#1 seeded Team Nike Vancouver 65 vs #3 seeded Team Royals 41

After a disappointing playoff finish last season, Team Nike came into this title game seeded #1, and playing like it throughout the regular and post season! The #3 seeded Royals sort of snuck up on everybody with as rookies in Vancouver Metro League. It looked like a match up of Size vs Quickness with this match up, and from the jump ball it was quickness dominating size!

Team Nike’s Matt #14 hit two early 3 pointers with Cholis # 9 dropping in a few buckets too. The real spark came from a circus reverse layup by Chad #40! Not even midway through the 1st half, Nike had a 20 point lead! Team Royal could not get anything to fall, and their post game was almost non existent! The Royals leading scorer Denny #24 was ice cold till just after the midway point in the first half! No coincidence that the halftime depict for the Royals would be 23 points in favor of Team Nike!

The 2nd half brought out a 2-3 zone with the Royals in it. The zone slowed the game down but not Team Nike’s scoring. The lead ballooned to 27 points after a fantastic fast break alley oop layup to Nike’s Anthony “Lebron James” Lao! The Royals picked up their scoring in the 2nd half but it wasn’t near enough to over come the speed, quickness and depth of Team Nike Vancouver! The final score was Nike 65 – Royals 41.

Anthony Lao led all scores with 17 points. Matt #14 added 15, Chad #40 dropped 7, Cholis #9 chipped in 6, Al #8 had 5, Rod #25 and Joe #10 both had 4, Rae #0 made a 3 pointer, and Rich added a free throw. The Royal’s Denny #24 led them with 12 points, while Stanford #0 dropped in 10 points, Chris #11, Brian #8, and Andrew #15 had 7, 5, and 4 respectively. Melo #7 and Vince #1 both had 2 points in the loss.

Congrats the Team Nike Vancouver on their title!

#2 seeded Team United 62 vs #4 seeded Team BC Ballers 65

As with all season, both teams came into the Championship game short handed! BC Ballers missing their young “Hedo Turkoglu” swingman and their inside out big man Dewayne to a “self sustained” broken hand in their dog fight victory over Team Swat in the Semi Finals! For Team United, it was more unexpected. Their leading scorer Brent was in a normal layup line, and buckled his left knee on a routine layup! Without being able to put weight on it, he hopped out of the facility within in minutes in disappointment (and I assume frustration)! Their slasher and 3 point shooter in Eric was M.I.A. too. It was not clear how this game would shape up now, but it was definitely the battle I anticpated!

BC got off to a good start with a few quick layups to push an early lead. BC Ballers Ricardo Hernandez, Jeff #1, and UBC bound Isaiah #20 took turns putting pressure on the Team United defense in the first half. Team United countered with John #7 and Taylor # 8. John kept Team United in the 1st half with three 1st half 3 pointers! United still found themselves down 3 at halftime.

As United does in most 2nd half starts, they fell behind by double digits! Jeff, Ricardo, and Isaiah continued to probe and attack United’s defense, and found success with layups and kick out jump shots. Another trend for Team United is that they always make a comeback, and that they did! Erasing a double digit BC lead, United raced back with tough inside play Tim, Kerry, and cole, while Taylor and AJ dropped in long bombs from outside.

With time running down in the game, the BC Ballers were able to get some huge buckets and some important stops to take a 2 point lead. Even with the threat of Jeff not being able to return to the game with a busted lip, The Ballers were confident in closing out the game. After Ricardo made 1 of 2 free throws, United had one last chance but the shot was off giving The BC Ballers the 2012 Division A Vancouver Metro League title!

BC Ballers Jeff #!! led all scores with 21 points! Isaiah dropped in 18, Ricardo added 15, Devon hit 6, and Harry chipped in 5. John had a team high 18 points picking up the slack for their fallen Team United teammate. Taylor had 13, Tim and Cole added 9, Kerry dropped in 7, Matt and AJ both dropped in a 3 pointer.

Congrats to the BC Ballers on a hard fought title run!

United 77 – Wildcats 75

Wildcats were the league sleeper garnering the #6 seed. United one game off of a one seed was the favorite, even after the lackluster performance vs Sonic Boom which meant nothing in the playoff scheme of things. Like the rest of the games on this night, it got chippy early and often!

As the game started, it looked like United had a hangover from the first round. Eventhough they were close with the Wildcats run and gun style, they were missing assignments on defense and looked out of sync on offense. Give the Wildcats credit! Even with a revolving team roster the whole season, United’s AJ and Wildcats Kyle Watson got into it early, and missing their leading scorer in Gramae McCallum, The Wildcats were performing like a well oiled machine. The Wildcats Jeff Chu and Braedan #22 combined for 23 of their 38 first half points. United’s Eric and Brent kept them close at halftime, but their flow was still off and everyone could see it.

The 2nd half started off as a battle, but the Wildcats were relentless and ran out to a 14 point lead midway through the 2nd half. I knew they still had a chance just by the way they had been playing all year. They had been down double digits more than once this season, and clawed their way back to victory! This would not be any different! A stop here, a three pointer there, and good ball movement for a layup or open shot (shockingly to most besides myself) and United had taken a 1 point lead! The lead went back and forth in the last 3-4 minutes of the game. The Wildcats looked like they had a chance to pull away after United’s leading scorer in Brent #0 received a techical foul, which counted as his 5th foul with 1:30 left in the game. United’s Tim #24 was fouled and was sent to the line down 2 points. Tim dropped both free throws in as casually as you would put mail in the mailbox! With the game tied at 70, United forced a turnover in the back court. With the shot clock running down Tim ended up with the ball beyond the 3 point line, and what does he do? He calmly rises up and knocks down one of the most clutch shots of the season!!!

But the game was not over! The Wildcats manage to scrap their way back to a tie, and with less than 15 seconds left in regulation THIS HAPPENED……

With 1 second put back on the clock, the Wildcats still had a chance to tie or win the game. United put supreme pressure on the Wildcats which led to an off balance 24 foot 3 pointer that floated far right. The Wildcats Jeff Chu led all scores with 23 points. Body Gllagural, Braden #22, and Kyle Watson added 13, 12, and 11 respectively. Eric led United with 22 points, while Brent chipped in 16, and Taylor “Ice Water” #8 added 15 points.

United moves to the Championship game on Monday, and it should be a good matchup.

BC Ballers 76 – Swat 73

Team Swat knew that coming into the playoffs ranked #1 meant nothing vs the best teams in the league. The BC Ballers were the epitome of a team that could beat anyone! Short handed yet again, Team Swat was determined to not let that factor into this matchup.

Swat started out quick taking an 6 point lead in the first 3 minutes, but was quickly cut by BC Ballers to a tie at 12 all. While Swat went inside the first part of the game, the Ballers used continuous movement and passing to get to the open spots on the floor. BC beat Swat to every loose ball it seemed like, and when they did they scored!

Every time Swat had the advantage in momentum, BC would stem the run and counter with a run of their own. The half time score was indicative of the battle that was taking place on the floor! Foul trouble was a factor for both teams, but it hit Swat hard when starter Daniel Soong picked up his 4th foul early in the 2nd half! BC seized on the bigger lineup they were facing, and countered it with speed and quickness! As the Ballers went up by 7 in the middle of the 2nd half…. THERE WAS A NATE LAWERENCE SIGHTING!!!!!

After going scoreless in the first half, Nate woke and stroked five 3 pointers! Every one of them farther back than the other! Swat was able to regain the lead, but with 2 minutes left in the game Swat began to run on fumes! The quickness of BC started to break through, and after the 5th three pointer by Nate BC’s Ricardo Hernandez hit two of the three dagger shots that would down Team Swat!

Mark Tasic led all scores with 28 points in the losing effort for Swat. Both Clint Lomax and Nate Lawerence had 15 points, Colin Plumb added 9 points, and Steve Lindenberg had 6 points. BC Ballers Ricardo Hernandez had 21 points, Devin #11 had 15 points, and Jeff #11 matched his jersey number with 11 points.
With the victory, BC will go on to face the #2 seeded United. BC will need everyone to show up for that game, and United needs to come out motivated. If one of these teams doesn’t follow the formula that brought them to this point, the title game may be more of a heartbreaker than people think (That last sentence will make sense after Monday night’s title game)!

Nike Vancouver 65 – J Wai 54

Team Nike came out hot and never looked back in this game! J Wai has been scrappy all year, but vs a full Nike team including Anthony “Lebron James” Lao….

they didn’t have the personnel to pull the upset on this night. While J Wai’s “Jumping Jack” Jacky and Roger #8, the team’s leading scorers, didn’t have a good game scoring with 10 and 9 points respectively. J Wai’s Martin #23 had a team high 17 points. Anthony Lao had 23 points to lead all scores with Matt #14 and Joe #10 dropped in 14 and 9 points respectively.

Royals 57 – Team YM 49

In the upset of the night, YM falls to Team Royals! YM definitely had a power outage, but the Royals had some impressive wins this season. They did a good job of grinding out Team War Pigs by 4 points in the first round. This would of led you to believe that YM would be able to overwhelm the Royals with their speed and quickness. This was not the case! As the Royals defense and bigger squad had YM making uncharacteristic turnovers and missing shots they usually knock down.

YM’s Kelly #00 did his best with a game high 20 points, and JP Baheama added 14 in the loss! Team Royal was led by Andrew #15 had 12 points in the win.

Get ready for next week as the playoffs begin on Monday! Above is the schedule for the first week of playoffs

For more information on the playoffs, contact Mark Starkey at mark[at]vancouverbasketball.ca or 503-704-2146.

DIvision 1

UPSET OF THE NIGHT!!!

Wild Cats 100 Vs. Stallions 63

I wrote about the Wildcats being a sleeper going into the playoffs, because they have yet to have their whole team together for one game! Plus, they still seemed to score in the high 80s low 90s every game. Their philosophy? Run, run, and run some more! The defending champs came in as the #3 seed, but did not look like that championship team for most of this season. Plagued by slow starts last year, the Stallions looked to change that as this first round playoff matchup started.

However that did not happen, but what did hold true to form was the Wildcats starting fast….as usual! The events that unfolded in the first half vs the Stallions seemed like it was happening in slow motion! Almost like a high resolution camera filming a car crash! The Wildcats were up 20 well before the 1st half was over, and it would get worse in the 2nd half!

More recap and video to come!

SWAT 87 Vs. B2B 61

With less players than in last week’s regular season game vs Swat, B2B put up a bigger fight! After starting off with a 9-0 lead, Team Swat found themselves in a tie game at 9 less than 4 minutes into the game! Seeing that the defense was lethargic, Swat turned up the defense and went on a large spurt.
Leading by 14 at halftime, Team Swat put the pedal down and ran off with this game midway thru the 2nd half.

Swat’s Mark Tasic led all scores with 27 points. Colin Plumb had 21, with Nate Lawerence chipping in 16. B2B Dan Tsuei scored 22 in the loss, but had two spectacular 3 point plays in the game! Ken Kuo droped in 16, and Alan #7 added 13.

United 1 Vs. Sonic Boom 0

After last season’s 4 point loss in the semi finals, Sonic Boom decided to forfeit their chance for a title! In a show of solidarity, they decided to play with Joey “King Handles” Haywood instead of without him. Since Haywood had just arrived back in town recently, he did not have the 5 league games needed to participate in the playoffs. With that said, Sonic Boom went out and played like it was a playoff game! United learned the news right before game time, and it was apparent their full intensity was not there!

Instead of a long commentary of the game, I will just post a few highlights of the game since the playoff intensity wasn’t there for both teams.

BC Ballers 69 Vs. Vancouver Prep 61

The BC Ballers were at full strength vs Van Prep who was missing one of their star players was either “dismissed” or “exited stage left” in a heated dispute in their last regular season game. Early on it would look like they needed him as BC was clicking on all cylinders in the first half. Van Prep did a good job of not letting the game get out of hand, but still were behind by 9 at halftime.

In the 2nd half, the dog fight began! Van Prep continued to put pressure on the BC defense with probing drives and kickouts for open shots.

DIvision 2

Nike Vancouver 67 Vs. Still Balin’ 59

The #1 seed had their hands full with the unpredictable Still Ballin’ squad. Even with the #8 seed, Still Ballin’ had led the league in 3 pointers made through most of the season until they switched divisions. A full Team Nike squad seemed to be a daunting task for the under manned Still Ballin’ squad.

Team Nike flew all over the floor on both ends, but couldn’t shake Still Ballin’. Near the end of the 2nd half, Nike was able to maintain a 3 possession lead to win by 8 to advance to the next round.

Nike’s Anthony “Lebron James” Lao had a game high 30 points, with Joe #10 adding 11 points in the win. Still Ballin’s Don Britten led them with 19 points, all in the 2nd half of the game! Garrett Grae added 17 points, but missing in action was Brandon Chancey! Leading scorer for Still Ballin’ all season, he was only able to add 8 points in this outing with 6 of those points being 3 pointers.

Team YM 55 Vs. Vancity Blazers 43

The Blazers played last year’s championship game runner ups YM very close for most of the first half. In the 2nd half team YMs speed on offense and defense was finally able to break down the highly energetic Blazer team.

JP Baheama for YM had a game high 20 points, 12 of them in the 2nd half. “Jumping” Jack Ho added 12 points in the victory. The Blazers Dusty #23 had 17 points, and Pav #5 had 12 in the losing effort.

Royal 43 Vs. War Pigs 39

The War Pigs were up and down this season, but mostly up vs the season before this one. Even with two of their big men going down in the first game of the season, they managed to battle themselves back into a decent playoff spot.

This game was tight for ¾ of the game, but the Royal’s zone defense and timely jumpshots took the wind out of the Warpigs squad at the worst time…..the end of the game! While the Royals move on, the Warpigs had a good season and I look forward to seeing them back next season.

J-Wai 71 Vs. Lemon Party 60

This game seemed to be the one that was going to be a dog fight…on paper. This game solidified the playoff atmosphere with intensity mixed with a little chippiness! Lemon Party battled like they usually do, but J-Wai’s chemistry helped them match and exceed their effort in the latter part of the game! J-Wai put together a number of clutch buckets, while Lemon Party had a slew of turnovers without a shot attempt put up in the 2nd half. That would be their undoing as J-Wai ended up winning by double digits.

Lemon Party’s Josh Trett had a game high 26 points with Kevin Rassmussen following up with 10. J-Wai got a monster game from Jonathan #14 with 22 points followed by: Wesley #21 with 16, and Martin #23’s 17 points.

WEEK 10 – APRIL 16TH

I apologize for the delay. The video clips are longer than usual so it’s taking me some time to load them to my online account. Plus we had a substitute camera man who for the most part did a good job, but I had to toss a few good sequences because of the language content! I’ll have that tightened up by the playoffs.

GAME OF THE WEEK

United 107 VS Sonic Boom 105 OT

As the playoffs loom, United found themselves in an unexpected must win game vs the always dangerous Sonic Boom. To make it more interesting, Sonic Boom brought in their annual, honorary team member in Joey “King Handles” Haywood! With Joey in uniform, Sonic Boom looked like the team that lost by 4 in the semi finals to last year’s eventual champs Team Stallions.

The action was up and down the whole game! When say the whole game…..I MEAN THE WHOLE GAME!!! The game didn’t have a lead past double figures, but for every punch that United gave Sonic Boom had a counterpunch. This game also had the most 3 pointers made by both teams combined all season. You would think there wasn’t a lot of defense in this game, but it was a fierce defensive battle for most of the game. Better offense ruled the day!

Late in the 2nd half 3 pointers were traded by Sonic Boom and United leading to 99-99 tie with 1.8 seconds left in the game. United’s inbound pass was intercepted by Jaime Tarriba of Sonic Boom, but he severely twisted his knee and was lost for OT! The inside game that Jamie provided on offense and defense would prove to be the difference! With United up 1 point late in the OT, United’s Brent #00 grabbed a shot attempt by his teammate and put it back to go up 3 points with less than 1 minute left in the game. Sonic Boom was smartly fouled to prevent a 3 point attempt by any one of the three 3 point bombers for Sonic Boom! After both teams hit clutch free throws, Joey Haywood was called for a shot violation, and turned the ball over to United who ran out the clock for the win!

Sonic Boom’s Joey Haywood had a league season high of 42 points! Seiji Suzuki and Will Chaing added 27 and 22 points for Sonic Boom respectively. Brent #00 led United with 36, Taylor #8 had 30, and Kerry #15 chipped in 17 points in the victory.

Lemon Party 65 VS Van City Blazers 62

In contention for “Jerseys of the year”, Lemon pary took the floor vs a determined Blazer team that was fighting for a higher seed in the playoffs! Lemon Party found themselves down by 1 after a hard fought 1st half. It was nip and tuck throughout the 2nd half, but had the Blazers of 3 points with less than 30 seconds left in the game. After a defensive start and a run out layup, Lemon Party’s pressure defense forced an Ill advised turnover on the end bounds play. To make it even worse, they fouled Lemon Party’sJosh Trott which sent him to the line for 2 free throws! Trott made both and Lemon Party had the lead. The Blazers had one more chance, but turned it over without a shot, and Lemon Party went on to take a crucial game!

Ryan Shams led Lemon Party with 21, while Kevin Rasmussen and Josh Trott had 19 and 16 points respectively. Richard #32 led the Blazers with 18 in the losing cause.

Team YM 66 VS Royal 56

With the Royals missing key people, last year’s championship game runner ups YM grinded out a tough win. JP Behana for YM had a game high 28 points. YM’s Kelly Lo kicked in 14 points, including 3 first half 3 pointers. The Royals Fox Jiao led them with 15 points, while Standford # 0 and Brian #8 poured in 1 and 10 points, respectively.

Stallions 105 VS Vancouver Prep 65

This game got out of hand real quick, which is uncharacteristic for the slow starting Stallions. Van Prep not only had to deal with last years champs, but some inner turmoil of their own!

Brian “Hosty” Host led the Stallions with 21 points. Luis Ayala and Dustin Entuisle dropped in 20 points each, while Roger Sheung chipped in 19 points. Dustin #1 led Van Prep with 17 points, while Victor Kuol and Jagbir Takhar put in 12 and 11 points respectively

War Pigs 68 VS Still Ballin’ 59

After a fast start to the season and a slump mid season, it looks like The War Pigs are starting to gel once again. After a having only a one point lead at halftime, The Warpigs were able to put together a good team effort on both ends of the floor to get a crucial victory right before the playoffs!

Warpigs were led by Tim # 31 with 14 points. Gerald #32 and Dave #80 both had 10 points in the winning effort. Juice # 21 had 17 points for Still Ballin’

BC Ballers 83 VS Wildcats 71

BC Ballers put together a good effort to collect a good win vs a sleeper playoff team that is almost guaranteed to upset one of the top seeds! BC’s 2nd half surge was impressive and proves to be a problem for all teams going forward.

Harry #7 had a team high 16, while Byron #77 and Ricardo #8 had 14 and 11 point respectively for BC Ballers. The Wildcats Justin #4 led them with a team high 20 points.

SWAT 77 VS B2B 49

Swat played their first zone of the year with only 5 people for the entire game vs B2B. Both teams were missing key people, but Swat seemed to have the advantage even without subs. B2B missed their first 8 shots, which led to some easy run out buckets for Swat. From there it seemed that Swat took control by pounding it inside and the long range buckets by Nate Lawrence (formerly of Team Stallions). In then end, Swat took advantage of their size and the effectiveness of the zone to get the W.

Swat’s Clint Lomax led them with 21 points with: Mark Tasic 19 points, Nate Lawerence with 14 points, Steve Lindenberg with 12, and Daniel Song with 8 points. B2B was led by Kevin Hsu and Jason #0 9 points each.

Nike Vancouver 77 VS J-Wai 63

Nike was able to fend off an 18 point outburst by J Wai’s Jacky #7 for a good momentum when going in to the playoffs. Ray #14 led Nike with 14 points while Julio #9 had 13 points. J Wai’s Alan #0 and Ken #00 both had 13 points, and Jon #14 chipped in 11 in the losing effort.

WEEK 9 – APRIL 2nd

GAME OF THE WEEK!!!!

Stallions 74 VS BC Ballers 73 – 2 OTs

Looking like a second round, maybe even a first round matchup, both teams came out firing! There were also a number of low lights too. Both teams seamed to miss about 20 easy layups…. Apiece!!! At times it was ugly, but other times it was an all out cage match! Back and forth the action went into halftime, and well into the 2nd half! Just when it looked like either team were poised to run off with the game, the other would make a quick run to make it close or take the lead!

With the game tied and the clock running under 10 seconds, Roger Sheung of the Stallions stole possession but was unable to get a good shot off to prevent OT! The Stallions edged out a 3 point lead after an ill-advised foul late in the quarter by the BC Ballers! The second free throw was missed and BC called a timeout…..which in some conversations may have been illegal. A lucky break for the Ballers because on the ensuing possession Jeff #11 caught the inbound pass with 3 seconds left and hit a turn around 16 footer to send the game into double OT!

Almost a carbon copy of the first OT. Big plays and shots, and missed layups and unforced turnovers! After a clutch 3 pointer by BC’s Harry #77 to put them up 2 points, this happened…..

With less than 15 seconds left in the 2nd OT, Robbie # of the Stallions (who missed about 5-6 layups this game) nailed a dagger 3 pointer from straight away center! BC’s last attempt fell short and the Stallions stole the season series from the BC Ballers. I wouldn’t be surprised if we seen this matchup again in the playoffs!

War Pigs 57 VS Van City Blazers 35
The War Pigs bounce back from a controversial loss in week 8 to earn a convincing victory against a short handed Van City Blazers squad. Wilson #3 and Jordie #12 each had 10 points for War Pigs, while The Blazer’s Aaron # 9 scored 10 points.

Vancouver Prep 94 VS Wildcats 91

This was nearly game of the week if it were not for a double OT game that followed this one! With both teams missing key players, the game started out just like all of their games do….as a track meet! The Wildcats held a small lead for most of the game, until Van Prep began to make their runs!

Down by 2 with 4 minutes left in the 2nd half, Van Prep’s Ramo #22 hit a step back contest 3 point shot from the deep right corner to give Van Prep a one point lead! The Wildcats came right back with a 3 point basket by Alex Smith to gain a 2 point lead. Following a stop, the Wildcat’s Jeff Chu hit a contested 18 footer to increase the lead to 4 points. Van Prep came right back with a tough 5 foot banker by Victor Kuol and a wide open 3 pointer by Martin #8 to take a 1 point lead.

Both team traded cold blooded shots that would of taken the heart out of most teams, but not these two squads! After Van Prep’s Martin hit a crucial 15 footer from the baseline, The Wildcats found themselves down by 3 points with less than 20 seconds left in the game. After a quick layup by Jeff Chu, the Wildcats quickly fouled one of the best free throw shooters on the court in Van Prep’s Ramo. Ramo nailed all 4 of his free throws to give Van Prep a 3 point lead with 15 seconds left in the game. In the final play, Alex Smith of the Wildcats had 2 looks from 3 point land to tie the game! The first one was a contested fade away from 22 feet off the back rim. The 2nd one came off of an offensive rebound by Justin Parkes, who gave a perfect pass to a wide open Smith….only to see it hit off the rim and come out to give Van Prep a 3 point win!

Van Prep’s Ramo #22 tied The Wildcats Alex Smith with 33 points apiece! Van Prep’s Martin had 22 points and Jag dropped in 15. The Wildcats Jeff Chu stroked in 32 points, While Brenden Jones had 9 points.

Lemon Party 79 VS Royal 77

With Lemon Party’s leading 3 point shooter in Ryan Shams being a little off this game, Kevin Rasmussen and Josh Trotter picked up the 3 point slack for him. Rasmussen in the first half with three 3 pointers, and Josh in the 2nd half with three 3 pointers of his own! They would need every last one of them for the Royals, who fought them tooth and nail to the final buzzer!

The Royals #24 led all scores with 23 points, while Andrew #15 followed with 18. Lemon Party’s Kevin Rasmussen and Josh Trott bombed in 22 and 20 points, respectively.

Sonic Boom 63 VS B2B 59

With a short haned Sonic Boom and a key player sitting out for B2B, this game was going to come down to a team effort by both units! Sonic Boom got off to a fast start with the help of their dyanamic duo in Will Chiang and Seiji Suzuki, who combined for 27 1st half points! In the 2nd half former Sonic Boom guard Frank Lui led B2B back into the game, and threatened to take a late game lead.

With the teams going back and forth without a bucket, something had to break for Sonic Boom to secure the victory. Up two with less than a minute left in the game, Sonic Boom drove into the left side of the key and missed a layup long off the backboard. Out of no where, with a defender hanging on his back, Sonic Boom’s Ian “Half man, Half Amazing” caught the ball high off the rim and slammed it through with two hands!!! Not only did it light up the gym, it gave Sonic Boom the winning point margin!

Of course I missed taping it, but it was good to see Ian’s sore knee healthy again!

J-Wai 48 VS Team YM 58

YM grinded out a “W” vs one of their arch rivals in J-Wai. YM’s JP had a game high 23. Reggie #4, Glen #8, and Richard #5 had 10, 9, and 8 points respectively. Jon #14, Jacky #7, and Ken #0 both had 8 in the losing effort.

Still Ballin 69 VS Nike Vancouver 71
Team Nike had a hard time vs Still Ballin for the majority of the night! Still Ballin’ is hard to beat because they always utilize a team effort, which makes it difficult to focus on one player. In the second half there was a Anthony “Lebron James” Lao sighting, and not just once but many times! A series of coast to coast buckets helped ease Team Nike’s anxieties! However, Still Ballin’ made it a two point game late in the game but came up short.

Nike’s Anthony Lao had a team high 26 points, while Brandon Chauncey led Still Ballin’ with game high 31 points!

SWAT VS United
Postponed

2012 VANCOUVER METRO BASKETBALL LEAGUE // WEEK 8 RESULTS

One of the most competitive weeks in the Vancouver Metro League history!!! 6 games decided by 6 points or less, and 3 games decided by 2 points or less! I smell the playoffs right around the corner, and it smell quite scrumptious!!!

WEEK 8 – MARCH 26TH

Still Ballin’ 59 VS J-Wai 54
Last week, Still Ballin’ made their new division debut in a losing effort vs the league runner ups in YM. J-Wai presented to be a new challenge for them in their quest for solid playoff positioning. Once leading the league in made 3 pointers, Still Ballin’ took a more direct approach with only 2 made three pointers to take a 3 point halftime lead.
Both teams fought it out in the second half, only to have Still Ballin’ put together a few crucial buckets late in the game to pull out a 5 point victory! Brandon Chancey and Ryan Fraser both had 12 points for Still Ballin’. J-Wai’s West #0 and Dewel #8 both had 10 points each.

Sonic Boom 61 VS SWAT 84
Team Swat had a nearly full squad going up against and oddly short handed Sonic Boom team, made sure that they didn’t under estimate the explosive back court tandem of Will Chiang and Seiji Suzuki! The pace to this game was fast early, but Team Swat ran out to a 17 point lead at halftime and never looked back. Led by a balanced attack, Colin Plumb and Steve Lindenberg scored 20 and 18 points respectively for Team Swat. Will Chaing tied for game high with 20 points. Seiji Suzuki and Connor Rockandel tied each other with 11 points for Sonic Boom.
A titanic rematch with Team United will have less steam with 3 players missing, one of which will be at the Final Four in New Orleans! Must be nice!

Nike Vancouver 81 VS Team YM 75

League has become formidable on both levels, and nothing shows this more than last year’s runner up Team YM in the middle of the playoff pack! Team Nike would present another obstacle on their way to the playoffs, but this game was definitely going to be a prize fight! Team Nike led at halftime by 3, but came out hot to start the 2nd half. Just when it looked like the game was over, YM fought their way back to within striking distance! With a missed point blank wide open layup by Nike’s Anthony “Lebron James” Lao, Team YM had a chance to comeback with less than 2 minutes left in the game. However late free throws sealed the deal for Nike.

Anthony Lao led all scores with 26 for Team Nike. Lilo #9 and Chad #40 had 12 and 11 for Nike, respectively. JP Baheana had 21 for YM, while Bien Shung had 17 points. Both had three 3 pointers each, and 8 total in the losing effort for YM.

United 67 VS B2B 39
Team United came out business like in dispatching a scrappy B2B squad. While nearly everyone scored for B2B, it wasn’t nearly enough to make a game out of it. Eric #22 had a game high 22, while Brent #15 had 16 points for United. B2B’s Tony Lee had a team high 12 points.
Team United has an excellent opportunity to obtain the #1 seed going into the playoffs with a win over Team Swat next week. Outta be good!

Vancouver Prep 72 VS BC Ballers 70

In the UPSET OF THE NIGHT, newly Division A elevated Van Prep is making a name for themselves and everyone is taking notice! BC Baller’s Ricardo #24 torched Van Prep for 20 first half points. The Ballers only had a 4 point lead at halftime, because the revamped Van Prep squad came with a balanced attack to take a little steam out of the red hot Ballers!

The 2nd half was a back and forth slugfest! Each team taking the lead several times, until Van Prep went on an 8-2 run! After splitting 2 free throws, Van Prep found themselves with a 5 point lead with less than 30 seconds left. On the ensuing play, BC Baller’s Harry hit a turnaround 3 pointer to bring them within 2 points! Van Prep did their best impression of being “Point Shavers” by missing 4 consecutive free throws! On their last legitimate possession to tie or win the game, BC Ballers shot a long 3 pointer from the left side that came up short!
In the losing effort, Ricardo of BC Ballers had a game high 27 points! Devin #00 scored 20 points, and Harry #34 had 14 for the BC Ballers. Tyler #000 led Van Prep with 17 points, Ramo #0 had 16, and A.J. had 14 points with 3 steals!

9:00 – Court 2 – Lemon Party 46 VS War Pigs 45
Another close knit battle happened on court two with potential 1st round playoff matchups! Lemon Party held a 3 pont lead at halftime, but War Pigs fought tooth and nail to take a one point lead in the game with less than 20 seconds left in the contest. With time winding down Lemon Party’s Mike Rubenstein drove the lane and received what would be called a “Dwayne Wade foul late in game 6 of the NBA Finals vs Dallas” foul with less than 5 seconds left in the game! Mike would hit them both, and that would be the final score of the game!
Lemon Party’s Jon Wong led them with 10 points, and Brad Nielsen followed suit with 9 points. Trey Melton led War Pigs with 13 points.

Stallions 81 VS Wildcats 85

The defending champs Team Stallions are reeling this season with injuries and “contract negotiations”, that may have messed with their team chemistry a little bit. It didn’t help matters to have the 2nd half surging Wildcats on the schedule today! The Stallions reverted back to their slow start status from last season in the first half, which bad timing because the Wildcats raced off to a near 25 point lead at halftime!


Facing their deepest depict in 2 seasons, the Stallions came out on fire! In a total team effort, The Stallions scored 58 second half points! The slow start would be their undoing in the end. The Wildcats scored just enough to hold off the red hot Stallions.

Brian “Hosty” Host had his best game of the season with a game high 27 points for the Stallions. Neb dropped in 15 points, and last year’s “unofficial” playoff MVP Luis chipped in 13. Roger Sheung caught a knee to the thigh in this game, and passed up a usual highlight dunk for a safe layup late in the 2nd half. The Stallions have been plagued by injuries this season, and hopefully they will overcome them before the playoffs start!

Royal 50 VS Van City Blazers 49

The Royals got up early on the Blazers, and carried it to an 8 point halftime lead. The scrappy Blazer would come back to bring the game within 1 late in the game, but was unable to get the ball to their three point specialist and lost a heartbreaker by 1 point!

Tyson #4 had 14 while Richard #32 had 12 points in a losing effort for the Blazers.

Lemon Party broke out their new “Threads”, and truly exemplifies a “Lemon Party”! Their new uniforms were not only bright but stylish. Sonic Boom now has competition in the jersey department. I think Sonic Boom still has them beat because of the different array of color schemes they have in their arsenal of home, away, and “alternative” jerseys!

7:00 – Court 1 – J-Wai 64 VS Lemon Party 71

With new uniforms arriving, the Lemon Party squad came out hungry for a win. Versus the J Wai zone, Lemon Party found teammates for easy buckets and driving lanes for layups early and often. Lemon Party had a balanced attack led by Josh Trott’s 10 1st half points. J Wai’s Wesly #0 dominated their teams scoring with 15! Lemon Party led by 3 at the half.

In the 2nd half, Lemon Party ran off with the game! The team effort almost doubled while their defense put more pressure on the J Wai offense. J Wai’s leading scorer Roger Zang rebounded from a 2 point first quarter to score 15 2nd half points, but they fell to Lemon party in the end by 7 points.

7:00 – Court 2 – United 84 VS Wildcats 78

With both teams missing key players, it still looked like a fairly matched game. The action was up and down just like the Wildcats like it, but United was up to the task. United held a 2 point lead at half, but they would gradually pull away. With a combination of aggressive defense and timely jumpers, The Wildcats couldn’t overcome the depict. Brent #0 led all scores with 32 points, while Braedan #23 led the Wildcats with 20.
United remains in a tie for first place with Team Swat with a few games to go. Week 9 will be the pivot rubber match when United will try to avenge their only loss to Team Swat!

8:00 – Court 1 – Vancouver Prep 58 VS Stallions 94

All I can say about this game is….Welcome to the A Division Van Prep! To Van Prep’s defense, they were short 2 key players including one of their leading scorers. Stallion’s Dustin Entuisle led with 20 points, and Brad #22 paced Van Prep with 22 points.

8:00 – Court 2 – Team YM 71 VS Still Ballin’ 62
YM looked to keep their good play going against Still Ballin’, who swapped spots with Van Prep in the A and B divisions. The first half was a hotly contested ball game, but in the second half YM’s JP Baheana went bananas! JP finished with a game high 25 points, and spearheaded their near double digit victory. “Juice” Jarquin led Still Ballin’ with 14 points

9:00 – Court 1 – SWAT 70 VS B2B 41
As usual, Team Swat came out with a balanced team attack on offense and defense. Swat was able to hold B2B to 20 points in the first half! With the unexpected injury to Mike Baxter, Swat was able to pick up Nate Lawerence (formerly of Team Stallions) off the waiver wire! Nate had a team high 22 and fit right into the team scheme sooner than expected. Frankie #11 led B2B with 17 points.

9:00 – Court 2 – Van City Blazers 43 VS Nike Vancouver 71
Nike’s Anthony “Lebron James” Lao threw down a monster one hand tomahawk jam in the first half that told the whole story of this game! Team Nike’s speed and chemistry was too much for the usually fiery Blazer team. Matt #14 led Nike with 17 points, and Rich #32 scored 21 for the Blazers.

10:00 – Court 1 – Sonic Boom 65 VS BC Ballers 87
BC Ballers matched Sonic Boom speed for speed, and added some extra defense to contain the Sonic Boom’s dynamic backcourt duo. While BC had balanced scoring up and down the lineup, Will Chaing for Sonic Boom led them with 32 points.

10:00 – Court 2 – War Pigs 50 VS Royal 57

WEEK 6 – MARCH 12TH

Van City Blazers 64 VS Vancouver Prep 79

After getting the word that they were being moved up to Division A, Van Prep put their foot on the gas pedal midway through the 2nd half to win by 15. Damian #0 led all scores with 29 points for Van Prep. Brad #22 had 17. Dustin #8 had 16, and AJ had 15 for the winners. Dusty #23 led the Blazers with 20 points followed by Richard #32 chipped in 16.
Van Prep moves up next week with the loss of one of their leading 3 point shooters that is attending Douglas College in the fall.

Sonic Boom 77 VS Wildcats 95

Sonic Boom returned to the Oval missing their 2nd leading scorer and a not so 100% leading rebounder in Ian Pierre-Louis. Not exactly good timing in facing the re-loaded Wildcats team that added 3 standout players. You couldn’t tell by the first half dogfight that took place! After Sonic Boom carried the lead for most of the 1st half, the Wildcats were able to race back and take a 4 point lead at halftime. The 2nd half was dominated by the uptempo pace that the Wildcats thrive on. The were able to open up a double digit lead early in the 2nd half, and never looked back after that.

Gramae McCallum led the Wildcats with 21 points, while Alex Smith had 17. Braden Jones and Brodie #6 each added 14 points for the Wildcats. Jamie Tarriba had a game high 23 points with Ian Pierre-Louis had 14, and the team scoring leader Suge Suzuki was held to a season low 13 points.

War Pigs 40 VS J-Wai 66

After finishing last season with consecutive wins and a good start to this season, the War pigs have continued to go the other way. Going up an always feisty J-Wai team did not help matters. The pace J-Wai played at was too much for the War pigs in the end. Even with a team high 18 points, Allan Pulga was unable to carry the team to victory. A welcome energy boost in Trey Mel (formally of Van Prep) may help the War Pigs rebound, but it better be quick because the playoffs are right around the corner.

BC Ballers 86 VS SWAT 76

Shout out to Brad from Van Prep and Newly hired gun for the Wildcats Jeff Chu for stepping in for the BC Ballers. Otherwise, this game would have been a scrimmage. Both teams had a number of key players missing in action, Team Swat seemed to be harder hit by the situation than the Ballers. The scoring went back and forth for the entire 1st half, and it seemed like everyone had nearly the same amount of points! The Ballers took a 4 point lead into halftime, mostly because of the uptempo style they continued to play.

The second half would see this plan pay off beautifully for the Ballers! Just when Team Swat started to establish their low post game, the Ballers would come up with a big stop and convert it into a timely basket! In the end, the Ballers made some crucial plays and hit some tough shots down the stretch to pull this game out. The Baller’s Ricardo #24 led all scores with 18 points while Jeff #11 had 16, and Van Prep’s Brad #22 had 14. The oldest man on the court led Team Swat with 17 points, and that would be yours truly…Clint Lomax! Colin Plumb added 16, with Mark Tasic and Jason Birring dropping in 13 and 11 respectively.

Nike Vancouver 43 VS Royal 70

With the absence of Anthony “Lebron James” Lao, team Nike was absolutely mashed up by Team Royals. With only 6 players, The Royals were able to get a team effort in the trouncing of the 1st place in Nike Vancouver.
It should be interesting on how the seeding shakes out with this game figuring to be a big factor in the end.

United 71 VS Stallions 54

The titans of the league met at halfcourt, and better positioning in the playoffs was on the line! With injury to the Stallions Brian “Hosty” Host and the absence of Nate Lawerence, would make this an up hill battle for the defending Champs. Even with Taylor and Emmy missing in action, Team United had the “Bad Boy” front line intact and it showed early on! United took a double digit lead at halftime, even though it was a hard fought half. With a steady diet of inside feeds and post ups, United leaned on the Stallions front court until the end of the game.

Only two players hit double figures in this game between the two teams combined! United is tied for 1st place in the league….for now, but there are still 4 games left and anything can happen. As for the Stallions, they will be ready for the playoffs when “Hosty” is full strength and Nate is back in the lineup. Which will make for a scare first round opponent.

Team YM 60 VS Lemon Party 45

Fast break vs grind it out basketball was on the menu when these two teams hit the floor. Lemon Party always comes out with a lot of energy, but it would be hard to match the hectic style that Team YM plays. Fast breaks, hard fouls, and all of the above made this game more interesting than the score would indicate. Unforced turnovers and missed opportunities plagued Lemon Party for most of the game, and you can’t do that with YM because they will capitalize on them more times than not. With a 22 point outburst by YM’s JP Behena, YM was able to beat Lemon Party at their own “grind it out” game.

Lemon Party’s Doug #0, Kevin #00, and Ryan #10 scored 13, 12, and 11 points respectively.

B2B 66 VS Still Ballin’ 55

With the word coming down from the Commissioner’s office this week, Still Ballin’ found out that they would be swapping divisions with Van Prep. B2B seemed to take advantage of this news, and came out strong against Still Ballin’. The league leader in 3 pointers made by a team, only hit 6 three pointers which is under expectations for Still Ballin’.

Brandon Chancey and his team tried to overcome their depict for most of the game, but B2B was just too much this game, and won by double digits. The Playoff picture is starting to shape up but is far from decided. Outta be fun!

KICKS OF THE WEEK!!!

Team United was in full force in taking on a short handed but scrappy Still Ballin squad, who are still #1 in 3 pointers made this season!  There would be no magic tonight as team United clicked on all cylinders, and cruised to an easy victory.  Brandon Chancey led Still Ballin’ with 20 points dropping in four 3 pointers, while Shaurya Chikkara added 19 points.

Team YM 69 VS War Pigs 38

YM showed up with 5 people vs a stacked Warpigs team, but that would be all the players they needed for this game.  The quickness on offense and defense worked to YM’s advantage vs the larger Warpigs team.  Their pace kept the Warpigs off balance for most of the game until late in the 2nd half.  On a high note for the Warpigs….there was a Trey Mel sighting!!!  Down big late in the 2nd half, a loose ball led to a scramble towards the Warpigs goal.  After a quick bobble, the next thing you seen and heard was….BOOM!  Trey Mel of the Warpigs grabbed the loose ball and threw down a 2 handed rim rocker!  Trey went on to score the Warpigs next 8 points to end the game with 10 points!  Warpigs Allan Pulga matched Trey’s effort with 10 of his own points, while Jack Ho led YM with 21 points.  YM’s Kelly Lo and JP each had 17.

Royal 62 VS Vancouver Prep 60

This should be named “Upset of the Week”!  With Van Prep’s only loss coming at the hands of Team Nike, no one expected this kind of a dog fight with Team Royal!  The one thing you can say about Team Royal is that they always play at 100% effort, and that may have been what caught Van Prep off guard.  This game was tight all the way through

Stallions 90 VS Sonic Boom 72

Coming off the close loss to the undefeated Swat team, the Stallions came out ready to erase the bad taste in their mouths!  The Stallions started out quick vs the revamped Sonic Boom team, and led by 14 at the half.  It was more of the same in the 2nd half with the Stallions pushing the action, and using team containment to slow down Sonic Boom’s Dynamic Duo at the guard position (Will Chiang and Seiji Suzuki).  Stallions ran away and hid with this game in the end, but had some bad news in a still twisted ankle in Brian “Hosty” Host!  With a league week 5 high of 34 points, Roger “I think i’m spelling your name right” Sheung!  The Stallions Neb had 16 and Robbie M had 12.  Sonic Boom’s Seiji Suzuki led with 22 points, while Will Chiang and Jamie Tarriba each had 10 points.

J-Wai 57 VS Van City Blazers 53

This game was a grind it out affair from the very start!  With just a 2 point separation at halftime, J-Wai was able to grind out the last part of the 2nd half to gain the victory.  The Blazers had a few chances to change momentum, but ran into some bad luck in the end.

Wildcats 89 VS SWAT 99

The Wildcats came into this game one of the top scoring teams in the league. Team Swat came into this game undefeated. By all accounts, Swat most likely doesn’t lead the league in any particular category. Each win had been different, and different players have stepped up. On thing was for sure….this was going to be a track meet! The Wildcats M.O. is to push the ball down your throats on makes or misses! Led by Gramae “Buckets” McCallum and Kyle “Two Step” Watson, the Wildcats erase most mistakes by keeping the tempo up and bombarding their competition with basket after basket!

Like clockwork, The Wildcats got off to a 5-0 lead! Kyle and Gramae led the way for the Wildcats in the 1st half scoring 32 of the Wildcats 51 first half points! Team Swat followed suit with a total team attack led by Jason “The Blur” Birring and Mark “Beast Mode” Tasic! At the end of the 1st half the Wildcats held a 1 point lead.

The second half began with the same fast pace as the 1st, but it was more physical which led to a more intense game! With the Wildcats continuing to hit on all cylinders, Team Swat resorted to an “inside/out” gameplan. Some where in the middle of the 2nd half it started to pay dividends, but the Wildcats made another 7-2 run to cut the lead to 1 with about 3 minutes left in the game. HERE’S HOW IT FINISHED:

Kyle Watson had a game high 25, Gramae added 24, and Braeden Junes through in 18 points for the Wildcats. Colin Plumb had 20 points with 3 crucial second half 3 pointers (hit 4 in all), while Jason and Mark both added 19 each. The Wildcats record does not reflect the talent this team has. I would not be surprised if they make a playoff run! Team Swat remains undefeated, but will run into another powerhouse team in the BC Ballers! With the return of one of their key players, it will be another fireworks show that should not be missed!

BC Ballers 97 VS B2B 71

The BC Ballers cruised to a blowout win gearing up for the huge match up in week 6 vs the undefeated Team Swat squad!  Even more encouraging…THE RETURN OF DUANE TO TEAM BC BALLERS!  After a “self imposed hiatus”, Duane return to the squad to gear up for the playoff run.  The team imposed a 1st half “restriction” on minutes due to some “miscommunication” back in week 3 vs Team Wildcats!  With all water under the bridge, the week 6 match up may be a lock for GAME OF THE WEEK!

Lemon Party 76 VS Nike Vancouver 86

This could of been the grittiest game of the week!  A lot of energy and competition in this one!  Ryan for Lemon Party and Anthony “Lebron James” Lao led their respective teams in the first half.  Nike came out with a 5 point advantage after halftime, and that is where the fireworks began.  Both teams picked up the intensity and the trash talk, but in the end Team Nike closed out the game.  Nike’s Anthony Lao led all scores with 32 with Julio #9 chipping in 15, but Matt #14 had a near career game with 19 points including a spinning reverse layup plus the foul!

KICKS OF THE WEEK!!!

WEEK 4 – FEB 27^TH

7:00 – Court 1 – SWAT 59 VS Stallions 56

Dating back to last season, The stallions had won 12 straight games including a “Walk” though the playoffs enroute to a championship!  This game between the last undefeated teams in Group A had origins dating back to last season!  Lost on most or even all of the Stallions was that their long win streak started vs Team Swat!!!!

MORE TO COME

7:00 – Court 2 – Team YM 49 VS Van City Blazers 55

The always scrappy Team YM squad ran into a buzzsaw in the Van City Blazers.  Even though YM held a 3 point lead at halftime with their trademark balanced team scoring, it was a one man show being led by Van City’s Dusty #23!  He led all scores with 16 first half points.

Somewhere in the 2nd half Van City’s team woke up!  Not only did they erase the 3 point half time lead, but they went up by as much as 8 points to close the game out.  In the losing effort YM’s Filen Shung and Jack Ho had 11 apiece.

8:00 – Court 1 – Royal 44 VS J-Wai 47

Team Royal raced out to an 8 point lead at halftime vs J-Wai.  Not to be out “scrapped”, Team J-Wai made a furious come back late in the 2nd half to pull out the 3 point victory.

Penny #0 had a big game for Team Royal with 24 points, and J Wai’s Roger #8 had 12 points and Wesley #7 threw in 10 points

8:00 – Court 2 – B2B 66 VS Wildcats 70

This was an unlikely candidate for “Game of the Week”, but the Wildcats were yet short handed again so anything was possible!  The Wildcats fast breaking style got them out to an 11 point lead by half, and it looked like they would not be looking back.

In a gradual yet deliberate way, B2B chipped away at the Wildcats lead!  by 2s, 3s and free throws, B2B would come back to tie the game at 64 with less than 2 minutes left in the game!  The Wildcats were unable to to convert a point blank shot, and B2B were looking to fast break and take a late lead.  B2B seemed to have a man on the left wing wide open with a huge lane for layup, when The Wildcats Kyle Watson dove head first into the passing lane and flip the ball to a teammate while still sliding across the court!  The Wildcats closed it out down the stretch, and won by just 4 points.

9:00 – Court 1 – War Pigs 53 VS Nike Vancouver 60

Team Nike looked like they walked in with every employee in the Lower Mainland!  The Warpigs didn’t have a shortage of people either .  This game was definitely going to be an interesting matchup with a full roster.  The game style edge favored Team Nike, and the story played out almost exactly that way.  Nike led from start to finish, but the Warpigs did make a few runs to close the gap in the 2nd half.  It wouldn’t be enough as Team Nike went on to win by 7.  Balanced scoring was a change of pace for Nike.  Usually it is a 3 headed monster on the score sheet, but this time it was evenly distributed.

9:00 – Court 2 – Sonic Boom 84 VS Still Ballin’ 65

To this point it is obvious that Still Ballin’ is the league leader in 3 pointers made, yet they were in for a tough challenge facing Sonic Boom.  With their leading rebounder out with an injury, Sonic Boom added reinforcements to combat the ensuing 3 point onslaught vs Still Ballin’!

The guards for Sonic Boom got the team off to a blazing start, jumping out to a 16 point lead midway thru the 1st half and never looked back.  Connor Rockandel and Jamie Tarriba did a great job filling the rebounding void left by the injury to Ian Pierre-Louis.  Even with 13 three pointers made by Still Ballin’, they still fell to defeat by 19 points.  Sonic Boom may be primed for the playoffs if they get Ian back in time.

10:00 – Court 1 – Vancouver Prep 80 VS Lemon Party 52

Same coach + new players + same team name = a Win!  Van Prep started slow but ran away and hid with this game .  Looking good with one loss compared to last season when they were winless.  They are positioned perfectly for a big playoff run!

10:00 – Court 2 – United 78 VS BC Ballers 62

Coming off of a tough loss to Team Swat a few weeks ago, team United was ready for the challenge in Team BC Ballers.  BC Ballers were noticeably short handed with the absence of one of their dominant post players, but they came out firing anyway!  With baskets being traded back and forth, Team United held a 2 point lead after one half.

In the 2nd half, United’s big front line began to pay big dividends!  seemed like for every basket BC Ballers made, Team United made 2!  In the end, United had the upper hand tonight and won by 16.  With the league still up for grabs, United will get a chance at redemption in their second meeting vs Team Swat near the end of the season.  Outta be good!