This long-standing rivalry still has legs.
For a second year in a row, the Byrne Creek Bulldogs-Burnaby South Rebels senior boys basketball regular season game was a must-see event, and one that likely set the stage for a great showdown in the upcoming Burnaby-New West league playoffs.
This time, the Bulldogs got off to a good start and maintained a lead the rest of the way en route to a 79-65 victory on Wednesday.
Martin Djunga set the tone with 21 points, while Wel Deng counted 15 points and dominated along the boards to dampen the Rebels’ rally attempts.
“It was just one of those games where the rivalry was there so both teams were going to bring it,” said Byrne Creek coach Bal Dhillon. “We got off to a good start but they kept after us.”
Last year, it was South which cashed in to claim the regular season crown, only to lose the playoff final to the Bulldogs. With the Rebels currently ranked eighth in the province among Quad-A programs, Dhillon said Wednesday’s challenge was to not get distracted from what had earned them a top-10 ranking of their own.
“(Burnaby South) is a good team, they’ve got some real quick guards, they shoot the three well, and they have size up the middle,” remarked Dhillon. “But they were missing a few of their ‘Bigs’ and that likely didn’t help.”
The hosts led by eight after 10 minutes and just seven at halftime, but were cautious knowing the skill across the floor. The Rebels got a strong first half from Kenan Krupic, who tallied 13 points and eight boards.
In the second half, a well-balanced offence made it difficult to pin the Bulldogs down, limiting the point-runs for Burnaby South at the same time.
A 13-point advantage after 30 minutes was briefly expanded to 20 points before the Rebels got in a few late buckets to make it closer.
The Bulldogs’ Bithow Wan chipped in 14 points while Abdul Bangura contributed 12.
Last weekend Byrne Creek were given a wake-up call at the Robert Bateman tournament, where they suffered an opening round 85-81 loss to then-unranked McMath. They responded by averaging 102 points per game over its next two tests, with wins over Wellington and Valleyfield.
“We’ve got a young team and I think they’ve learned some tough lessons, and our returning guys have learned some lessons from last year,” said the Bulldogs coach. “We definitely don’t want to get too excited, (as) we still have one league game before the playoffs start (Feb. 6).”
The Rebels, meanwhile, had started the week with a 83-63 decision over Burnaby North, after going 2-1 on the weekend at the Killarney Cougars Classic tourney. They marched into the final on the strength of sturdy wins over Fraser Heights, 77-50, and St. Patrick’s, 85-62, before the host Cougars pounced for a 101-71 decision in the final.
While the Bulldogs may have an extra notch to its record, and are the last undefeated team in the league, Dhillon said last year’s lesson – where they lost the league title to South but reversed the decision in the playoff final – can’t be forgotten.
“It’s not done, we’re not done, by a good margin. We’ve still got to be ready to play and can’t look past anyone,” said Dhillon.
Byrne Creek is ranked 10th in Triple-A’s recent provincial rankings.
With the win, Byrne Creek improved to 7-0 with one game – Monday at Burnaby North – left.
