Vancouver Metro Basketball League

It’s been another great season of Vancouver men’s league play with some amazing playoff games to finish the spring session of Metro League!  As we wait for the first round of the NBA playoffs to wrap up, we thought we would reflect on some of our very own superstars.

The top teams held their dominance in the league with sharp shooting and intimidating defense. And there have been numerous great highlight moments every week: heavy dunks, huge rejections, ridiculously tough shots and sneaky moves in the paint.  But if you want to know what it really takes to compete in this league, here are some key stats!

Top teams: Canada One and 3D.  In the regular season, Canada One averaged 103 points each game while 3D kept their opponents to a measly 68.5 ppg.

Hot Shots (regular season)
Spend the off-season working on your defense so you can try and stop these hot shots!

Playoff Clutch Players
In addition, to producing throughout the regular season, these guys stepped it up in the playoffs.  By improving their point production, hustling that extra step, nabbing more rebounds, and showing amazing heart in the playoffs, the following players turned in some great clutch performances.

FINAL: Canada One – 3D, 115-99

In the highly anticipated rematch betweeen Canada One and 3D, last season’s champs set out to redeem their regular season loss and regain the top ranking in the Metro League.  Canada One’s towering defense ignited a 10-2 run with Bob Hielttes and Navi Sekhon getting easy inside buckets with perfect passes from point guard Randy Nohr.  3D’s captain Jason Hubbs brought his team back into the game with some tough hoops against the ridiculously tall Canada One team.  3D started to heat up in the second quarter, but Canada One was determined to retain their lead and responded with some very physical defense.  Lucian Sauciuc played without fear and nailed some tough hoops to finish the half at 51-39.

Canada One started the 2nd half with hot outside shooting from Sean Maxwell, extending their lead to 34 points.  3D retaliated with big athletic plays from Josh Booy (dunk and a two-handed block against the glass/goal-tend) as well as sharp shooting from Alex Zabori and Graeme McCallum.  3D nailed eight 3′s in the second half to bring the game within 16, but the damage had been done in the first and third quarter.

Canada One continues their dominance with the highest bball IQ on the court, the rest of the league will need to build on their team strategy to take on these giants next season.

Road to the Championship:
Canada One – EA Sports, 105-84
3D – Run N Gun, 102-82

Congratulations to EA Sports for hitting grand slam with the 2009 Metro Basketball League Charity Shoe Drive sponsored by Nike/New Age Sports!

Thanks also to everyone in the league that came out and participated in this charity initiative throughout the season.  It’s important to us that, as a league, we have a heart for community/charity and the entire Vancouver Metro League did an amazing job rounding up their kicks at home and donating to folks that need them more than we do.

EA came in with over 50 pairs of shoes!  EA Sports Metro League Team includes Jeff Atienza,  Mike Mahar, Matt Mahar,  Jeff Antwi,  Shane Luke,  Colin Currie, Phil Sinnott, Mike Smit, Matt Ng, Mike Baxter,  Zach Russell, Kyle Russell and Andres Rivela.

2009 Charity Shoe Drive brought to you by New Age Sports/Nike.  Visit New Age Sports for all your athletic shoe and apparel needs at the following Vancouver Locations:

Week 9 Results – March 12

3D – Canada One, 108-90
EA Sports – East Van Warriors, 124-52
Bullets – Celtics, 95-64
Swat – Sonic Boom, 70-52
Run N Gun – East Van Mutineers, 107-66

Box Score – March 12

With the CIS National Basketball Championships and High School Basketball Provincials going on later this week, Canada One squared off with 3D tonight in a highly anticipated match-up.   The first quarter of the game was dead even with teams testing each other and equally trading hoops.  3D’s proved that they were at the top of their defensive game with a few big interceptions in the 2nd quarter and started to pull away.  Randy Nohr (35) and Navi Sekhon (29) kept the game within reach, but 3D still kept coming up with steals and capitalizing on their fast break buckets.  Taylor Cherris-Wilding (22) and Graeme McCallum (22) were 3D’s top scorers, followed closely by Jason Hubbs (18) and John Thomson (18).   3D’s energetic defense and inspired team offense made them the victors of the night and Canada One suffers their first loss.

3D – Canada One, 108-90

Thursday, March 5

Canada One – Swat, 89-71
Run N Gun – Celtics, 95-83
Bullets – East Van Warriors, 103-49
Sonic Boom – 3D, 99-97
EA Sports – East Van Mutineers, 88-53

Mar 5 Box Scores

Game of the Night – Sonic Boom 99 – 3D 97
As predicted, 3D and Sonic Boom battled hard throughout the entire game and it all came down to one shot.  With seconds winding down, Sonic Boom trailed by 2 points.  3D plays outstanding defense all the time, so you can imagine how tenacious they were in protecting the lead.  Forcing the ball well past the perimeter, Paul Rother nails an impossible 3-pointer with a big defender in his face and falling backward.  With only 2.7 seconds remaining, 3D hustles to tie the game with a baseline jumper, but fell short.  Sonic Boom was clearly amped for this game and hit some difficult shots.  Paul Rother (20), Yu-ki Kikuchi (18) and Igor Dutina (38) led the team’s scoring, while Stacey Barton (13) added some flash to the offense.  In a game this close, 3D was also making great buckets: Graeme McCallum hit for 18 points, Jason Hubbs added 20 points, but 3D’s fearless PG Taylor Cherris-Wilding bagged 45 points on the night.  Yes, that’s eleven 3′s . . . count ‘em . . . eleven.  But, it was Sonic Boom’s night and they handed 3D their first loss of the season.

Run N Gun 95 – Celtics 83
The simple stat of this game is that Mark Tasic (35) scored whenever he wanted.  This was made even easier when Jordan Yu (24) is stretching the defense and lobbing some the nicest passes I’ve ever seen in the league (and that’s saying something!).  Run N Gun was on fire last night – Brian Scotland thread the needle on a perfect outlet pass down court to a sprinting Tasic.  Javier Glatt making interceptions all over the court and swatted away a big 3-point attempt.  Noah Cantor may get recruited to vball as he had several two-handed smothering blocks.  As great as Run N Gun played, Celtics still pushed RNG.  Dante Flores (20) had a fantastic shooting night and Melvyn Mayott (30) continued to please the crowd – particularly when he popped his dislocated knuckle back in place during a timeout and then continued to play.  To my own dismay, I was impressed – especially when he hit three more 3′s.

Bullets 103 – East Van Warriors 49
The Warriors had a tough shooting night and Bullets’ Jamie Robinson had his best game in Metro yet.  With 30 points, 5 steals, 2 dunks (one alley-oop from Nick Vojic) and 4 blocks, Jamie owned the court.  We usually just track the scores, but when someone is lighting it up like that, you tend to start making note.  Adam Rattray added 18 and Ben Lee had 15 on the night, but it was Robinson who was a walking highlight reel.

EA Sports 88 – East Van Mutineers 53
EA Sports’ Kyle Russell (22) took control of the offense early in the game with three 3′s in the first half.  Matt Mahar hit for 18 and Mike Baxter (16) shot perfect swishes from the foul line (7/7).  The Mutineers’ Winston Poh (9) found his range at the 3 and Xavier Thompson (11) and Jay Glover (14) fought hard on offense.  Colin Currie swatted away 4 shots and added 10 points for the win.

Canada One 89 – Swat 71
Swat almost stole this game and could have used the size of absent Monjeff Peters, Mark Starkey and Jeremy Alexander to take on Canada One’s twin towers Bob Hielttes and Lars Hansen.  Sherlan John (19) and Evan Southern (15) led the active Swat team to keep Canada One to their lowest score of the season.  But, Navi Sekhon (32) and Randy Nohr (25) controlled the 3rd quarter and refused to let Swat mount a successful comeback.

Next week’s feature matches (for your viewing pleasure):
Monday – Canada One vs 3D, 7:30pm
Thursday – Sonic Boom vs Swat, 9pm

Week 8 Match-ups – March 5

8PM (New Gym): Run N Gun vs Celtics
Run N Gun will be looking to improve their record to .500 and stay in the hunt for the top 4.  After a tough loss in OT last week, the team will be looking for redemption.

8PM (Alumni Gum): Canada One vs Swat
Swat is currently sitting in 4th place and will be looking to take down the champs!  Canada One hasn’t had their full roster out in a while, so if Swat can put together their best lineup, they have a shot at handing Canada One their first loss of the season.  But the safe bet still goes to Canada One for the win.

9PM (New Gym): Sonic Boom vs 3D
3D’s defense will be tough for Sonic Boom to overcome, so they will have to balance their offensive scoring to have a chance against the uber athletic 3D squad.  The consistent team play of 3D has proven impossible to defeat so far, but Sonic Boom’s pasison for the game will likely make this the game of the week.

9PM (Alumni Gum): Warriors vs Bullets
Warriors have been improving through the season so tonight could be a good night for them.  If Cesare Martino heats up from the 3 as he did last week and Srdjan Vujovic controls the key, they have a shot at equalizing the Bullets big scorers (Ben Lee and Jamie Robinson).  This could be the turning point for the Warriors if they can put together another great performance.

10PM (New Gym): EA Sports vs Mutineers
The Mutineers are tenacious and have continually pushed their opponents out of their comfort zone.  EA is a cohesive unit that will be tough to dismantle, but the Mutineers never give up easily.  EA is hungry for a win and a good point differential in order to separate themselves from the pack of teams chasing Canada One and 3D.

Season Standings: Spring Results

Good luck!

~cb

After 6 weeks in Metro League,  there are two clear front runners and it’s a tight race for 3rd.  Canada One and 3D are both undefeated so far in the season with significant point spreads over their opponents.  Mark your calendars for March 12th, when these two powerhouses face off!  The race for 3rd is a battle between 5 teams – the next games will be crucial to solidfy their standings!

With just 4 games left in regular season, it’s time for teams to get their full rosters on the court and earn the top seeding for playoffs!

League Standings – Week 6

Thursday, Feb 19

Canada One – Celtics, 123-83
East Van Warriors – East Van Mutineers, 74-67
3D – Run ‘n Gun, 109-92
Bullets – Sonic Boom, 75-73
EA Sports – Swat, 78-63

Feb 19 Box Scores

Game of the Night: Bullets are down one point and Ben Lee nails a 3 to take the win over Sonic Boom.  75-73

Thursday, Feb 12

Canada One – East Van Mutineers, 105-55
Swat – Celtics, 75-59
Sonic Boom – EA Sports, 67-52
3D – Bullets, 71-55
Run ‘n Gun – East Van Warriors, 98-63

Box Score – Feb 12

Game of the Night – Sonic Boom over EA Sports.

EA was missing Matt Mahar and Mike Baxter and Sonic Boom was firing on all cylinders!  Big plays from Boom’s Stacey Barton and Igor Dutina.  Igor swatted away 2 big shots and Stacey also had a big rejection – they also connected on offense with Barton lobbing up a beautiful alley-oop to Dutina for a heavy dunk.  Working together for the play of the night, I’m tempted to give them co- players of the night, but Stacey Barton edges out Dutina due to his charitable contribution to the shoe drive!!  Thanks Stacey!