#1 “AAA” Byrne Creek Bulldogs vs #4 “AAAA” Burnaby South Rebels
Byrne Creek - Yesterday afternoon the Burnaby/New Westminster Final occured between the #1 “AAA” Byrne Creek Bulldogs vs #4 “AAAA” Burnaby South Rebels. The Bulldogs and Rebels each received a first round bye, a result of their #1 and #2 regular season finishes. In the semi-finals Byrne Creek defeated Alpha 94-60 while Burnaby South defeated New Westminster 81-70 which set the stage for the final in a packed, standing room only, Byrne Creek gym right after school.
The game started with a fast pace, as both teams tried to establish their running games, but it was the home team Bulldogs who jumped out to a 9-5 lead. #3 Sufi Ahmed, of the Bulldogs, would knock down the first of four consecutive “3’s” for the Bulldogs leading the Rebels to call a timeout. On the next play, the Rebels settled into a 2-3 zone so #3 Sufi Ahmed walked into another “3” from straight on. For the Rebels, #24 Jiordano Khan would get a driving lay-up. Later in the quarter, #13 Majok Deng would get a steal resulting in a lay-up and follow that up by extending his pressure to half-court forcing a Burnaby South turnover. #15 Baltej Sohal would walk into a transition “3”, but #13 Majok Deng would go for back-to-back buckets to end the quarter for the Bulldogs which put them up 28-14 after one quarter.
In the second, #15 Baltej Sohal of the Rebels would score a tough hanging bank layup as he was fouled, for an “and 1” to start the scoring in the quarter. He would follow that up with a pull jumper in transition, for a quick 5-0 run. From there, Byrne Creek would go on a 20-0 run that blew the game wide open for the Bulldogs. They would be led by #7 Martin Djunga who would explode for 15 points in the quarter. As the Byrne Creek defense began to swarm the Burnaby South players, turnovers allowed the Bulldogs to push the ball out in transition for a number of easy buckets in that period. #3 Sufi Ahmed would go for his third three pointer of the half off of a nice baseline out of bounds play while #13 Majok Deng continued to alter shots on the defensive end with his length and go for easy buckets rising above his defender on the offensive end. #7 Martin Djunga used some flashy dribbling to free himself of the defender before rising for a little floater. The game took a brief pause as there were some heated moments between the teams and officials did their best to manage the game. A lay-up by #1 Bithow Wan at the buzzer would make the score at the half 56-24 for the Byrne Creek Bulldogs.
Coming out of the locker rooms, #13 Majok Deng of Byrne Creek would score the first bucket of the half by grabbing an offensive rebound and putting it back up for an easy two. #24 Jiordano Khan would score a lay-up in transition going coast to coast for the two. The combination of strong defence plus one player leaking out paid off again in the third quarter for #13 Majok Deng, who was led with a nice pass and took one dribble before hammering a dunk down. #11 Aidan Wilson and #15 Baltej Sohal would get back-to-back buckets for the Rebels who looked like they started to get something going. #5 Yaphet Soloman provided a spark off of the bench for the Rebels with his energy, scoring an easy bucket, earning himself a couple of trips to the free throw line, and making an impact on the defensive end with a block. Byrne Creek would get an “and-1” from #32 Tyril Whitebear near the end of the quarter, but Burnaby South would get the last points of the quarter from #15 Baltej Sohal who got two from the line after being fouled. Burnaby South played well in the third, outscoring the Bulldogs 26-22, but the lead after 30 minutes was 78-50 in favour of the Bulldogs.
In the fourth quarte, #11 Aidan Wilson had a huge swat sending the ball out of bounds on defence for the Rebels to start the quarter and would follow that up by putting in a tough layup on the following possession. #24 Jiordano Khan would knock down a deep triple, hustle back on defense for a block, and then get a driving lay-up all in succession energizing the Burnaby South team. A steal by Burnaby South with their trapping defense would force Byrne Creek into a time-out, wanting to be extra cautious of their 84-61 lead. #1 Bithow Wan would score a floater off an isolation stopping the Burnaby South run. #13 Majok Deng would go for one more offensive rebound and put-back while being fouled for an “and-1”. When the final buzzer sounded the score was 90-66 in favour of the home team (and home crowd).
Congratulations to the Byrne Creek Bulldogs, 2017/2018 Burnaby/New Westminster Champions.
Leading Scorers:
Byrne Creek Bulldogs:
Bithow Wan - 26 points
Martin Djunga - 24 points
Majok Deng - 21 Points
Burnaby South Rebels
Baltej Sohal - 22 points
Jiordano Khan - 10 points
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