St. Michaels won the 2012-13 Vancouver Island Junior Boys Basketball Championship on Saturday with a dominating 76-38 win over Oak Bay at the G.P. Vanier gym.
Tournament MVP was St. Michael's Max Pollen.
Cowichan Thunderbirds beat John Barsby Bulldogs 62-46 for third place and the last Island berth to the B.C. Championships, to be held March 6-9 at Vancouver College.
The host Vanier Towhees had one of their best games of the year on Saturday but fell short of Barsby 51-42 and finished in fifth place, their highest Island finish in many years. "Pivot Bryce Olsen was the cornerstone for Vanier all year," said coach Tony Edwards.
Lambrick Park finished sixth, losing the crossover game to Cowichan 55-39 in the morning qualifier. Dover Bay finished seventh and NDSS eighth.
Vanier (North #3) opened Thursday with a 55-31 loss to Cowichan (Central #1). They bounced back Friday to defeat Nanaimo (North #4) 43-33 before bowing out Saturday with the loss to Barsby (North #1).
In other boys' playdowns on the weekend, Mark Isfeld Ice finished fifth at the Vancouver Island AA Championships at Wellington in Nanaimo.
The Ice (N2) lost 55-43 to Brentwood College (S3), beat Nanaimo (N4) 57-35 then lost 66-55 to Lambrick Park (S2).
The top three (Brentwood, Wellington and Lambrick) advance to the B.C.s March 6-9 in Kamloops while St. Michaels (N4) played Elphinstine (Howe Sound #2) Monday in a challenge game for the final Island berth.
At the North Island AAA Championships at Cowichan, the Vanier Towhees finished third and advanced to the Island championships, which go Feb. 28 to March 2 at Mt. Douglas.
The Towhees lost 84-62 to Dover Bay and beat Alberni 72-53. Alberni (N4) played Spectrum (S5) on Tuesday in a challenge for the last Island berth.
South Island qualifiers are Claremont, Oak Bay, Belmont and Mt. Doug.