Western Conference - Week 7 - November 16, 2015
BALL SO HARD 62 VS. LIVESTOCK 69
Livestock – Patrick Samson 13pts, Ryan Clancy 12pts, Karmal Omer 10pts
Ball So Hard – Brandon Hoyem 17pts, Lucas Wera 17pts, Devon Carney 9pts
I billed this as the most “unofficially” engaging game of the night! I go on and on about both of these teams, because they embody what Metro League is all about! Toughness, grit, skill, and heart! This game was a “Pick Em’” if it were on the Vegas betting board!
In this game, points came from everywhere and everyone! The game started off with a few quick buckets from Livestock’s Karmal “Oladipo” Omer! From there both teams relentlessly attacked each other! LiveStock would hold a slim lead at half, but both teams knew that the game was still up for grabs!
The second half would see the hardnosed LiveStock team find ways to score buckets and get crucial stops in the 2nd half to secure the victory! The playoffs are right around the corner, but we witnessed a slugfest that may play out again in a few weeks.
SONIC BOOM 72 VS. STALLIONS 100
Stallions – Mark Halfnights 22pts, Jitt Locham 20pts, Elliot Mason 17pts
Sonic Boom – Joey Haywood 31pts, Mark Mitchell 13pts, Connor Rockandel 11pts
To say this game was going to be fast pace, is like saying Usain Bolt and Deion Sanders are fast! A no-brainer, so to speak. The big differences were you had 3 fast players vs 7 fast players with size with two former MVPs! Two you ask? One is the former Langara College standout Brody Greig, and the other would be former Metro League Finals MVP Luis Ayala!
The game started fast, and the score was closer than most people projected in the first half. The game became a little “heated” between the two adversaries, and that is where the rubber met the road. Joey Haywood and Mark Mitchell put constant pressure on the Stallions defense, with penetration and long three point shots. Yet like the champs they are, The Stallions shrugged it off and continued to run….and run… and run some more!
The first half would see a slim lead for the Stallions, but high scoring. The second half was all Stallions! With only 5 players, Sonic Boom’s motor oil burned right out of the engine! The constant running, pressure, and height overwhelmed the short-handed Sonic Boom which led to a 5 on 4 situation due to a Sonic Boom foul out.
SB BATTLE 93 VS. SWAT 56
SB Battle – Demitri Harris 33pts, Clay Crellin 18pts, Gabriel Diggs 12pts
SWAT – Gene Wold 25pts, Al Ned 12pts, Rich Wolf 9pts
SB Battle looked half focused and half lethargic coming into their matchup with SWAT. Early on the SWAT team seemed to confound SB with some veteran precision and some hot 3 point shooting by Gene “The Lone Wolf” Wolf! Gene connected on four first half three pointers, which led to some unexpected infighting among the SB brethren! A quick hundle after a SWAT timeout seemed to “right the ship”, and SB went on a big run led by Clay Crellin and Demitri Harris 22 first half points!
SWAT ran out of gas in the second half under the relentless pressure of SB. Turnovers, missed layups, bad fouls, and a technical foul marked the beginning of the end for SWAT in this game. Midway through the second half the game turned into an NBA Dunk Contest warmup! With only 6 players and a few of them having the worst games of the season. SB would cruise to a comfortable winning getting back in the win column after the bad beating they took from the Stallions in the “Revenge Game”!
Eastern Conference - Week 7 - November 16, 2015
SUICIDE SQUAD 60 VS. HOOP FIENDS 66
Suicide Squad – David 10pts, Jhonnel Ramos 9pts, Jeff 9pts
Hoop Fiends – Matt Anza 19pts, Andre Chaharan 16pts, Arthur 14pts
Its always a good sign when the first game starts off with fireworks! A high scoring competition between hungry combatants, makes for a good vibe for the rest of the night (usually). These two teams didn’t have a 30 point scorer, but both teams had a bunch of people get on the score sheet in this tilt!
Metro league veteran Matthew Anza led all scorers with 19 points and was pivotal in Hoop Fiends victory! Not sure where they fit in the playoff structure, but they will be interesting to watch. Hoop Fiends is like eating the new Doritos “Roulette” chips! You never know when you are going to get a hot chip….I thought that was insightful! LOL!
STILL BALLIN 61 VS. YMCMB 62
Still Ballin – Trey Melton 27, Munraj Sandher 12pts, Will V. 11pts
YMCMB – Jack Ho 20pts, Will Chang 14, Tony 13pts
I sound like a broken record when it comes to Still Ballin’s “Notoriously” slow start to games in the Metro League! Seasons ago, this was not evident in their games in Metro, but somehow Still Ballin has developed a case of the first half “Yips”! Going up against the former league champs in YMCMB, was not going to help their cause.
Like clockwork, YM was all of the taller Still Ballin team, and raced off to a 15 point halftime lead! A lot of forced and unforced turnovers, missed shots and opportunities pinned Still Ballin up against the “proverbial” wall once again!
The second half would see one of Still Ballin’s best performances in their long history! Being carried on the back of Trey Melton’s career high 27, Still Ballin came back to wrestle a one point lead away from YM! YM would be relentless in their attack on the basket to get the go ahead score. With 4 seconds left, Will Chang drove to the hoop and made an acrobatic, circus like layup to give YM the lead again! Still Ballin would not get a shot attempt up, and YM would steal a game they were supposed to lose!
CORE 64 VS. METRO MEN 57
Metro Men – James Zhou 22pts, Rob Lake 17pts, Vito Chan 10pts
Core – Brandon Harder 13pts, Michael Cheung 13pts, Ivan Ma 6pts
I have been all over Core in recent seasons for what I deem as “under succeeding”! I’ve seen their potential, and I have set in my mind a higher standard of an achievement level for them. Gone is the standout Cody Cormack (as it was bluntly brought to my attention). With that said, Core would form a new set of standards in my mind. Slow and steady.
Most of the “Core” Core group is still intact, sprinkled with a few new comers. After falling behind by one, Core methodically fought their way back into the game! They would eventually wear Metro Men down, and win the game by 7.
A new Core team? Apparently so.
SOFA KING GOOD 90 VS. DEEP THROWERS 62
Deep Throwers – Donald Elliott 12pts, Kent Hector 12pts, Vishal Lekhi 8pts
Sofa King Good – JJ Bath 22pts, Eddie Fan 19pts, Jotha 12pts, Hui 12pts
Sofa King Good rallied around JJ Bath this game, after the stinker he put up last week! Rumor has it that JJ “airballed” 8 three point shots! Exaggerated? Maybe, or maybe not. In any event, JJ would have a near career night! SKG attacked Deep throwers relentlessly on offense and defense in the first half, scoring 51 points!
Donald Elliot and Kent Hector scored 33 of Deep Throwers 62 points, and if it were not for them this game would have been way worse.
Game Note:
SKG hit on 10 three pointers as JJ Bath would it on four of them! Protein Shakes or just getting in the gym and getting up shots more than once a week? Either way, JJ “No Knees” Bath may be back….FINALLY! LOL.
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