A season of hope, hard work and team work shouldn’t come to a crashing end – but it was inevitable for someone.
And while the Byrne Creek Bulldogs will nurse the heavy bruise from Saturday’s 74-66 loss to the South Kamloops Titans in the 3-A B.C. senior boys basketball championship final for some time, the light from a season of exceptional achievements will shine through down the road.
In a showdown of the top-two ranked teams, the final saw the Bulldogs overcome a 26-10 Kamloops start to close the gap and then tie it up 59-59 early in the fourth quarter to make it anyone’s game. But the Titans tightened down defensively over the remaining minutes of the fourth, and poured out a 15-7 run to claim the title.
The Bulldogs’ Martin Djunga netted 25 points and four rebounds, while Bithow Wan counted 16 points, 13 rebounds and four steals.
As the No. 1-ranked team entering the 16-team tournament, Byrne Creek had its own cross to bear en route to the final, with each team hoping to take out the top dog.
The Bulldogs didn’t waiver, although they entered the final in Langley with some scrapes and nicks.
It took a huge second-half performance in the semifinal against North Delta, where they erased a 34-29 deficit by firing 52 per cent from the field over the second half, to punch their ticket.
Against Sir Charles Tupper in the quarter-final, the Bulldogs once again were pushed to the edge and trailed 27-26 at the half. While Byrne burrowed a nice lead to start the third quarter, up by 10 at one point, the Tigers kept within clawing distance and were down 44-40 with 10 minutes remaining.
A three-point shot early in the final frame got Tupper to within a point – 48-47 – before the Bulldogs locked it down with a 20-10 run.
Majok Deng led the way with 18 points, while Wan counted 17 and Titol Jok tallied 15 in support.
Djunga and Wan were selected to the first all-star team, while Deng was voted the Best Defensive Player of the 3-A tournament.
The roster will face some turnover, due to the graduation of Daniel Cion, Aaron Cruz, Tyrill Whitebear and starters Deng and Djunga. But a strong returning core will keep the Bulldogs on the map as challengers for the 2019 title.
