Metro Vancouver......The 7th Annual Pat Dooley Memorial Junior Boys Basketball Classic was held December 4-6, 2014 at the KPU Eagles Nest on the Surrey Campus. The Killarney Secondary Cougars emerged the tournament champions as they defeated the Fraser Heights Secondary Firehawks 79-57 in front of a loud and thunderous crowd at the Eagles Nest.
The annual tournament is held in honour of Pat, a former ball boy with the KPU Eagles men's basketball program in 2000. He was an avid athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, and volleyball, as well as a tremendous competitor and sportsman who valued fair play and teamwork. He passed away at the age of 16 after a brief illness. The tournament in his name hosts 12 junior boys teams from across the lower mainland, over three days which provides an excellent opportunity for these programs to develop their skills at a competitive level. Pat's father, Stephen Dooley, and stepmother, Preet Heer, are no strangers to the KPU community and the Eagles Nest. Dooley is a former assistant coach with the KPU Eagles men's basketball program. He was also a longtime KPU employee, but now holds the role of Executive Director for SFU Surrey.
"We are thrilled that KPU continues to honour Pat and keep his memory alive with this amazing junior boys high school tournament. Pat was an exceptional athlete but also a very good student," expressed Dooley, "I feel this tournament and the Athletics Department at KPU reflects the values of working hard both on the court and in the classroom."
First-year KPU Eagles men's basketball head coach Vladimir Nikić knows the value of developing junior level athletes both on the court and in the classroom. As the longtime head coach of the Delview Secondary Raiders senior boys program, Coach Nikić has had players participate in this annual tournament which seeks to instill Pat's beliefs in leadership and sportsmanship. "Tournaments like Pat Dooley Memorial are extremely important to remember the young athletes that are no longer with us, but who were heavily involved in high school sports," stated Coach Nikić, "This tournament is now one of the most important traditions for our KPU men's basketball program."
The third day of competition on Saturday held the long-awaited medal rounds as the Kwantlen Park Timberwolves and the Windermere Warriors battled for bronze and the Killarney Cougar squared off against the Fraser Heights Firehawks for the championship. The bronze medal game was close but after 32 minutes the Warriors emerged the victors by a score of 37-32.
The gold medal game saw both teams coming in undefeated in tournament play, with all previous victories won by a margin of 20 points or more each game. Killarney got off to a strong start and led 41-21 at the half thanks to efforts from leading scorers Jason Tantengco (15 points), Jedrick Dumlao (11 points), and Kenan Krupic (nine points). Firehawks Douglas Nguyen (six points) led the way for Fraser Heights along with Michael Waligora (five points) and Marcus Cleto (three points). When the final buzzer rang the Cougars were crowned the 2014 Pat Dooley Memorial tournament champions, 79-57. Scoring leaders for the Cougars included Tantengco (25 points), Dumlao (16 points), Krupic (13 points), and Knight (12) and for the Firehawks Sumeet Singh (15 points), Waligora (nine points), Nguyen (six points), and Edward Lin (five points).
Dooley was at the Eagles Nest to enjoy the games and present the hardware to the team and individual winners. "A hearty congratulations to Killarney for the tournament win! Preet was particularly excited about the outcome as she is a Killarney grad."
Coach Nikić was also on-hand with the presentations and is eager to get started on the 8th Annual Pat Dooley tournament for 2015. "We are looking forward to making it even more competitive in the future. I would like to thank all the teams for their hard work, sportsmanship, and fair play," said Coach Nikić, "I would also like to congratulate Coach Yash Zandiyeh and his Killarney Cougars on an amazing performance over the last couple of days."
2014 Pat Dooley Memorial Jr. Boys Basketball Classic Champions - Killarney Secondary Cougars
Congratulations to the award winners of the 2014 tournament:
Tournament MVP
Jason Tantengco, Killarney Cougars
Tournament All-Stars
Christian Cayado, Kwantlen Park Timberwolves
Sahil Soni, Windermere Warriors
Sumeet Singh, Fraser Heights Firehawks
Kenan Krupic, Killarney Cougars
Kiante Knight, Killarney Cougars
KPU Eagles men's basketball head coach Vladimir Nikić (R) and Pat Dooley's father Stephen Dooley (L) present Jason Tantengco with the 2014 Tournament MVP award
The 2014 participating teams included:
- Bodwell High School Bruins
- Delview Secondary
- Elgin Park Secondary Orcas
- Fraser Heights Secondary Firewhawks
- Killarney Secondary Cougars
- Kwantlen Park Secondary Timberwolves
- LA Matheson Mustangs
- North Delta Secondary Huskies
- North Surrey Secondary Spartans
- Princess Margaret Secondary Lions
- Regent Christian Secondary Lions
- Windermere Secondary Warriors
For information on the 2015 8th Annual Pat Dooley Memorial Junior Boys Basketball Classic, please contact Coach Nikić at mbasketball@kpu.ca. Information on the 2014 tournament is available at http://www.kpu.ca/athletics/tournaments/pat-dooley-memorial.
For photos from the tournament awards ceremonies, please visit our Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/KPUEagles
Photo Credit: KPU Sports Information
For more information on the Department of Athletics & Recreation, please contact Junelle Mah, sports information and marketing, at 604-786-0804 or at junelle.mah@kpu.ca.
The KPU Eagles Department of Athletics & Recreation enters its 14th season of interuniversity competition. The Eagles are members of the PACWEST conference and play in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with 100 student-athletes participating on eight varsity teams in men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, badminton and golf. KPU athletics plays its home games at the Eagles’ Nest (Surrey Campus), Northview Golf & Country Club, Newton Athletic Park, all located in Surrey, BC and the Ace Badminton Centre in Richmond, BC. The Eagles are active in the conference with staff members on various advisory committees and competing to host both provincial and national championships. The student-athletes are mainly from the lower mainland but KPU’s rosters have included student-athletes from North America, South America, Asia and Europe.
Follow the Eagles on Twitter @KPU Eagles, on Facebook www.facebook.com/KPUEagles, or on our website www.kpu.ca/eagles.