Surrey’s annual All-Star Classic high school basketball games will be played with heavy hearts Friday night (March 31) at the Enver Creek Secondary gym.
A longtime backer of basketball in Surrey, Kevin De Boice was a co-founder and guiding light of the annual Surrey RCMP Classic tournament for boys teams. He died March 18 after a battle with cancer.
Superintendent/CEO Mark Pearmain described De Boice as “a valuable and longtime member of our Surrey School District family” who began his teaching career there in 1985. Over the years he worked at many schools in the district, and served as principal at Elgin Park, Panorama Ridge and Tamanawis, where he worked until his death.
“Kevin was a strong advocate for staff and students, and he was a huge supporter of community events, extracurricular activities, fine arts and athletics,” Pearmain wrote in a memo to district staff.
“He had been on medical leave in recent months, but even during this time, he continued to attend and support district and school events,” including the RCMP tournament and also the provincial wrestling meet where Tamanawis won a fourth consecutive B.C. championship.
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“Despite his illness,” Pearmain added, “Kevin could be seen beaming with pride and cheering the team on from the sidelines, and his genuine connection to students was obvious.”
De Boice and Rick Inrig were co-directors of the RCMP Classic for 32 years ago, since the tournament’s launch in the fall of 1991. The two first met on the court in mid-1970s, when De Boice was playing in Kelowna and Inrig coached in Vernon.
“Friday will be a difficult night, but we’ll get through it,” Inrig said Monday (March 27). “It’s not something we want to be doing right now. The games will be played.”
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A night to remember! RCMP members joined teams & staff from the ongoing Surrey RCMP Basketball Classic for a celebratory banquet. Thanks to everyone who made this special event possible. @Surrey_classic @Surrey_Schools @SurreyNowLeader pic.twitter.com/TreAVjhtY5
— Surrey RCMP (@SurreyRCMP) January 10, 2023
In January at Enver Creek, De Boice and Inrig were given special “police boot” trophies at the RCMP Classic’s kickoff banquet attended by hundreds of Surrey players, coaches, tournament officials and other guests.
Friday’s All-Star Classic will see “last hurrah” high school games for girls (6 p.m.) and boys (7:30) at the school gym on 84 Avenue, with scholarships announced for deserving student-athletes.
With Mike Mitro and Rob Rai coaching, girls hitting the hardwood include Fleetwood Park’s Parneet Gill, Lord Tweedsmuir players Sevene Grewal and Sukhman Ranu, Holy Cross standouts Amy Rokosh and Samantha Isidro, Elgin Park’s Kayla Bruneau, Semiahmoo’s Olivia Ng, Prisca Antwi of Fraser Heights, Avaani Pagely of North Surrey, Clayton Heights trio Melanie Kardos-Mitchell, Cleina Marquez and Hannah Gebert, Tamanawis trio Angelina Johal, Harman Bassi and Sargam Sandhu, and Panorama pair Presley Sarai and Manreen Punian.
Later Friday, Nick Day and Phil Deeks will coach the boys teams, to include Salish standouts Ajay Aujla and Jesse Connolly, Southridge players Roshan Sandhu and Gagan Dhanoa, LA Matheson’s Sahil Bali, the Enver Creek quartet Anjat Dhaliwal, Ajay Hayer, Gurshan Sran and Manrose Heer, Fleetwood Park trio Jovin Heir, Aaron Uppal and Eesher Singh Sarai, North Surrey’s Paull Kalome, Queen Elizabeth’s Cory Moore and Angad Gill, Adam Olsen of Elgin Park, Akash Pannu of Panorama Ridge, and two from Tamanawis, Ranvir Sanghera and Rohan Sharma.
Note that the B.C. championship-winning Semiahmoo team is not represented at the All-Star Classic for boys, as the team opted out of the all-Surrey RCMP Classic tournament in January.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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