VANCOUVER – The 'Birds are back at War Memorial Gym for first time in more than two months, as UBC hosts rival Trinity Western for consecutive basketball doubleheaders this weekend. The T-Birds' men (8-2) take on the Spartans' guys (5-7) in the second half of both doubleheaders, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday before a rematch at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday.
U SPORTS No.6-ranked UBC enjoyed a very strong first half of their first season under interim coach
Phil Jalalpoor, highlighted by a home win over archrival Victoria in November that snapped the Vikes' two-year long regular season win streak.
The T-Birds have poured in 86 points per game this year, good for second in the conference, while posting a Canada West-best rebounding rate, and holding opponents to the lowest shooting percentage of any team in Western Canada.
"Reflecting back on how we started I'm pretty happy with our record," said Jalapoor. "Big transition, new team, new coaches, good to see the team picking up and adapting well to so much change.
"I think our goal for the second term is to stick with what we set to do from the beginning, become the most improved team that we can be, stick together, and build our culture."
UBC finished the first half of their campaign red hot, winning six straight conference games and earning the victory in the return of the Buchanan Cup against historic rival and NCAA DII competitor Simon Fraser.
The last of those wins came in late November, and while Jalalpoor says it will be a challenge to carry forward momentum after such a long layoff, he believes that he and his staff will have their players ready to pick up where they left off.
"We were really going at the end of the first term," reflected the former Olympian. "We're looking at everything that worked so well for us to have us going the way we were at the end, re-emphasizing those things and continuing to build on our strengths.
"Having such a long layoff in the middle of our season makes our format unique and is a difficult challenge for everyone to overcome."
2026 gets underway against a familiar opponent in the Trinity Western Spartans, who the T-Birds defeated 93-82 in their lone matchup this season.
The Spartans like to attack from the outside and defend hard in the paint, as they lead Canada West in three-point attempts and are near the top of the conference in blocks. Their inside defence is led by centre Connor Platz, who not only has almost three times as many blocks as anyone else in Canada West this year, but also became the all-time U SPORTS block leader right before the winter break.
"Trinity Western is dangerous, they have a veteran group now, some guys who have been there for a while," analyzed Jalalpoor. "They shoot the ball really well and you don't always know what version of the Spartans you'll get each night. When they turn it on they can go on some crazy runs, which we'll have to be ready to stop, or at least make it hard for them. They're well coached and play well together as a team.
"Platz is a real factor inside, he has really good timing, there's a reason he's the all-time leader in blocks. We have to be aware of him, but not shy away from attacking and going at him in certain situations."
This is the second-last home weekend for 'Birds basketball this regular season, with the team's only other guaranteed games at War Gym coming at the end of the month against UNBC, ahead of playoffs beginning in mid-February.
Find tickets to all T-Birds Basketball games
here. For those who can't attend in person, stream all of the action, live or on demand, on
Canada West TV.
