The New Westminster Hyacks were left on the sidelines of Lower Mainland qualifying following an 8976 loss to Burnaby South in boys' district basketball playdowns last Friday.
The Hyacks fell behind 20-9 after the opening 10 minutes and just couldn't make up the deficit despite a pair of 25-point quarters later in the game.
"We came out too soft and not ready to play," said Hyack senior Sylvester Appiah, who finished with 12 points.
"It hurts too, because we beat the No. 5 team - Tamanawis - and that was the high of our season, and that's not the way it's supposed to be."
With the win, South earned the third BurWest berth into the Lower Mainland championships.
South all-star Taylor Smith led the Rebels with a game-high 25 points, including four threes and 19 points in the opening half.
"We didn't execute against Mountain (in the semifinals), so going forward we want to make sure it doesn't happen again," said South senior Nick Garcha, who had 14 second-half points, including a game-turning trey in the final quarter. "We want to show more performances that we can be proud ot. It's all about getting there (to the Mainlands)."
Raouf Farroghi led all Hyacks with 15 points, including eight in the final quarter.
The Burnaby Mountain Lions looked every inch the champion in the banner final, upsetting league winner Byrne Creek Bulldogs 85-72 on Friday.
The Lions pounced on the Bulldogs from the tipoff, outscoring their No. 10-ranked hosts 26-13 in the pivotal opening quarter. The two teams played even-up for the remaining three quarters.
Mountain's all-stars Karan Sanghera, Jaryn Bailey, Taymoor Khan and The Record MVP Atdhe Hajrizi figured prominently in the win.
Hajrizi scored a game-high double-double with 28 points and 13 rebounds, including 22 points in the second half. Bailey chipped in with 21 points and Khan had another 16. Sanghera had seven points and five steals for the Lions.
Angelo Cruz was also a big factor in the opening 10 minutes, contributing seven points, including the game's first three-pointer.
Nathal George led the Bulldogs with 23 points, including four three-pointers, and five steals.
Mountain got by Burnaby South 7166 in its semifinal match.
"All the early games we struggled through are paying off now," said Mountain head coach Greg Matic. "What we lacked was basketball knowledge and now they know what it's all about, and that's what makes us dangerous. And it's our first banner - that's beautiful."
The Bulldogs tried their best to hang in against the aggressive fast-break system of the Lions, but appeared too individual in their play and turned the ball over too many times to get the deficit closer than eight points.
"I can't say I'm surprised. (Mountain) has always had the pieces, and today they kept their main guys on the floor," said Byrne Creek assistant coach Mike Dunkley.
Mountain led by as many as 20 points at one point of the second quarter, but David Majstorovic got the defict to single digits in the third quarter with back-to-back free throws.
Wilson Anteros also brought Byrne Creek to within eight points of the lead in the final quarter with a couple more baskets from the foul line.
But Harjrizi had an answer, replying with two of his own from the charity stripe to regain a double-digit lead.
"We've worked really hard for six months. We never stopped. We outworked (Byrne Creek)," Hajrizi said, adding it wouldn't have been possible without coach Matic.
"He makes everything so simple and easy, all we have to do is listen and execute," Hajrizi said.
