Fall '19, Quarterfinals, The Vancouver Metro Basketball League™

John Leong

Fall 2019

January 14, 2020

Vancouver, B.C. - The Quarterfinals of the Vancouver Metro Basketball League™ set the stage for an exciting playoffs this season. Check out the full game recaps below as we prepare ourselves for next week's Semi-Finals. For the FULL QUARTERFINALS PHOTO ALBUM head to the Vancouver Metro Basketball League™ Facebook Page.

KAWHI SO SRS (88) VS. BANANA BOAT CREW (56)

The first playoff game of2020 featured a speedy team in Kawhi SO SRS and the savvy playing Banana BoatCrew. Jesse of Kawhi SO SRS came out of the gate pushing the tempo every timehe touched the rock and displayed his usual array of acrobatic finishes at therim. Kawhi SO SRS dominated the defensive end as well with Alban leading thecharge in thievery with 5 steals. On the offensive end Ahmed went off behindthe arc hitting 5/7 from 3-point land. Jason of Banana Boat Crew quietly hadhimself a good game with 16 points and a couple of steals as well and theCockburn brothers (Danny & Mike) also warmed up in the 2nd half,collaborating for 16 points and 6 rebounds. But in the end, Kawhi SO SRS’ sheerpace and speed was unstoppable as they cruise their way to the semifinals highin confidence.

Kawhi So SRS Top Performers:

Jesse Beavis - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal

Alban Shala - 18 points, 5 steals, 2 rebounds

Banana Boat Crew Top Performer:

Jason Cion - 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals

ALL CANADIAN (75) VS. RICEFARMERS (61)

If we’re talking about themost end-to-end action of two teams it had to be the game Rice Farmers facedoff against the All Canadians. After some early frustration between teammatesof All Canadians, they got it together and built a small lead going into thehalf (32-27). Balanced scoring from the Rice Farmers kept them close the entiregame but near the end of the 2nd half, All Canadians turned it up anotch and pulled away with a combined effort of 10 threes. All around play from Bongani led the charge as he kept his guys engaged and was vocal throughout thegame calling all screens and switches. His teammate Kent was massive as well ashe contributed with 10 rebounds (5 offensive) to give their squad multiplescoring opportunities. Jordan and James kept Rice Farmers close with tough playat the rim, making hard finishes and getting up for hard fought rebounds. Therun and gun play was too much to handle in the end for Rice Farmers as AllCanadians advance to the semifinals in convincing fashion.

All Canadians Top Performer:

Bongani Moyo - 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

Rice Farmers Top Performer:

10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal

NOTHIN’ BUT NETFLIX (79) VS. ALL TROUBLE (51)

The 2nd Division 2matchup of the night saw 2 contrasting teams battle it out on their own termswith a balanced attacked displayed by Nothin’ But Netflix and reboundingprowess from the All Trouble squad. Anthony of Nothin’ But Netflix ran hard allnight filling the lanes at every transition fast break and had a field dayhitting lay-up after lay-up. Teammate Scott was rumoured to have had a careernight, ending with 17 points including 3 threes. It was a close game at halfwith All Trouble only being down by 8. Petia of All Trouble was a monster onthe boards, cleaning up the mess with 10 rebounds and an emphatic dunk in thesecond half in hopes to inspire their guys on a mini comeback. But the strengthin numbers of Nothin’ But Netflix proved to be too much as Alex sliced his wayto the rack on multiple occasions for easy lay-ups to seal the deal and helptheir team advance to the semis.

Nothin' But Netflix Top Performer:

AJ Miller - 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists

All Trouble Top Performer:

Petia Barnababalado - 15 points, 10 rebounds

SHAMGODZ (49) VS. CRAZY PIG (46)

Afew early threes to start the game for the Shamgodz and Russell set theoffensive tone by missing the free throw on a 3-pt play, but getting his ownrebound and scoring the outback. He would actually spend a lot of thegame hitting 12/18 foul shots. Despite being down by 10, the Crazy Pigsignited their offence and chipped away at the lead. But Shamgodzcontinued to score and fans behind the Crazy Pig bench demanded“D-fence”! Shamgodz hung onto the lead by Russell’s free throws throughthe double bonus in the last few minutes.

Shamgodz Top Performer:

Russell- 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists

Justin- 11 points, 3 rebounds,

Pep- 9 points, 10 rebounds

Crazy Pig Top Performer:

Hulk- 6 points, 3 rebounds

Richie- 6 points , 4 rebounds

BUDDY GUYS (91) VS OT BANDITS (53)

A10pm timeslot plus a mismatch leads to a weird game. Buddy Guys clearlyhad more fire power and were coasting through the game, but OT guys are used toworking late so wanted to grind out a good game. Great effort by OTBandits to play their beat, while Buddy Guys were booed by some rude hecklerfor missing dunks. Bobby tried to liven up the game to see how far hisrange extends and hit a few super deep 3s.

Buddy Guys Top Performer:

Suki - 22 points, 3 rebounds

Antonio - 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Karn - 12 points, 4 rebounds

Sukhman - 12 points, 13 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 blocks

OT Bandits Top Performer:

Chris - 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals

Pep - 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals

Lin - 14 points, 4 rebounds

TTP (98) VS MONEY $HOT (54)

In the round of 16 #6 TTP would take on #11 Money $hot for a shot at the quarter finals. #6 TTP would assert their dominance inside right from the jump, and not look back. The strong inside play of Omid, Stephan, and Dan would prove to be too much for Money $hot as the trio combine for 64 points on the night almost entirely from inside the paint. Matt Anza would do a little bit of everything on the night with a near triple double. For Money $hot, their strong shooting from outside (8 3’s in the game) just wasn’t enough to cover the spread. Igor and Elliot led the way for 15 points a piece. TTP advances and will play #3 The Buddy Guys next week.

TTP Top Performers:

Omid Toussi - 30 Points, 14 Rebounds, 2 Assists

Stephan Croric - 20 Points, 9 Rebounds

Matt Anza - 10 Points, 8 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 1 Steal

Money $hot Top Performers:

Igor Jesovnik - 15 Points, 4 Rebounds, 12 Assists

Elliot C - 15 Points, 1 Assist, 1 Steal, 1 Rebound

JATT 86 - The Party 66

The Party tried to beat JATT at their own 3-point game and scored seven 3s to start the game and the first half was only a one point difference. JATT came out in the second half and capitalized on their speed to run up 53-44 and forced The Party to call a timeout. But JATT wasn’t to be stopped today and the mail in the coffin a 4-pt play by Sukhman at 61-44. Rumour has it that Bobby promised “corn dogs for everyone” after the win as a reward for starting the year off with a W.

JATT:

JD - 20 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

Sukhman - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blockRavi - 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

The Party:

Jordan - 15 points, 1 steal

Niko - 16 points, 12 rebounds, 1 steal

Shams - 11 points, 4 rebounds

Agaveros 69 - Huskies 57

‍Fresh off a vacation to Mexico, Oscar returned to Metro League refreshed and recharged to lead Los Agaveros to victory with big 23 points. Hitting from beyond the arc, buckets inside and 6 pits from the foul line, one might say he was “en fuego”, but we wouldn’t because that would be too ridiculous. Huskies struggled to heat up their own offence and tried to battle Agaveros grit, but came up short. Francisco launched a baseline inbound the full length of the court for Oscar to finish the game by a 12 point margin.