MEN'S DIVISION 1
All Native 58 – Underwater Squad 71
Underwater – Will Ondrik, Tommy Nixon, and Dominic Gilbert: 15 pts each
All Native – Sean Holland: 17 pts, Gene Wolff : 14 pts
The game theory for these two teams are similar, but definitely have a different way of getting to a victory. All Native has a good mix of young and veteran players, not their traveling team, but still a force to not overlook. The young Underwater team also has a mix of young and younger players, that help with their up-tempo style.
The game went from fluid and close, to rough and “chippy” in some sense. The plays went back and forth up until the middle of the 2nd half. Even with Tommy Nixon showing up late, the other Underwater bigs showed off their inside out skills. Gene “Reborn Knees” Wolff did his best to keep All Native close, but couldn’t find a rhythm. It was good to see Sean Holland find his 25 points per game form from his previous stints in Vancouver Metro League, but Underwater had contributions from a lot of their young talent.
The win goes to Underwater, but the season is still up for grabs.
Academy 70 – Sonic Boom 67
Academy – Graham Bath: 23 pts, Bret Macdonald: 21 pts
Sonic Boom – Derek Mooney: 24, Aron Sawyer: 12
It must have been opposite day on this day, because this game was quite odd to start with. It is well established that both of these teams usually have a short bench if any bench at all. Sonic Boom would have almost a full NBA roster, in numbers. The Academy would have 5 for the entire game, and they didn’t seem to be phased by it!
The game was as tight as any this season! Both teams used their advantages to near perfection, as the score would see-saw all the way up until the last two possessions of the game! Sonic Boom dominated the rebounding, while The Academy used their perimeter and driving skills to keep SB off balanced. After Stu Wallenstein fouled out, that would leave openings for The Academy to attack the paint. Sonic Boom’s Derek Mooney would hit a game tying jump shot with 55 seconds left in the game. The Academy would work the ball around with SB hounding them on defense. After 8 passes, the ball landed in the hands of “Easy” Bret Macdonald, who was more than ready to let it fly….and let it fly he did! Nothing but the bottom of the net! Macdonald’s three pointer gave The Academy a three point lead with 25 seconds left. Even through 45 minutes of play with 5 players, The Academy’s last possession defense was almost flawless! SB was not able to tie the game up, and The Academy escaped with a big time victory!
Toonsquad 73 – UBC 68
Toonsquad – Jaden Cohee: 19 pts, Sheldon Derton and Mindy Minhas: 16 pts each
UBC – Patrick Simon: 19 pts, Luka Zaharijevic: 17 pts
“We are going to get them next week!”, are the words I heard from Mindy Minhas the week previous. I like the confidence that anyone can be beat, on any given night. With that said, the Toonsquad put themselves in the crosshairs for success. Being in the crosshairs means you are not only the hunter, but you are a target. Both teams are young and confident, and have nearly the same attributes. Winning a game like this comes down to execution and who wants it more!
The game was competitive as advertised! The back and forth of the game was indicative of a match that would go down to the wire. The difference in this game for Toonsquad is that the shots that didn’t fall last week, went in this week! No better time to have it rolling against one of the top teams in the league! A good win that will contribute to the drama at the end of the season!
SB Battle 88 – Blues Basketball Club 50
SB Battle – Nate Brown: 19 pts, Gabriel Diggs: 17 pts
Blues Basketball Club – Chris Coreth: 19 pts, Grady: 11 pts
#1 ranked, reigning Metro League Champion SB Battle cruised into this matchup against the young Blues Basketball team with more than enough confidence, and motivation to hit the ground running in this matchup. Even with missing one of their anchors in the middle, SB took off like a rocket ship!
Chris Coreth did as much as he could to keep his team in the game, but it was not nearly enough. At every position, SB is at least 2 players deep. Almost in the frame of Golden State, most of their players could start on any team in the Metro league! The game doesn’t stop until the buzzer sounds, and SB played until the refs “threw the towel” in the ring!
Coquitlam Boys 100 - Hilltoppers 0
MEN'S DIVISION 2
WH 74 – B2B 69
WH – Justin: 19 pts
B2B – Francis: 21 pts
This season is starting to shape up as far as recognizing which teams are near the top of the food chain in the Div 2 scrum! Both these teams are deep and talented, yet neither cared about much more than winning this game!
This game was close throughout, and had several
Sofa King Good 88 – Core 63
Sofa King Good – Gurjit Pooni: 30 pts, Kevin Rasmussen: 30 pts (10 3's)
Core – Tyus Batiste: 17 pts
The ongoing saga of Core seems to grow more and more legs as each game goes on. Even with two of their marquee players missing, the Core squad looks like a formidable Div 1 contender. Sofa King Good doesn’t know much about the “Core” story, all the former title holders know is that it is time to play!
The “Palmer” zone was in full effect, and it did what it usually does……IT WORKED! With the Bath Bros out and no “Mad Man” Eddie Fan, the rest of SKG continued on like business as usual and Kevin Rasmussen proceeded to hit a "quiet" 10 3's. The game seemed to be not as close as the score would indicate. The season is not over, but we are nearing the halfway point quickly!
Western Union 87 – The Party 47
Western Union –
The Party – Nico: 12 pts
The Party is always going to show up for the games on the schedule, and make a “Party” out of it. Western Union made sure everyone knew that they like a party just like the next guy! The title contending Western Union team started off like a rocket! So much so, Western would score more points in the first half than the Party would score the entire game! Western Union is hungry for the crown!
B.O.B. 100 – Flight 74
B.O.B. – Andrew Morris: 30 pts
Flight – Matt Anza: 26 pts
B.O.B. continues to roll though the competition, as they would take on a Flight team that was missing a few key players and had some “height” issues. Even in scoring a
SoulGood 70 – YMCMB 52
SoulGood – Adi Adlib: 22 pts, Allen “Spidey” Hogan: 20 pts
YMCMB – Jack Ho: 14 pts, Toran: 13 pts
SoulGood is starting to come together again. In missing a few players to obligations and/or “defections”, SoulGood continues to improve with each game and the sooner the better as far as the playoff picture goes!
YMCMB limps into another contest undermanned, and still looking for the spark that the “YM” name stands for. This contest would be hard for them in facing a hungry, former title contending team in SoulGood.
The battle was close in the first half with each team jockeying for position. Adi “Adlib” was all over the court and put constant pressure on YM’s defense! YM’s Jack Ho and Toran did their best to keep YM in the game, but SoulGood had too much firepower, and ferocity to lose this game.
Emperors 65 – Cloverdale Brodies 59
Emperors – Van: pts, Ryan: 17 pts
Cloverdale Brodies – Vik Sahi: 15 pts,
In a highly competitive game, these two squads came to play and things got a little contentious! Every minute was a “Tug of War” with a lot of
The Emperors were able to hold off the Brodies to collect the win.
Ball So Hard 76 – Stepbrothers 30
BSH – Brandon: 24 pts,
Stepbrothers – Ray and Rudy: 8 pts each
Ball So Hard had a strong first half to put this game out of reach in the first half! BSH is one of the top teams in Div 2, and the “odds makers” knew that the winless Stepbrothers Squad would have their hands full. Even without a win this season, The Stepbrothers continue to work hard and have fun along the way.
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