YM – Dru Creightney 21, Jack Ho 19, Tony Lee 9
Ball So Hard – Brandon Hoyem and Alan Hogan 16 each, Devon Carney 6
The matchup of the night was definitely “THE” matchup of the night! The reigning defending champion Ball So Hard squad vs YM (formerly YMCMB) former Vancouver Metro League champions were ready to square off!
Loaded! That is the first words that came to mind as both teams brought their starting fives onto the court, and both teams sitting down more than enough subs for this game. YM jumped on BSH right out of the gate, mostly from the outside. Dru Creightney hit on a few three pointers early in the game which helped open up driving lanes for Jack Ho and the rest of YM. Ball So Hard followed suit with the strong inside play of Brandon Hoyem and Alan Hogan. Gene Wolff was a good “mercenary” pick up for BSH as he not only knocked down a three pointer, but drew back to his Combo Guard days when he had two healthy knees! After a great “Thread the needle” pass, he yelled out, “It’s an easy game”!
The subs came fast and heavy, but not In Hockey shifts. More strategic in the purpose of the subbing in light of such a big marquee, heavyweight clash! YM made a nice run to end the half up 5 points, but that would be temporary as BSH came out of with a bombardment of drives to the hoop. Adi Baybay kept pressure on YM’s defense, even though he didn’t reach his last year’s scoring average, he continued to be a force to be reckon with on offense. Everyone did their best to contain Jack Ho, but his crafty ball handling and zig zag penetration gave BSH fits. Jack would find Tony Lee for 2 big three pointers in the 2nd half that staved off a few BSH scoring runs. Kelly Ho was also a big factor in the YM run. He didn’t have a big scoring day, but he came down with 7 big rebounds, and a few loose balls that gave YM extra possessions. Alan Hogan would keep the BSH defense stout as he would collect 2 blocked shots in the second half.
As the game came down to the wire, The YM defense clicked in and had two big stops to hold on to the slimmest of margins with less than 2 mins left. After challenging Alan Hogan’s shot, Dru Creightney took the rebound and went coast to coast for a goa head layup. On the ensuing possession, YM’s defense clamped down and got another stop! Reggie Catubuy would knock down a 15 footer to stretch YM’s lead to 4 with 56 seconds left. After a quick BSH score, Jack Ho was fouled and went to the line with a one and one. While “The Coach” for YM barked out defensive instructions, Jack would miss the free throw short! BSH grabbed the rebound, but turned the ball over looking for an outlet to fastbreak. Jack would go back to the line and make one of two free throws. BSH would get a last second three point attempt by Adi to tie the game but it came off.
Another great game in Vancouver Metro, which bodes well for the playoffs coming up!
Agaveros – Omid Toussi 23, Oscar Salvador 20, Jose Pepe Vega 11
Talisman – Sylvester Appial 14, Eric Chen 13, Elvin Owusa Ansah 10
With the schedule realignment for the night, both teams came in a little lethargic. A few guys were missing from Talisman, but they had enough to go at each other to fight for position for the last playoff spots in Vancouver Metro.
The veteran Agaveros from last year looked to have reclaimed their form from the 3rd place finish.
Oscar and Omid would launch an assault from the three point line, and it pushed Agaveros to a double digit halftime lead.
Talisman would make a game of it in the second half, and score 41 points. Eric Chen would use this surge to drop in 3 three pointers in that surge, but it wouldn’t be enough to get the comeback win in this matchup.
Stallions – Prince Carino 30, Roger Sheung 22, Jit Lohcham 20, Mark Halfnights 18
Sonic Boom – Gibran Sewani 19, Davor Isic 16, Mike Schmidt 6
I tried to find a few points of positivity in this game, and there were a few….very few. The danger of The Stallions is not just are they talented, have good stamina, and have a decent rotation off the bench, but The Stallions have long memories! Nearly anything you say that will be remembered by someone on that team, and the next thing you know…you are losing by 30, 40, or even 50!
Once I saw the game picking up I knew Sonic Boom didn’t have enough to combat the continuous blitz of The Stallions. Everyone on the Stallions scored in double figures except for Brody Greig, however he made up for that by having 6 assists. Prince Carino had the game high 30 to pace the Stallions.
The halftime score was bad, but the 2nd half was even worse with the Stallions winning by 50 points. A good statement win for the Stallions, as they may run with a small roster for a week or two.
SKG – Max Neumann 18, Will Chaing 15, JJ Bath 9
The Party – Chris Loreth 17, Lukas Domingo and Niko Motius 10 each
The Party…..is “Serious”! The Party’s resurgence has been noticeable, but shaky. As much excitement as they bring with three pointers, post up scoring, and other things, The Party teeters in the middle of the playoff race, and every game counts. Sofa King Good continues to be a juggernaut in the Metro League, even with a shorter team they still find ways to look like a team that is 10 feet tall!
The Party would kick off the festivities with a surge of offense that has put them in the playoff picture early in the season! Chris “Zebo” Loreth and Niko Motius took turns scoring from inside/out, and also dominate on the boards to start the game. Sofa King Good got off to a slow start, with having no warm up for the 2nd straight game. They got away with it last week, but ran into a 7 point depict at halftime.
The Party would continue to press the action in the paint, scoring with little resistance at times. SKG looked to be on the losing end of a game that was winnable, but they continued to miss on tons of opportunities. That would include back to back missed layups by Will Chaing (right hand layup attempts on the left side of the rim). Will and the other SKG members would wake up in a flash in the later part of the game. The ring leader of this combat would be Max Neumann! Max did an excellent job on the offense and defense, and almost pulled off the comeback single handed. JJ Bath and Will Chaing would have a number of clutch steals late in game. To make up for the missed layups, Mr. Chaing hit on a few crucial one dribble pull ups to give SKG a sizable lead. The Party would come back and hit on a few three pointers to keep the game within striking distance, but Max Neumann would close the door with a few big time offensive rebounds, and a hard driving layup to push the lead out. The Party would get a chance to tie or win the game late, and just their luck, Chris Loreth found the ball in his hands late in the game and at the three point line! A few weeks back “Zebo” hit a fadeaway three pointer to send that game in to OT, which they ended up winning. Before Zebo could cock back to release the attempt, Max swiped at the ball and thwarted the attempt!
Great game by both teams, and this game makes the upcoming playoffs look more and more exciting!
TTP – Matt Anza 27, Jeff Chan 13, Matt Yu 7
Flight – Russ Whitehead 16, Trey Slawter 15, Curtis Lum 13
Last season around this time, if I told you that TTP (formerly Van Rain) were 4-2, and were the 3rd seed in the entire league…would you believe me? Well, Believe It Now! TTP has silently moved into a great position half way through the season, when it comes to the upcoming playoffs. Flight is on the opposite side of the spectrum with zero wins, but are a game back in getting the 8th and final playoff spot!
Each team played like it was an elimination playoff game! Flight came out with more fire in this one, knowing that their backs were against the wall. RJ Base hustled all over the court, but continued to carry a “Goose Egg” on the board as it pertained to three pointers made. Russ Whitehead and Trey Slawter would pick up the energy and aggressiveness to help combat the supreme confidence on TTP’s “collective” faces. Matt Anza who was on “Roid Watch” last season (for undisclosed reasons), was up to his “Roadrunner” ways with his high energy attacks on Flight’s defense.
Flight would take a 3 point lead into halftime, but the 2nd half would see the tug of war of the season to date! The 2nd half would see the three pointers start falling for Flight, which enabled them to take a 7 point lead midway thru the 2nd half. TTP would go on a run of their own to take the lead back, and go up by as much as 8 points! Not long after both teams traded “Bricks”, Flight would make another push to try and steal this game by cutting the lead down to 4 with a minute left in the game. TTP would have a few careless turnovers, and give Flight two opportunities to tie or take the lead. Yet on two almost consecutive drives to the hoop would find Flight missing “Point Blank” layups! With those missed opportunities would go the game to TTP! A rough way to lose a game, but each game has lessons, and Flight knows they need to make ground up in the last few weeks to have a chance at the playoffs.
COMMUNITY
