Rivalries play out tonight as six Vancouver schools hit the hardwood in the quarter-final match-ups for the AAA Lower Mainland senior boys high school basketball tournament.
On one side of the bracket, the Kitsilano Blue Demons clash with the Tupper Tigers. On the other side of the draw, VCs Fighting Irish battle the St. Georges Saints.
The winners of each game are secured one of the regions five seats at the provincial championships next week.
Tupper and Kitsilano meet at 5:30 p.m. and this time the Tigers have a lot to prove. The Demons steamrolled the Tigers 74-49 in the city championship final Feb. 17.
The No. 6 seed Tigers beat Richmonds Burnett 95-78 in the first round and defeated Burnabys No. 3 Byrne Creek 74-64 to reach the quarters.
No. 2 Kitsilano earned a bye in the first round and beat New West 81-57 to advance.
The Irish defeated the Saints in their independent school league three-game playoff but St. Georges successfully argued they merited direct entry into the tournament, making it a 13-team draw. Game time is 7:15 p.m. with the Irish holding court at home.
No. 1 seed Vancouver College earned a first-round bye and beat Burnaby South 67-57 to reach the quarters.
No. 5 St. Georges rolled over Killarney 78-25 in the first round and beat Steveston-London 73-50 to move on.
On the losing side of the double-knockout tourney, four teams fight to stay alive. Point Grey plays Steveston-London at 2 p.m. and Churchill plays Byrne Creek at 3:45.
All quarter-final games are at Vancouver College. The championship finale, third-place and fifth-place games are set for Saturday at St. Georges.
Twitter: @MHStewart
