VIU vs. Capilano has slowly become one of the more exciting games in the annual PACWEST circuit. The two have met in the playoffs every year for the past three seasons, with the winner going on to win PACWEST gold each time. Furthermore, the two are the only teams to have won more than one PACWEST title this decade, and the only two to win it since the pandemic.
In this article, I will recap both of Capilano's seasons, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they match up with VIU.
Women's
Season recap
Capilano's season could best be compared to a roller coaster that wasn't fully built before the theme park opened. Despite a strong 6-1 start, headlined by great solo efforts from Maddy Coffin and PACWEST Rookie of the Year Mia Parkin, four straight losses to CBC and VIU would derail their season. Eight straight losses, including going winless in February, was the kiss of death to their hopes of a first-round bye.
Though they were the host team at that year's PACWEST championships due to CBC's controversy, few had hope for them. They would draw the Langara Falcons in the quarterfinals, marking the first playoff meeting between the two since 2009. Unlike last time, Capilano would prevail and advance to the semifinals, but would fall to the Mariners in the semifinals as Harriette Mackenzie posted a 23-14 double double.
The Blues would go on to win PACWEST bronze over Douglas, providing a slight silver lining to a strange season.
Strengths and weaknesses
Capilano is confident in their guard room, and I don't blame them. Mia Parkin and Barcha Hnizdilova both finished top 5 in points per game, with the latter finishing top 5 in assists per game. Furthermore, Jenna Griffin, Kim Tiu, and Parkin all finished top 3 in three-point percentage.
However, Chris Weimer seemed to develop a strange fixation for wings over the offseason, as their first three recruits are capable of playing at both shooting guard and small forward (which is what a wing is).
First came former provincial champion and MVP Alanna Schieman, who spent most of her childhood in North Vancouver and is expected to fit easily in the open court.
Next, the Blues got a package deal from local club Split Second: Swiss-army knife Sasha Neuhaus and 3-and-D wing Jade de Fondaumiere.
Veteran defender Olivia Rozinsky, who had previously spent two seasons with Northwestern Polytechnic, was the final recruit. Across her 17 starts with the Wolves last year, she averaged 3.9 rebounds and over a steal per game across 20 minutes.
How do they fare against VIU?
Capilano and VIU utilize a very similar playstyle, but VIU has the edge in terms of proven winners. Counting the playoffs, VIU defeated Capilano five times last year.
Both teams are strong on the perimeter, but what separates these two is VIU's interior. Maddy Coffin is among the top players in the conference, but VIU has more immediate talent in the frontcourt, and has more coming on the way.
This is not to disregard the Blues entirely: At the tail end of the 2010s, Capilano had the upper hand, with over 50% of VIU's total losses over the last decade coming against the Blues.
That being said, VIU should still be the favorite here. The games will undoubtedly be closer, but VIU has the proven championship talent to pull out wins, close or otherwise.
Men's
Season recap
After winning bronze last year, the Blues made a coaching change. Alex Van Samang, only a year removed from winning PACWEST gold, stepped down to make way for his top assistant, Jason Price.
At a glance, Capilano’s regular season was nothing spectacular, as they finished 3rd in the PACWEST at 13-11, despite a 5-0 start. Upon closer inspection, however, the Blues began to look more dangerous. In addition to finishing second in the conference in shooting percentage and third in rebounds per game, they conceded the fewest rebounds in the conference thanks to their stifling defense, anchored by reigning PACWEST DPOY Damein Coleman, who had transferred from CBC a year ago.
Even as the host team for the PACWEST championship, many did not expect much from the Blues. Before the tournament began, Coleman won his second consecutive DPOY, becoming only the third player in PACWEST history to win the award.
After cruising past Douglas in the quarterfinals, they took down Camosun in a double overtime thriller, then upset the #1 seed VIU Mariners to win their second PACWEST title in three years, and advance to nationals in Montreal.
Nationals would not go nearly as well for Capilano, as they would finish 0-3, culminating in a placement game loss to the ACAC’s Keyano Huskies.
Strengths and weaknesses
Capilano's biggest strength is their well-balanced roster. The backcourt didn't have a bona fide centerpiece last year, but was rather led by committee. Kash Lang led the scoring with 15.1 points per game, while Arshya Ghasemi and Ahmad Athman didn't finish far behind with 10.4 and 9.3 in that category respectively, with the latter also averaging 3.9 assists per game. Ajaypal Hayer, a former redshirt with Douglas, also transferred to Capilano after the winter break and became a key piece off the bench.
The frontcourt also uses a by-committee approach, headlined by true centre Zach Klim and defensive anchor Damein Coleman. The latter led the team in rebounds while being named the conference's best defensive player for the second year in a row.
TJ Klim, a longtime assistant with the program learned from both Van Samang and Price, gets his first crack at a lead job this season, and he'll have a lot of new toys to play with.
After their return from Montreal, they hit the recruiting portal at full speed, starting by signing all-purpose guard Jayden Kenyon from Brookswood. Soon after, their guard room would flood with recruits, including high-motor guard Jacob Oreta, 6’5” wing Erik Bergman, and transition threat Afu Bullock, topped off by poaching shooter Zekun Li from VIU. Their forward room would also be bolstered with the additions of Alfonso Reyes, Zach Hamed, and Daniel Abkenar, which when combined with the returning Zach Klim and Damein Coleman, should put Capilano in conversation for the best frontcourt in the province and potentially the country.
How do they fare against VIU?
This team has the best shot of consistently beating VIU this season. Between Damein Coleman and Zach Klim locking down the frontcourt to Ahmad Athman and Zekun Li manning the offense, Capilano is arguably the most complete team in the conference.
Furthermore, Capilano has a proven track record of defeating VIU in major games, having bested them in both the 2023 and 2025 gold medal matches.
The Blues also have one of the strongest frontcourts in recent PACWEST history, and should match up nicely with VIU's relatively unproven bigs.
Capilano's by-committee approach to perimeter scoring also prevents them from easily falling victim to strong defense, whereas VIU ran most of their offense through Kam Bender and Kaeleb Johnson last season, and are projected to do the same with Nathan Pasloske and Levi Van Egdom.
This is sure to be an entertaining matchup, regardless of who wins. A fourth straight playoff meeting between these two, for conference gold or otherwise, is in the works.
We're going in alphabetical order, so the next post will be on the CBC Bearcats. Until next time, this has been Kaleb Green, the voice of VIU.
-K
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