The Pinetree Timberwolves are ready to take the leap from over-achievers to achievers.
“Make provincials,” said one of the players when asked during a recent informal workout about the team’s goal for the coming AAAA high school boys basketball season.
“Win provincials,” said another.
Neither is out of the qestion, responded Riaz Hudda, one of the squad’s three associate coaches. But a lot of chips would have to fall into place, a lot of breaks come their way.
Both goals are big asks for a team that has only made it to the provincial championship tournament twice in 26 years.
Last year the Timberwolves raised a lot of eyebrows when the team won all seven of its league games, then finished sixth in the Fraser Valleys to advance to the provincials in Langley. And while Pinetree won only one of its four games there to finish 15th out of 16 teams, associate coach Eugene Melnik said the experience has lit a fire in the core group of veterans who will power the team this season.
“It was quite a big accomplishment,” Melnik said. “It was really good for our program.”
That program has struggled for most of the school’s existence, Melnik said, because of its diverse student population and emphasis on academics.
But with a taste of success now making players hungry for more, Pinetree is ready to take its place as a bona fide basketball school. The Timberwolves are ranked as an honourable mention in the pre-season poll of the province’s top basketball programs.
A large part of Pinetree’s coming out will be the school’s first big 16-team tournament, the Pinetree Xmas Classic, to be held Dec. 18-19, that brings together top teams from across Metro Vancouver including Kitsilano — ranked 10th in the AAAA pre-season poll — and the Pitt Meadows Marauders, which are seeded sixth in the AAA pre-season poll.
Melnik said the tournament will be a chance for the Timberwolves to electrify Pinetree’s 1,500 students who’ve had little reason to pay much attention to the basketball team over the years. Adding to the spark will be crowd-pleasing events like dunk and three-pointer competitions.
“These guys realize the entire school will be watching them,” Melnik said. “It gives them some swagger.”
The tournament will also be a test of the hard work the team is putting in to ensure last season’s success wasn’t just a fluke.
Aside from workouts and practices, the Timberwolves are also participating in various team-building exercises in and out of the classroom such as writing down their goals and visits from guest motivational speakers.
“Our goal isn’t just to co-exist, but to achieve at a high level,” associate coach Chris Davies said.
And while it may still be too early to determine just how high that level could go, there’s no doubt of what will be driving the Timberwolves to achieve it.
“A lot of schools still don’t respect us,” Davies said. “Now it’s time to prove to everyone else we’re not just a one-off.”
• The season’s first tourmanet, the Kodiak Klassic, is already underway and wraps up with the championship game Saturday, 8:45 p.m., at Heritage Woods secondary school.
• The girls’ high school basketball season has also started with the Tri-City Opener tournament hosted by Gleneagle secondary school wrapping up on Saturday at 8 p.m. The tournament features some of the top teams in the province including three-time AAA champions Brookswood and defending AAA champions, Lord Tweedsmuir.
