MBB: T-Birds, Dinos clash in CW Final
UBC hosts Calgary for the CW title, while Victoria battles Manitoba for bronze with a nationals berth on the line
Article by Brian Swane, special to CW
March 7, 2025 - After a pair of mammoth upsets last week, the UBC Thunderbirds and Calgary Dinos will meet in the 2025 Canada West men’s basketball championship final at UBC’s War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver on Friday at 7:30 p.m. PST.
Tickets are available to purchase online and the game will stream on CanadaWest.TV - Powered by BioSteel.
Last Friday, the Dinos stomped into the CARSA Performance Gym and knocked off the top-seeded Victoria Vikes 77-68, snapping Victoria’s 33-game Canada West winning streak and ending the Vikes’ three-year reign as Canada West champs.
One night later, at Investors Group Athletic Centre in Winnipeg, UBC trailed with just over six minutes left before closing with a 19-9 run en route to an 87-79 victory over the Manitoba Bisons, who had the best record in the Prairie Division during the regular season.
The result is a matchup for the Stan Broder Trophy that few outside of the Rockies or Point Grey saw coming.
Calgary and UBC ranked first and third, respectively, in scoring during the regular season. The teams split a pair of close games at War Memorial Gymnasium in November, each winning once.
Dinos forward Nate Petrone led Canada West in scoring this season, averaging 24.2 points per game. UBC’s top scorer, swingman Adam Olsen, averaged 16.4 points per game in the regular season. Petrone and Olsen were both named to the 2024-25 Canada West First All-Star Team.
Before Victoria began its incredible run of three consecutive titles, the Thunderbirds and Dinos were the last two champions, with Calgary winning the title in 2019 and UBC doing so in 2020.
This will be the fourth time the Dinos and Thunderbirds have faced each other in the Canada West men’s basketball final. Calgary has won the previous three meetings, in 2004, 2009 and 2019.
While the players on the court have changed over the last two decades, the coaches on the sidelines have remained the same. UBC’s Kevin Hanson and Calgary’s Dan Vanhooren have both overseen their respective programs since 2000. Hanson is the winningest coach in Canada West history, while Vanhooren is just three wins behind Alberta legend Don Horwood for second place.
Regardless of who wins this latest meeting between the Dinos and Thunderbirds, both teams will be competing in the 2025 U SPORTS Men’s Final 8 in Vancouver from March 14 to 16.
Meanwhile, Victoria and Manitoba will have another chance to punch their ticket to the national championship tournament by winning the Canada West bronze medal game, taking place at 7 p.m. PST on Friday at Victoria’s CARSA Performance Gym. The game will stream on CanadaWest.TV - Powered by BioSteel and tickets are available for purchase online.