Division 2 Week 7 Sunday - May 3, 2015
Sofa King Good 75 Vs. Flight 61
Sofa King Good – Gurjit 22 Points, Kevin Rasmussen 14 Points, Amritpal Bath and Eddie Fan 13 Points each.
Flight – Russ 17 Points, R.J. Base 12 Points, Jermaine 8 Points.
Lo and behold, Sofa King Good had their full team today! Miracles don’t happen every day, and not having one of these guys on “vacation” is definitely a miracle! Flight also brought a full roster, plus some. So much so we had to rollout the “Court-side Seats”!
The matchup, as always between these two teams is like two rams butting heads! The start looked like it would be a big tug of war battle, with both teams jockeying for position.
RJ Base knocked down a few three pointers for Flight, and Russ #13 started fast but they had no answer for the full SKG attack! The league famous “SKG 2-3 zone” not only slowed Flight’s attack, it led to a number of transition 3 point makes and layups!
Sofa King Good led at the half by 15, and even worse news for Flight is that one of their top shooters looked to be a little “gimpy”.
The second half was even worse than the first. Flight couldn’t find a rhythm for most of the 2nd half. Sofa King Good continued their attack, and even had JJ Bath at the post up 4 man!
Sofa King Good would win by 14 points, but there are vacations in their future. Hopefully for them, they can get them all out of the way before the playoffs!
Ball So hard 59 Vs. Bricklayers 43
Ball So Hard – Brandon Hoyem 17 Points , Andrew Le, Devon Carney, and Denis Smajlovic 9 Points each.
Bricklayers – Sharya 15 Points, Ryan Szeto 11 Points.
The Bricklayers have identified themselves as one of the “Hot and Cold” teams of the division. When they are on, they are a formidable team. When they are cold, it’s hard for them to warm up…the entire game!
Unfortunately, they started out slow against one of the highest scoring teams in Vancouver Metro history! Ball So Hard always finds a way to put points on the board no matter how bad a percentage they shoot.
Ball So Hard’s attack mostly came from within the three point line today, but it was more than enough against The Bricklayers. Sharya #85 for The Bricklayers tried to rally the troops with 13 2nd half points including three made 3 pointers!
Too much Ball So Hard ended this game in the 2nd half, but it was entertaining none the less. A lot of physicality and a lot of friendly and not so friendly banter.
The Party 60 Vs. Core 62
Core – Michael Cheung 23 Points, Sukha Hear 11 Points, John McCarthy and Ricky Manhas 10 Points each.
The Party – Akeem Pierre 24 Points, Matt Madewan 15 Points, and Ryan Shams 11 Points.
Another big matchup on this Sunday pitted the potential league champs Core Vs. the revamped upstart The Party crew.
Both teams were a little short handed, but Core was missing their “unofficial” co-captain Cody Cormack! Even with that said Core is still a dangerous team. The Party continues to be a threat to “The Crown” even with a few hiccups in the last few weeks.
The 1st half started out very competitive and physical! Both teams were not giving an inch, but The Party started to build a small lead midway through the first half. Even though Matt Madewan and Ryan Shams made one three pointer apiece, The Party’s three point shooting was way below average. So much so they threw up a few air balls at one point!
Core didn’t have the best start either. The defense of The Party was pretty intense, yet they were still able to keep the game within 7 points at the half with the help of some timely made three pointers.
The second half was even more entertaining with The Party threating to push the lead to double digits. The Party’s Akeem Pierre took the ball coast to coast, 1 on 3, and split two people for an “Iverson type” finish! Core was on the ropes, and looked to be down for the count. Enter Michael Cheung!
One of the more dangerous combo guards in Division 2, Michael put Core on his back and willed his team back in the game hitting on 5 second half 3 pointers and with timely defense, he forced The Party to call a timeout down 1 point late in the 2nd half.
Core would get a fortuitous break late in the game when The Party grabbed a defensive rebound, but committed a crucial unforced error on the outlet play! One member of the Party made a great diving save to keep it inbounds, but right to a Core player who put it in for a layup and a 4 point lead!
The Party squandered an opportunity to cut it to 2 points on a missed layup, and had to do the foul game to try to force overtime. Core would hit two free throws to up the lead to 6 points with less than 30 seconds left in the game. After a Party timeout, Akeem Pierre was able to get the ball under high pressure from two Core defenders. Two dribbles to his left and launched a three pointer with two Core players draped all over him, and nailed a big time three pointer!
Core would make the game even more interesting by giving up a late bucket, leaving the lead at 2 points. Two missed free throws from Core, gave The Party their last chance at victory. However, they would fall short at the end of a great game!
DIVISION 1 WEEK 5 MONDAY - MAY 4, 2015
Splash Bros. 74 Vs. Douglas 66
Splash Bros. – Maher Elusini and Ajay Adusei 22 Points each, Kenny George 15 Points
Douglas – Andrew Morris 29 Points, Kristian Hildebrandt 8 Points, Charles Luu 6 Points
This game was billed as a high powered, fast pace, long range shooting contest. It was all of that and more! Douglas standout Andrew Morris tried to take on the entire Splash Bros by himself! Maher Elusini and Ajay Adusei had other plans, as they dueled throughout the entire game!
Douglas had a few troubles in their offensive set and their substitution pattern. Malcom Mensah seemed to take a backseat in this game, and his scoring would be missed in the end. After a shaky start, Splash Bros continued to make defensive and offensive plays that broke Douglas’s rhythm on several occasions. The X factor for Splash was rookie Vancouver Balloholics guard Kenny George! He only had 15 points in the game, but he was the anchor on the defensive end all game long! Yet Douglas was still able to make a few comebacks by way of Morris. In the end, the Splash Bros made the stops they needed to win this contest! Great game.
Stallions 61 Vs. System 8 Athletics 87
System 8 Athletics – Pat 22 Points, Jermaine Haley 16 Points, Tyler Lutton 15 Points
Stallions – Prince Carino 15 Points, Roger Shueng 13 Points, Mike Berg 9 Points.
The matchup of the season so far was in this matchup! The who’s who of Division 1 was in this game, and there would be an avalanche of action going on in this one. As with most games, both teams had a few key players missing. As the game started, we found out which key players meant the most to their teams!
Two new additions to System 8 would boost their potential title hopes even further with Pat #20 and former St. Georges standout Emerson Murray! From the jump ball, System 8 ran all over the 4 time Vancouver Metro champions! It wasn’t just the offense, but System 8’s defense was smothering! Holding the defending champs to 19 first half points (unofficially a first half low in their league history)!
The second half would see the Stallions find their scoring touch led by Roger Sheung. Their effort would go for not, as System 8 would continue to run, and run, and run……and RUN SOME MORE! A few course words were shared near the end of the game, but the statement was made! System 8 is the new sheriff in town…..for now!
New Power Generation 68 Vs. Sonic Boom 57
New Power Generation – James Lum and Frankie Liu 15 Points each, Jacky Chow 11 Points.
Sonic Boom – Mark Mitchell 24 Points, Connor Rockandel 13 Points, Ian Pierre-Louis 7 Points.
The New Power Generation looks to be gaining momentum, even without their leading scorer Tommy Nixon. Sonic Boom still short-handed, found an ex player in former top scorer Mark Mitchell! The game was more competitive than I thought it would be as Sonic Boom had limited players at its disposal, and they made a good effort to try and keep the game close.
The entire NPG team had a hand in their advantage over Sonic Boom. Points, rebounds, assists, defense, etc. As Sonic Boom made some challenges to the double digit lead, NPG had 4 players score in double figure and would take the victory going away.
SWAT 71 Vs. Kings 73
Kings – Matt Viser and Dru Creightney 13 Points each, Nick Cochran 12 Points.
SWAT – Stuart Wanensteen 20 Points, Kadeem Willis 18 Points, Gabe Gibbs 17 Points.
The Division one talent is solid, and each matchups no matter the records seems to be competitive and action packed! The Kings have upgraded their roster, and look to make a good push in the middle of the season. SWAT team is packed full of talent, but in need of chemistry.
The push for a solid lead came early and often for both teams, as they both had a slow start on offense or maybe it was solid defense. SWAT was without a sub on this evening, but it didn’t hinder them from making a good 9-2 run to take a 4 point halftime lead.
Kings found a small spot in which they made a small run, only to be overrun by a quick SWAT run that would push the lead to 9. From that point, Kings took advantage of some holes in the SWAT defense and their conditioning. It was a full on attack on the offense and defensive end for Kings! Steals, blocks, and breakout layups put them up 6 late in the 2nd half. The Kings looked to have the game in hand up 11 with 1:15 seconds left in the game. With the game on the line and loads of pressure for a comeback, flashes of old brilliants made its way to the spotlight! In the span of 45 seconds, SWAT’s Gene Wolff went on a three point barrage! Gene knocked down three 3 pointers to cut the lead to 2 points! The Kings turned the ball over on a controversial out of bounds call on the sideline, right in front of their bench. Fortunately for them, the “basketball gods” would see SWAT step on the baseline under their own hoop with 2 seconds left on the clock nowhere near the bonus.
Another great game in Div 1, and more to come for sure.
DIVISION 2 WEEK 7 MONDAY - MAY 4, 2015
Still Ballin' 58 Vs. Van Rain 46
Still Ballin' – Brandon Chancey 18 Points, Donovan Britten 14 Points.
Van Rain – Matthew Anza 18 Points, Guy Ostrovsky 11 Points.
Van Rain has a hard road ahead without their leading scorer Jasmin Demiravic, but Guy Ostrovsky is filling in quite nicely.
The next obstacle ahead of them? The veteran Still Ballin team! The only question in this matchup would be how long it would take to get Still Ballin going? Notorious for their slow starts, Still Ballin’ seems to tempt fate win a win and a loss on this bad habit.
Luckily for Still Ballin’, Van Rain wasn’t able to maintain a steady scoring pace in the first half! A low scoring affair in the first half would see Still Ballin’ cling to a slim 4 point halftime lead.
Donovan Britten and Brandon Chancey scored 24 of Still Ballin’s 37 second half points, to put them on the path to victory in this game.
Van Rain will regroup and see if they can find a game plan to snap out of the funk they are in.
Livestock 79 Vs. Nift Team 39
Livestock – David 20 Points, #32 Dino 12 Points, Mannie Deo and Brandon 8 Points each.
Nift Team – Mahaj Farooqi 12 Points, David Yap 7 Points, Alex Koon 6 Points.
Not a whole lot of highlights for Nift in this matchup against Livestock, I mean “None”!
This is one of Livestock’s biggest wins in their Vancouver Metro career. Eventhough only 3 players scored in double digits, nearly every player on Livestock’s roster scored 3 points or more!
Game Note: Both teams had all but one person score in this game.
YMCMB 68 Vs. Balloholics 52
YMCMB – Mike Li 15 Points, Glen Sheung 12 Points, Jack Ho and Kelly Low 11 Points each.
Balloholics – Kingston Chung 10 Points, Abdi Mohammed 8 Points, Bert 7 Points.
The young Balloholics team walked on the court with supreme confidence that they would be able to pull a big upset vs the former league champion YMCMB!
In the first half, they would prove their confidence and give YMCMB a tough time.
The 8 point lead for YMCMB fuelled the action in this game, as both teams put it in to overdrive on the score board! The experience and overall chemistry of YMCMB showed through in the 2nd half. Timely 3 pointers and defensive stops would help secure another big time win for YMCMB.
Balloholics have showed signs this season of becoming a good team in the future, and possibly playing the spoiler role later on in the season.
Team Kulinarya 71 Vs. Chill Co 58
Team Kulinarya – Clarence Choong 19 Points, Justin Tucker 16 Points, Nikolay Georgiew 12 Points.
Chilll Co. – James Rodrigues 25 Points, Harman Dhillon 10 Points, Marcus Pannu 8 Points.
Team Kulinarya was looking for a win to combat their sporadic play. A lot of talent on this team, but it hasn’t always ended up in a victory.
Chill Co has a few players on their team that looks like they are on vacation , but play as hard as anyone.
James Rodrigues raced off to 17 point first half scoring frenzy! Unfortunately for Chill Co, Kulinarya scored 44 points in the first half! With a 23 point halftime lead, Kulinarya felt like the game was over.
Chill Co would fight back to score 37 points in the 2nd half, but it wouldn’t be enough as Kulinarya would add a few 3 pointers to make this game academic!
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