire-to-wire over Victoria’s Claremont Spartans.
The Spartans had the lead down to eight points, 34-26, in the third quarter before the Rebels re-established a double-digit lead and never looked back.
The three-headed attack of Karn Aujla (20 points), Jareb Pineda (18) and Jimmy Zaborniak (15) led the Rebels offensively, scoring 53 of their team’s 64 points.
Spencer O’Sullivan led the Spartans with 15 points, all from beyond the arc, while both Jakob Edgar-Neufeld and Colby Parker had 15 points apiece.
Vancouver College Fighting Irish (No. 2) 63 Walnut Grove Gators (No. 7) 58
The closest of the four semifinals was between the Irish and the Gators with the largest point differential at six points the lead changing hands 13 times. The teams were tied at 57 late but Vancouver College scored six of the final seven points to advance to the semifinals.
Jacob Holt led Vancouver College with 26 points. Walnut Grove used a balanced attack with six players scoring eight or more points led by Kevin Kao’s 13.
For full tournament results for all 32 teams, click here.