Westsyde Whundas chasing Teenage Dream, taking aim at B.C. high school basketball title

Westsyde has a record 28-2 this season and recently claimed gold at the Brentwood College tournament, which featured some of the top teams in B.C.

“I’m confident enough to say we’re one of the four or five teams that actually has a chance,” Head Coach Ryan Porter said. “You can’t say if you’re going to do it. I just know this is the year we have a chance to do it. We’re good enough to do it and so are some other teams and one of them is here with us this weekend at Okanagans.”

The Summerland Rockets are second and Westsyde is fourth in the most recent AA boys B.C. High School Basketball rankings.

A showdown between the teams seems likely at the AA Boys Okanagan Valley Championship tournament, with the final scheduled to get underway at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 22) at Westsyde Secondary.

“If you’ve never been to a Westsyde game, especially for a senior boys game, it’s small gym, but it’s packed and it’s loud and it’s fun,” Porter said.

“It depends who you ask in the city how enjoyable it is to play here, but we at Westsyde really enjoy this crowd. It’s definitely a sixth man.”

Summerland handed Westsyde one of its two losses this season, edging the Whundas 73-71 on Jan. 11 in Vernon.

“That was a heartbreaker loss,” said Kiyo Brown, who is among key cogs for Westsyde. “Ever since then, we’ve really planned to play against them and we just want to get back at them. We’ve been waiting for it for a while.”

The Whundas feature a core that has been practising and playing together for many years, some of them since Grade 4.

Whether teammates or on opposing elementary school teams, they would gather at Westsyde Secondary to train and have been building toward this season.

“Porter has had us going with this plan all these years,” Scott said. “It’s a little surreal to be at that time now that we’ve been talking about since I was in Grade 6.”

Scott might be the poster boy for the Whundas, but he said roster depth is a great strength.

“Last year, everyone could play, but not to the extent we have this year,” Scott said. “We’ve got guys coming off the bench in Grade 11 that can really impact the game in a different way.”

The Dark Horse No. 4 seed Whundas knocked off No. 2 Lambrick Park 73-71 in a thriller to win the AA B.C. title in 2022, the victory bringing the first senior boys provincial basketball championship banner to Westsyde.

Brown, who remembers watching that contest on his phone when he was in Grade 9, is ready for the Whundas to Roar once more.

“That would be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me,” Brown said. “Spending that time together and getting to cut down the net, it would be amazing.”

Brown said Teenage Dream was adopted at last year’s provincial championship tournament, at which the team placed seventh.

“We’ve been playing that every single win we’ve got,” he said.

Firework could slide nicely into the Whundas’ playlist.

They may want to steer clear of The One That Got Away.

“This is a long time coming, for sure,” Porter said. “We’ve always been building toward this year specifically.

“There are a lot of things that are special about this team.”

by Marty Hastings

Westsyde Whundas chasing Teenage Dream, taking aim at B.C. high school basketball title

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