2017 Vancouver Metro Final Four
#1 Stallions 71 - #5 Swat 75
Swat -Jomari Reyes 23, Brian Wallack 15, Blake Poritz 12
Stallions - Roger Sheung 23, Dustin Entwistle 14, Prince Carino 10
Swat arrived at this game earning a mild upset to get to the Final Four, only to run head first into the most successful team in Vancouver Metro history in The Stallions! As with a few teams, the Stallions found themselves with less and less players as the end of the season loomed. Tonight would be the same, but would be missing a few key staples in their playoff runs. Mark Halfnights was still on a plane when the game started, and the former MVP Brody Greig would be absent again for the Stallions. This situation has been overcome by The Stallions many times before, but the young Swat team would have other plans!
As in most of the games this season, The Stallions pushed the pace at every opportunity, and this attack would usually begin the “chipping away” at their opponents stamina and confidence to win the game. However, The Stallions would face a Swat team with alot of youth, talent, and stamina! Led in scoring by Jomari Reyes along with the leadership of Blake Portiz, Swat was able to match surge for surge which began to build a buzz in this game that would look to be something special going forward.
The Stallions came out of halftime with a 1 point lead, and their seemed to be no doubt that they would turn it on sometime in the second half. Dusty and Braden would dominate the boards for the Stallions, but Swat would counter with a 24 rebound game by Blake, and continue to put pressure on the interior defense of the Stallions who were missing a big piece of that defense in Halfnights. Down the stretch a few key plays would decide this closely contested battle! Jomari would go on a 6-0 run of his own late in the game, as he would hit on a driving layup and hit on a tough contested 8 foot jumper! Down 4, the stallions would get beat to a loose ball by Jonus, who would slap the ball down court to a wide open Jomari for an easy layup! Swat tried to close the show with an alley oop that would of put them up 8, but it sailed over Bryan’s head like a 50 yard field goal attempt! The Stallions mounted their last comeback attempts in the end, but could not hit on their driving layups or the long three pointer that would land short of the rim. At the buzzer, the upset was complete! Swat would go on to face the winner of the Ball So Hard/Sofa King Good matchup! Both former champions, but after this showing, Swat proved that they could beat anyone in this years Metro league!
#2 Ball So Hard 62 - #3 Sofa King Good 51
BSH - Brandon Hoyem 20, Cole Faminoff 17, Alan Hogan 8
SKG - Eddie Fan 16, Alex Koong 13
The full regular season battle to get to the playoffs and the final 4 all came down to this showdown! At a glance this game would have been billed “Finesse vs Brawn”, by the obvious size difference between the teams. Yet the team with the Blue uniforms with the white trim is a team built on a winning in several different ways, and in several different styles! Sofa King Good fought and scrapped their way to this matchup with their 3 guard attack, while missing key player from their championship past! Kevin Rasmussen took his place on the bench missing the entire season, was a big blow to them but SKG is always a threat in every game!
The start of this game gave you a taste of how potent Ball So Hard could be! Not just on offense where they showed flashes of inside and outside potential, but on the defensive end they would show excellent team and individual defense! SKG continued to battle and attack with Alex Koong and “Mad Man” Eddie Fan would carry the charge, as they would not be satisfied with their usual 3 point barrage. As the half concluded, you could see the Ball So Hard game plan as they pressed up on the three point line, forcing their opponents to drive into the strength of their defense. The halftime score was tight, but BSH looked to have a stronger grip on the game than their 6 point halftime lead would suggest.
The second half would continue with each team taking big swings at each other (figuratively), but a theme began to dominate this game. BSH would begin to absolutely dominate on the defensive end and in the paint with their 3 headed monsters (Hoyem, Cole, and Alan Hogan)! Hoyem and Hogan started picking the lock of the interior defense of SKG, while Cole came in and just kicked the door down! Massive rebounds on both ends of the floor, and drawing foul after foul after foul including two big buckets plus a free throw to send a few SKG players into foul trouble. Even after missing one of the And 1 opportunities, Cole would grab his own rebound and get fouled again! BSH effectively ground SKG’s offensive attack to a screeching halt, and would go on to win this game by 11 points! A dominating performance going into the championship game, now knowing the favored Stallions had been upset and was out of the Championship game!
G2 61 - Agaveros 70
Agaveros - Andres 19, Pep Luis 16, Abraham 12
G2 - Gabe Gibbs 31, Jacob Aradom 12, Igor Dutina 9
This game by all accounts could have fooled the average person watching these two teams before the game started. One team had a hyped up warm up, with alot of talking and communication. The other team had smiles going, but also had fresh bright G2 uniforms on. However, they also had a little bit of nonchalantness about their warmup, and I think one of their players had “Flats” on!
The start of the game was telling as Agaveros would race off to a fast start. G2 had a few early opportunities to put points on the board but they seemed like they were still warming up. A few long passes were missed due to miscommunication, or muscles and joints that were still in need of little “oil” from the good old oil can! Agaveros needed no such oil, as they put on their patented fast pace offense early and often! While observers were trying to find out if one of the G2 players were wearing “Sox” or “Slippers” in the game, Avegaros was scoring bucket after bucket, layup after layup.
The halftime score had a 19 point advantage for Agaveros, and it looked like G2 was not going to show up for this matchup! Near the end of the first half, one of the G2 players yelled “Don’t Give Up”! Midway through the 2nd half, G2 would show signs of a pulse as they would blitz their opponent to get back into the game! In a span of less than 2 minutes, G2 went onf a 12-0 run to cut the lead to 10! Immediately everyone watching, was now engaged in this game again! For the rest of the game, G2 would press the action, but Avegaros led by Oscar and Andres would hold off G2 for the victory! Even tho Oscar was thrown out of the game on technical fouls, his squad closed out the game in gritty fashion.
TTP 70 - Shockwave 40
TTP - Maher Elusini 14, Sunny Chen 12, Seemo Elusini 11
Shockwave - Issac 17, Joel Kibangula 9
Battling it out for the 2nd spot in the Div finals, TTP and Shockwave were geared up for a full on battle to the end! The warm up lines didn’t reveal much in the way of which team looked to be ready to go. Each squad had sweat coming from their brow, which usually means both teams were ready to go!
The game plan for TTP has been run, run, and run some more. Back to the “Van Rain” days where Matt and Kevin Anza use to run for days, and every game is like a homecoming for them. Shockwave came ready to and match shot for shot throughout most of the first half. While Shockwave would rely on the 3 point shot, TTP would rely on the run, run, and run some more! The game started off shaky, but the veteran poise of TTP would help them take a 7 point lead at the half.
The 2nd half would see TTP put on the rocket boosters and absolutely ran away with the 2nd half! The onslaught points nearly equal to a Whistler avalanche, engulfed the Shockwave squad who didn't know what hit them. The rim became “rotten” and unkind for Shockwave, as every shot they missed, TTP would capitalize on each and every one. In the end, TTP would win this game by 40 points! Easily beating their previous record for margin of victory, and also cementing a strong showing going into the final game next week
METRO MAN OF THE WEEK
Brian Wallack - SWAT
Up against the former champs in the Stallions, Brian picked up a double - double with 15 points and 15 rebounds leading his SWAT team to the Metro League Championship!
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