By Neil Corbett, Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows News
The Pitt Meadows Marauders beat the Westview Wildcats 77-53 in round two of the Fraser Valley Tournament on Thursday night.
The Marauders are now one win away from playing in the championship game, while the Wildcats will be battling for one of the five berths into the BC High School Boys AAA Basketball Provincial Tournament, which is coming up March 7-10 at the Langley Events Centre.
“Our kids battled hard. This season has been all about hard work, and they’re really doing everything we ask of them,” said first-year Pitt coach Brody Herman. “Earlier this season we had some bumps, but right now everything is going really well.”
Their size inside, combined with outside shooting, makes the Marauders tough to beat. They were led in scoring by giant post Giovanni Manu and guard Tato Ferreyro-Araya who each had 16 points. Ferreyro-Araya hit four treys on the night.
“Our defence was excellent, and our rebounding was fantastic,” said the coach.
He gave props to his inside players. Manu is 6’8” and 320 pounds, and Pitt also has Colton Leon at 6’7” and Benjamin Pollard 6’6”, and both at about 230 pounds. They used their height and strength to clean up every rebound other than the odd ball that bounced to Westview.