The Richmond Basketball Club was founded by Coach Paul Eberhardt (McNair Secondary, Capilano College) as an extension of the very successful Vancouver Basketball Camp.  The goal of the Club is to promote basketball excellence and provide Lower Mainland youth with the opportunity to develop their basketball skills to their maximum potential.

Team members are provided the opportunity to compete against top caliber competition and gain a better understanding of what it takes to go on to the next level of basketball competition. This is accomplished through participation in both local competition and high profile American tournaments such as the "Slam 'n Jam Grand Finale" held in Las Vegas at the end of the July NCAA recruiting period.

For more information, please call the "Hotline" at (604) 261-4592 or e-mail us at info@ebehoops.com.

"Richmond Basketball Club Returns from Successful Vegas Road Trip"

The Richmond Basketball Club recently returned from a week of competition at the prestigious Las Vegas Grand Finale summer basketball tournament.  The club sent down two teams this year -  an Under 15 and an Under 17 boys team.  The teams are made up of young players from all over the Lower Mainland with an emphasis on local Richmond athletes.  Six of the ten Richmond Secondary Schools had a representative on the 2000 Richmond Club.

Freshman Team (Under 15)
The Freshman team opened play against the eventual tournament champions, the Minutemen Press from Minnesota.  The team had a difficult time adjusting to the intense full court pressure of the Minutemen and were eventually defeated 61 - 43.  Dustin Entwisle (Cambie) led the team in scoring with 13 points and Tyler Cameron (Burnett) chipped in 10.

The team recovered nicely in their next game, a 68 - 60 victory over North Hollywood, California.  Kurtis Walford, who sat out the first game with an injury, led all scorers with 16 points and also added 8 assists.  Riley Hogan (White Rock Christian) added 14 points while Dean Morris (Cambie) chipped in with 10.

The teams last game of round robin play saw them blow out traditional powerhouse Mater Dei of Los Angeles 60 - 30.  Balanced scoring was the key with Jack Wang (McNair) netting 12 points and Jeff Gopal (McNair), Dustin Entwisle and  Dean Morris (Cambie) adding 10 points each.  With the convincing victory, the Freshman Team guaranteed themselves second place in their pool and a spot in the playoff round.  The team became the first non-American team in tournament history to qualify for the championship round.

Unfortunately, RBC faced a very strong Oregon team in their first round playoff game and went down to a 73 - 51 defeat.  Dustin Entwisle lead the way with 15 points and Jack Wang chipped in with 14.  The loss was a tough way to go out for a squad that impressed all with their hard, smart play throughout the tournament.

Varsity Team (Under 17)
The Varsity team also had a very successful tournament and came within one point of winning the third place trophy.  The squad opened play with an impressive win over C.V.C. Modesto (California), 84 - 49.  Big man Jay Lee (Richmond) dominated inside scoring 23 points with Kyle Morton (Brookswood) and Sean Loney (Langley) adding in with 12 points each.  McNair's Aaron Hoddinott was good for 11 points in the team's convincing first victory.

Game two saw the number 1 ranked team in the tournament, Mater Dei (Los Angeles), defeat the RBC boys 63 - 42.  Jay Lee (Richmond) once again had a strong game with 12 points while Nathan Nowak (Steveston) and Aaron Hoddinott adding 10 points each in the losing effort.

Game three quickly became one of the best games of the tournament as Richmond took on local Las Vegas school Cimarron Memorial for the right to advance to the playoff round.  In a very closely contested game, RBC came out with an exciting 67- 60  victory.  Jay Lee and Aaron Hoddinott led the squad with 12 points each.

Due to an unforeseen scheduling problem, the Richmond squad advanced directly to the semi-final after being awarded a default victory over Palos Verde (California).  In the semi-final match-up, the boys took on perennial Las Vegas powerhouse L.V. Shields.  A slow start proved disastrous for the team as Las Vegas got up 10 points and never looked back.  The RBC squad was unable to make up this early deficit and went down to a 78 - 64 defeat.  James Hudson (Handsworth) led the way with 17 points while Aaron Hoddinott (McNair), Sean Loney (Langley) and Kyle Morton (Brookswood) contributed 12 points each.

The third place game proved to be a true heartbreaker for the Lower Mainland boys as they lost in the last seconds against the Randall Raiders of Texas.  The Raiders managed to hit two free throws with one second remaining to take a 64 - 63 victory and the send the RBC team home on a losing note.  Big man Jay Lee played his best game of the tournament scoring 20 points and adding 12 rebounds.  Kyle Morton and Nathan Nowak chipped in with 13 and 11 respectively.  The Varsity team finished with a final record of 3 wins and 3 losses which was good enough for 5th place in the highly competitive Varsity division of the Slam 'n Jam Grande Finale.

Check out the 2000 team rosters and news releases... click here!

Questions or comments - keep checking out ebehoops.com or call the "Hotline" at (604) 261-4592.

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