Swat 58 – Haides 68
Haides – Kamal “Olidipo” 17, Patrick #5 14
SWAT – Gene Wolff 26, Rich Wolff 15
After a long warmup, Haides took off their sweatpants to face a depleted, but new look SWAT team. The size difference was not as noticeable as once thought as they took the court. Each team came in with specific strengths and weaknesses, and SWAT went to their strength which temporarily looked like Haides weakness.
Starting the game with 5 players, SWAT went right into post up mode! With a solid post and two versatile guards that could post up most of Haides, it was almost a “conga line” of post ups to start the game for SWAT. Richie Wolff started the post up line, and was very effective with the smaller guards in the post. On the opposite end, Haides started slow even with their fast breaking style. Noticably starting out of the gate with a whimper was Mannie Deo! Mannie shot a horrible 17% from the field in the first half (unofficially). SWAT’s starting guard Joel, made it to the game halfway through, and helped continue the offensive pressure being put on the Haide’s defense. Haides was able to break out late in the 1st half to take a small lead, but SWAT would grind the game back to only a 2 point halftime deficit.
The 2nd half started with SWAT moving from the inside game to the perimeter. With a few three pointers from SWAT players, Gene Wolff would catch fire. At one point, Gene hit on 4 of 5 three point attempts in the 2nd half, including a 4 point play late in the game! Haides Gino and Pat made some timely buckets to keep the pressure up, but it was karmal “Olidipo” that gave Haides the edge! His 13 2nd half points were the difference in the game. His one man wrecking ball style would see him take on 2 and even 3 defenders going to the hoop!
Haides pulled out a good win against a veteran, scrappy team in SWAT, despite the slow start.
Sofa King Good 58 – Ball So Hard 72
SKG – Will Chaing 17, Kevin Rasmussen 13, Alex # 11 11
Ball So Hard – Adi BayBay 22, Alan Hogan 17, Brandon Hoyem 14
In a matchup that looked to be a slugfest, but instead it turned into a near slaughter! Ball So Hard is always formidable and may even be a title contender in the league, but Sofa King Good is a multiple Metro League championship team. The old saying is “to be the champ, you have to beat the champ….. Woooooo!” – Rick Flair.
With brand, spanking new uniforms (with gold lettering) Ball So Hard took off their belt and figuratively whooped SKG in the first half of this game! BSH’s attack started from the outside with Adi Baybay knocking down threes. This would open up the Legendary “Palmer Zone” that is a staple in the Metro league made famous by SKG! Once the zone opened up, BSH went to work inside on the boards and point scoring in the paint! BSH raced off to a 17 point half time lead on SKG, which might be the largest halftime deficit in SKG history!
The 2nd half would open up for both teams, but BSH would match shot for shot with the champs. The double digit victory marks the spear in the ground thrown down by BSH, and it said “EVERYONE IS IN TROUBLE NOW”!
Sonic Boom 61 – Agaveros 69
Agaveros – Pepe #24 16, Oscar Salvodor and Charlie Hughes 13 each
Sonic Boom – Connor Rockandel 17, Shamir Naik 14
As I glanced at the roster sheets, I noticed a common theme when it came to Sonic Boom. 5 roster spots filled in. Any normal team would panic, but this is par for the course when it comes to Sonic! Even when they have 7 or 8 by some minor miracle, they seem to play the same which is hard to do over the course of time that they have done it in. Agaveros looked to continue their strong play with a healthy roster, and a lot of aggression.
Sonic Boom is a versatile group that can slow the game down, but look to fast break often. With their patented slow start looking to come to the forefront again, Mike Schmidt burst on the scene! Mike was everywhere on the court forcing the action. He would drop in 4 first half points to set the pace for Sonic. Oscar Salvador would not be out done as he would drop in 9 first half points including a three pointer to give Agaveros a slim halftime lead.
Shamir Naik continued to put pressure on Agaveros with his relentless fast breaking style. 3 on 2, 2 on 2, 1 on 2, and 1 on 3 fast breaks kept Agaveros on their toes, while Naik continued to keep Sonic close in this game. Just after the mid way point of the game, Pepe #24 nearly took over the game by himself for Agaveros! He would have 12 2nd half points including two almost dagger three point makes to give his team a comfortable lead late. Sonic battled all the way to the wire, with their “Never Quit” attitude. However, fatigue would take it’s toll on them, and they would fall by single digits in this matchup.
Flight 62 – Van Rain 59
Flight – Trey #2 24, Jermane #11 13, RJ Base 11
Van Rain – Matt Anza 13, Ali Jamal and Gregory Patoc 10 each
In the game of the night, these two veteran teams took center stage! Both Flight and Van Rain were in need of a victory, and both teams when all out to try to get it! The first half would see Van Rain go absolutely red hot in the first half! Six players would score for Van Rain in the first half, but Flight would battle them like they do all other opponents. Trey #2 would keep Flight in striking distance with 11 points in the half, backed up by two three pointers by RJ Base. Flight seemed to be fortunate that they were only down 9 at the half instead of 19!
Van Rain would continue to put pressure on Flight, but it was Flight’s turn to go “En Fuego”! Flight would fight, bite, and scratch their way to a 34 point half and a chance to win at the end of regulation. However, both teams efforts failed and the next step was …..OVERTIME!
Overtimes are scarce in the Vancouver Metro league, but high scoring overtimes are rare! Flight took an early lead that looked insurmountable, until a comedy of errors occurred. Flight looked to have the game in the bag, but Van Rain continued to put pressure on them. Flight had a 3 point lead with less than 14 seconds left in the game, and decided to foul Matt Anza to put him on the line for two free throws! This is highly irregular because you would want to rely on your defense to prevent a three point shot for the tie. RJ Base knew something we all didn’t know because Matt would miss both free throws! Flight would ice the game….barely, to hang on for the nail-biting win!
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