2016 Week 7 Vancouver Metro Fall League

‍

‍

I imagined that I would get a good dose of good offense, and grimy defense. I was mostly right. The majestic dance of two flightless birds fighting over a mate, turned into a bunch of pigeons fighting in an alley over a piece of bread dipped in Mango Chutney and burnt hair!

‍

‍

Flight has been know to play a rough and tumble style, while still adding the 3 point bomb to their arsenal. Flight jumped all over a lethargic Agaveros group, that looked to be fresh off the freeway for this game. Trey, Kevin, and RJ Base had 24 of Flight’s 43 first half points. Agaveros Oscar, Charlie Hayes, and Cory recovered just enough to cut the lead to single digits at the half.

‍

‍

The second half started like the first half, but Andrew would be the difference maker for Agaveros in the 2nd half. Though tough contact, strong rebounds, and one man fast breaks, Andrew helped Agaveros get the lead back late in the game! Flight ran out of gas in the 2nd half, and ended up losing a closely contested game to the first year Agaveros team!

‍

UPDATE: As of today, Agaveros is in first place with 3 games to play in the regular season!

‍

‍

‍

Sonic Boom came to the gym with their typical short handed team, but they actually had a bench play this time! Reinforcements so to speak! They would need every bit of it going up against the multi time Vancouver Metro champions in Sofa King Good. After the shocking loss to Ball So Hard last week, SKG looked to right that “wrong” against one of the most tenured team in Vancouver Metro!

‍

‍

This game disguised itself as a battle of the titans, but it turned into a “Conor McGregor” domination! Sofa King Good were clicking on all cylinders on offense and defense. Even with Connor Rockandel scoring 18 points in the paint for the game, SKG took turns running 1 and 2 man fast breaks for layups! Will Chaing and Alex #11 went berserk on Sonic Boom in the first half, combining for 39 first half points for SKG! Even though there was a high scoring output by two people for SKG, Sonic Boom managed to keep the game manageable at halftime.

‍

‍

The second half was all SKG. More of the same, but the show belonged to Alex #11! He would finish with a league high 42 points on 8 made three pointers (3 off the record set by Prince Carno a few seasons back). SKG would go on to win the game easily, and get back on the winning track. Kevin Rasmussen hit on five 3 pointers, and had the other team mumbling (after the game) “they just didn’t miss a shot”!

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

The start of this game was on a slower than projected pace, but that may have just been the Swat Team. Fresh off the streets, but ready to do battle. Van Rain seemed anxious to get the game going, and it showed at the start of the game.

‍

‍

Van rain raced off to a 10-3 lead on the backs of Rich Alejandro, Jeff Chan, and Matt “On Juice Watch” Anza! From there it became a tug of war, as Swat began to get on track. The contrast in styles were distinct at times. Van Rain known for their up tempo style, usually helps to offset their lack of height. The advantage Swat had over Van Rain and most teams in the league is their years of hoop experience. The ability to change pace, exploit mismatches in the post, and score from in and outside kept Swat in the game. Van Rain held a slim lead at halftime, but the “Tide” seemed to be turning.

‍

‍

The grind for the “Win” was ripe in the air, and both teams were jockeying for position. For every bucket Van Rain scored, Swat would score two and more than a few of those buckets were three pointers! Gene Wolff is usually the three point “Maven”, but it was Jamie Konrad that would pull his “Goran Dragic” impersonation! Jamie hit on five 3 pointers in the game, two coming in the second half with the last one being from 26 feet out! SWAT’s defense was able to grab nearly every missed shot, and continued to pound the ball inside for crucial baskets down the stretch. Matt Anza made a last push to try to steal victory in the face of defeat hitting on two late three pointers, but it wouldn’t be enough as SWAT would hold on to the lead in a shaky fashion.

‍

‍

SWAT able to get their first win of the night, and it coincided with a rare Chris Peerless appearance! Peerless was a part of the last SWAT team to win Vancouver Metro at Vancouver College, before the move to the World Famous Richmond Oval.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

I pinned this as a potential game of the week, but for the wrong reasons. I thought this would be a high scoring affair with the offense both teams possessed. What I didn’t account for was the hard-nosed tough defense that each team plays! Both teams mixed it up pretty good throughout, but Alan “Spidey” Hogan would have his way with the Haides defense. Highlight of the game came from Karmal on a one man fast break, ending with a behind the back swooping layup! The Haides team attacked BSH with a relentless pace, however BSH was able to withstand that attack and sprint out to an 8 point halftime lead.

‍

‍

The second half would go back and forth, and the scoring output would wain slightly in light of the hard tough nosed defense played by both teams. Mannie “Hit em with the Hook Shot” Deo and Chad would keep BSH within striking distance. Alan would pour in 10 second half points including two “left handed” jumpers! Not sure why he did that unnecessarily, but that is Mr. Hogan’s style….unpredictable!

‍

‍

BSH had a small lead late in the 2nd half, and almost gave the game away on a controversial call at the end of the game. BSH would win a close, tight, and important game by 5! I can see this matchup meeting in the 2nd round of the playoffs this season!

‍

‍