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BSH – Alan Hogan 15, Devon Carney 14, Jack Ho 12

SWAT – Gene Wolff 19, Chris Peerless 12

The first leg of the playoffs started with the so called “lopsided” #1 seed vs #8 seed. #1 seeded Ball So Hard has been dynamic the entire season, but they were missing their leading scorer in Adi Baybay. Needless to say, the core players were in uniform for BSH and they were ready to go. #8 Seeded SWAT has been influx for most of the season, up until the last 3-4 games of the season. Even with a few tough losses, SWAT showed that their talent and experience are much more valuable than their W/L Record would show!

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The game started out in BSH’s favor, with a few quick inside buckets. SWAT looked stuck in the mud as they tried to implement their game plan. Brandon Hoyem scored 8 first half points to pace the balanced BSH offense, while Gene and Rich Wolff would combine for 10 of SWAT’s 14 first half points. The game was ideal for SWAT, but they would trail by 10 at the end of the first half.

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The second half started like the first half ended, with BSH taking advantage of small holes in the SWAT defense. Devon Carney sliced through the defense for a few tough baskets, BSH started to assert their offensive aggressiveness at a turning point in the game. Swat would wake up with the official arrival of Chris Peerless! The oldest active veteran member of Vancouver Metro woke up and nearly took over the game! Chris had a few nice assists, followed by a series of hard drives to the basket! With SWAT on a roll, they would go on a 13-2 run to eventually take a small lead! The end of the game was a mad scramble to finish! BSH would get a few clutch buckets to give them a two possession lead with less than 2 minutes left in the game. With time running out, Gene Wolff was able to bank a three pointer inside of 30 seconds left. It would become a free throw game at this point. Alan Hogan was fouled and sent to the line with two free throws to give BSH a 3 point lead. Hogan has been known to shoot not just layups, but also shoot jumpers with his left and right hand! No one is really sure what hand is his dominant hand. Hogan would step to the line and knock down 2 solid left handed!!! The half court heave by Gene was no good, and BSH would escape the big time upset!

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Sonic Boom – Nenad Lopur 20, David Ta 15, Connor R 11

Haides – EJ #9 17, Pat #8 10, Clancy #1 7

Only the by the smallest of margins, Haides was edged out of the 3rd spot, and ultimately would be matched up with Sonic Boom. The “Boom” in Sonic Boom has been more like a “Tap”, pertaining to the

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lack of depth in their lineup. Haides on the flipside was stacked with the usual suspects! Tough and resilient, Haides could have easily been in the top spot if it were not for a bad game or two.

The style for both teams is rough, rugged, but explosive. Sonic Boom was counting on having a significant height advantage with Big Stu Wallenstein in the lineup, but he could not make the game. Sonic Boom’s Connor R would anchor the inside scoring, while Shamir Naik created havoc on both ends of the court with patented high energy slashing. The first half was filled with physical play, and opportunistic scoring opportunities. Haides would take a small lead into halftime, and it looked like it was anyone’s game.

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The second half would continue the perpetual tug of war, with a small twist. Gabe Gibbs would factor into the 2nd half for Sonic Boom, which opened the court up for David Ta and Nenad Lojpur. David had a solid first half with two made threes, but Nenad has continued his high percentage shooting from the outside! His 15 second half points helped Sonic Boom get a small lead late in the game. The action became almost frenetic as both teams scrambled on defense to secure the win. One of the last plays of the game was almost indescribable! It involved about 3-4 passes, a layup, a turnover on a long line drive pass, intercepted by Haides, thrown away by Haides, bad shot taken with time running out in the game, and a sudden substitution almost right after that bad shot. After the dust settled, Sonic Boom came out on top and moves on to the next round.

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Avagapos – Andrew Peterson 23, Oscar Salvador 23

Flight – Kevin 21, Trey #2 and R Jay 10 each

Avagapos has been itching to get into their first playoff game, in their first season in Vancouver Metro. They would face off against one of the most tenured teams in the league, and former final game participants in Flight. Flight has been decimated by injuries the last 4-5 seasons, but have always given everything they have in every game they play. This matchup was not a “David and Goliath” showdown, but it was definitely a “Hoot N’ Nanny”. That is slang for “a Donnybrook” (in basketball terms).

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The first half was far from methodical. Each team went after each other on every play, and Flight looked to get the upper hand first. RJ Base knocked down three 3 pointers in the first half, and had a balanced scoring attack to keep Avagapos off balanced. Avagapos would stay within striking distance on the back of Andrew Peterson and Oscar Salvador scoring 20 of their teams 24 points!

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Avagapos started the 2nd half with a small deficit, and it looked like the lights turned on for them at that point. With the loser relegated to the loser’s bracket, Avagapos road their two scoring stars 44 point 2nd half! That was more than enough to pass up Flight, who had run out of gas after the adrenaline packs ran out midway through the 2nd half.

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SKG – Kevin Rasmussen 18, Will Chaing 16, Alex #11 14, “Mad Man” Eddie Fan 12

Van Rain – Matt “On Juice Watch” Anza, Matt Yue, and Rich Alejandro 10 each

Vancouver Metro playoff ball is Fantastic! More often than not you will find games that may be a mismatch blowout on paper, but turn out to be a game of the night candidate. Van Rain was definitely the underdog in this contest, but no one told them that. Sofa King Good needed no introduction for this matchup! When you are a champ you are recognized. When you win 2 titles, you are immortal!

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Van Rain made sure that SKG knew that the “fight was real”! Both teams with nip and tuck throughout the first half. It got a little chippy midway through the first half which led to a technical foul call on SKG’s Kevin Rasmussen. The instant replay showed that Kevin was justified in his outburst, due to the opponents pulling a Grayson Allen on him (look him up, he plays for duke university right now). Even with SKG’s fast start, they would only lead by 3 points at the half.

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Even with both teams scoring evenly throughout the 2nd half, but SKG ran off with the game. It was a virtual shutout and shut down of the Van Rain offense. Almost surgical in the execution on offense and defense, led by Will Chaing who had all of his 16 points in the 2nd half.