David Thompson, ranked #6 going into the AAA High School Boys Provincial Championships, finished with a bronze medal in Kelowna on December 5, the highest finish for a team from the Lower Mainland in recent memory, if ever.

The Lower Mainland champion Trojans, lead by the tournament’s Most Outstanding Libero Johnson Dinh, 2nd Team All-Star leftside Dustin Szeto, setter Philip Ngo, and Honourable Mention middle Tommy Tang, finished the tournament with a 6-1 record. They defeated #5 ranked and Okanagan champion Mt. Boucherie, #7 ranked Kelowna, and #8 ranked and Vancouver Island champion Dover Bay in Power Pool play. They then defeated cross-town rivals #11 ranked Gladstone 3-0 in the Round of 16, and #4 ranked Earl Marriott 3-1 in the Quarters, before losing 3-0 to the #1 ranked and eventual provincial champions Fleetwood Park. The team rebounded with a 3-0 thrashing of #10 GP Vanier in the 3rd place game to claim the bronze.

Burnaby North, the Lower Mainland’s fourth ranked team, coached by Apex’s Aaron Lock, finished with a record of 3-4, and finished in 11th place for the third year in a row. The team was voted Most Sportsmanlike by tournament officials, a very high honour.

Gladstone and Killarney both finished tied for 15th. Gladstone, making a return to the tournament for the first time since 2004, was coached by Apex girls’ coach Thi Nguyen and finished with a record of 1-6. Killarney, making a 3rd straight appearance, was coached by Apex VP and girls’ coach Chanh Vuong, and finished with a 3-4 record.

Apex members who participated in the 4-day tournament included:

David Thompson (3rd): Jacky Au, Johnny Chou, Johnson Dinh, Kevin Do, Dustin Szeto, Tommy Tang.
Burnaby North (T11th): Coach Aaron Lock, Colton Ciolfitto, Daniel Lee, Brandon Ngai, Lorenzo Robiso, Larry Sit.
Gladstone (T15th): Coach Thi Nguyen, William Chiu, Sam Nguyen, Keegan Simms, Keane Yu.
Killarney (T15th): Coach Chanh Vuong, Dennis Cheng, Kenneth Chow, Benny Lin, Raymond Ng, Stephen Ng, Kevin Nguyen, Tim Nguyen, Nathan Wong, Ricky Yan.

Congratulations to all 4 teams on their successful seasons and best of luck during club season.