This past weekend the Basketball BC U13 Steve Nash Youth Challenge took place at the Langley Events Centre.  The event featured 10 boy’s teams and 7 girls’ teams squaring off in their respective tournaments.  In addition to the standard tournament, Basketball BC welcomed the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society (BCWBS) into the festivities to participate in 4 exhibition games.  2 of these games were played against Basketball BC tournament teams and 2 were games against other wheelchair basketball teams.  The inclusion of Wheelchair Basketball into the event made for a unique experience for many individuals, who gained valuable insight and experience into the challenging sport.  Thanks go out to Makiko Harada for doing a great job coordinating on behalf of the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society.

The Steve Nash Youth Challenge is an U13 tournament specifically designed for teams that are enrolled in the Steve Nash Youth Basketball Program across BC.  This year’s event featured teams all the way from Vanderhoof to right next door in North Langley.   The tournament featured many exciting, highly competitive games which concluded with championship games for both genders on Sunday.  In the Boys A division, the reigning Basketball BC U13 Metro League “B” division championships from North Langley (NLBA) managed to finish round robin play undefeated and went on to defeat RYBL by a score of 46-40 to claim Gold.  In the B division final, TCYBA’s Banting Beastz showed resilience by defeating North Langley 63-56 in the final.  Earlier in the tournament they had lost to that same North Langley squad so congratulations are in order for showing such resolve.

On the girl’s side, the tournament started off with a bang as TCYBA took on Delbrook in a game which went down to the wire.  After a back and forth affair, Delbrook managed to hang on to defeat TCYBA by a score of 54-49.  As the tournament progressed, a rematch was set between the same 2 team, this time for the gold medal.  Again a close, thrilling game occurred and Delbrook once again narrowly edged TCYBA 45-40 to claim 1^st in the Steve Nash Challenge.  Congratulations to TCYBA as well for showing great hustle, skill and team effort in what should be considered a great showing.

The event was deemed a great success as many enjoyed the spectacular facility the games were held at.  The crowds were alive and competition was fierce, which attributed to great experience for everyone involved.  Thanks to all players, coaches and parents who helped put on a sensational tournament and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s Basketball BC U13 Steve Nash Youth Challenge!