Congratulations to SWAT Team for winning the Vancouver Metro League Championship Thursday night, their first in four years of their Metro League existence with a 115-98 win over Heart, Hustle & Soul.

In what was a close game throughout the first thirty minutes of action, soon turned into a lopsided affair with SWAT’s defense setting the tone for SWAT’s vaunted offense to take control. H.H.S.’s Jason Birring’s 44 points kept his squad in throughout, but SWAT’s efficiency on the glass helped break the game wide open in SWAT’s favor late in the second half. Up 85-79 with 8:58 remaining, SWAT’s top-scorer Clayton Crellin dropped a tough and-one drive to the bucket which opened the flood gates for SWAT. SWAT went on 13-4 run from there on and never looked back, securing their first ever Metro League title.

Crellin’s 34 points led SWAT to the victory earning him his second Metro League chip after earning his first as a member of Canada One last season. Crellin also earned MVP honors after yet another brilliant season for the young 20 year-old.

SWAT’s perfect season stays in tack at 12-0 while Heart, Hustle & Soul are still searching for their first Metro League title.

Top Scorers:

SWAT – Clayton Crellin (34 points), Clint Lomax (20 points) & Chris Peerless (18 points).

Heart, Hustle & Soul – Jason Birring (44 points), Mark Tasic (21 points) & Karlo Villaneuva (12 points).

8pm – New Gym Vancouver College

1. SWAT

vs

4. Heart, Hustle & Soul

* Preview to follow.

Clayton Crellin’s game-high 33 points sends SWAT to their first Metro League final after a convincing win over the Cinderella kids, Velvet Hoop.
Crellin’s numerous dunks and continuous assault at attacking the rim brought SWAT back into the game after falling behind in the first 10 minutes of the game. Velvet Hoop jumped out the gate with point guard Nick Toews nailing five threes before the game was even 15 minutes old. SWAT used an early timeout to reestablish their defensive strategy, sending their best defensive player Jerome Jacobs to guard Toews who was on pace to break the Metro League record of nine three-pointers in a game. Jacobs was able to contain Toews for the most part, challenging his threes and making it tough for the young guard to get to the rack.
The defense set the tone for the offense for SWAT, as they took over the lead late in the first-half, and never looked back. Up six at halftime, SWAT continued to build their lead in the second half as Crellin bombed from outside and penetrated inside, while teammates Andrew Sturgeon (14 points), Sherlan Long (8 points) and Darren Spithoff (8 points) chipped in offensively. Velvet Hoop managed to get the SWAT lead down to three points early in the second half, but down the stretch SWAT proved to be to much for Velvet Hoop to handle.
Nick Toews was the game-high scorer for Velvet Hoop, dropping 30 points including an impressive seven three-pointers. Velvet Hoop enjoy their best finish yet in the Metro League, while SWAT keep their undefeated season intact and head on to the Metro League championship game.

(4.) Heart, Hustle & Soul 81 – (6.) Team Serbia 74

H.H.S. use their three-headed monster of Mark Tasic, Jason Birring and Casey Archibald to take down the always tough Team Serbia in what was a close game throughout the first-half.
Serbia was completely in this game through the first 25 minutes as the lead changed six times in the first half, with H.H.S. taking a slim five point lead into the break. The second half is where Serbia unraveled. H.H.S. busted out the gate with Tasic scoring inside and Birring and Archibald doing it from inside and outside, earning their squad an early eight point lead, which they contined to build. Serbia managed to stay in the game, pulling within five points in the final three minutes, but time, literally, wasn’t on their side. Serbia would be forced to foul in the dieing two minutes, stopping the clock and sending H.H.S. to the charity stripe where they knocked down their free throws, sealing the game.
H.H.S.’s Birring (26 points), Archibald (25 points) and Tasic (24 points), scored an incredible 75 of their 81 points, to lead all scorers. Igor Dutina led Serbia with 18 points. Serbia’s inaugural season ends while H.H.S. are off to their first Metro League final.

8pm

1. SWAT vs 7. Velvet Hoop

9pm

4. Heart, Hustle & Soul vs 6. Team Serbia

SWAT hold strong and remain unbeaten this season with a first round win over the always scrappy Sonic Boom. Clayton Crellin’s 34 points were all but needed as SWAT couldn’t seem to shake the Boomer’s who were bombing from the outside, dropping 27 of their 69 points from downtown.  SWAT jumped out the gate with  9-0 run, but Sonic Boom weathered the storm by going on a 9-0 run of their own backed by some hot-shooting from Joey Haywood (36 points) and Paul Rother (11 points). The lead bounced back and forth through the first half with SWAT taking a slim 40-34 lead into the break. The second half  the intensity between the two teams began to heat up. SWAT’s Clint Lomax (19 points) controlled the glass and took to the lanes down the stretch while Sonic Boom’s Haywood countered by scoring in many different ways to keep the game within Sonic Boom’s reach. Late in the game out of frustration, Haywood took a technical that began to swing the momentum in SWAT’s favor. Jerome, SWAT’s shot-blocking machine, went to work on Haywood, locking him down defensively and giving the young CIS standout fits. The defensive stance by SWAT helped gain them separation in the final minutes with Sonic Boom being forced to foul to help keep the clock on their side, but it would prove to be too late. Sonic Boom play one of their best games of the season in a hard fought loss to the Metro League’s top team. SWAT keep their unblemished record in tact and move on to the final four.

(7.) Velvet Hoop 87 – (2.) Vancouver United 71

Velvet Hoop knocks off last season’s finalist Vancouver United with an impressive upset win. United, who were without most of their line-up including top-scorers Hardeep Bassram and Taylor Cheris-Wilding, only had five players on their roster and it proved to be their undoing. Velvet Hoop took advantage of the depleted United squad holding an eight point lead, 47-39, after the first 25 minutes. Velvet was doing it inside and outside, nailing 11 threes – a team high for the season. Nick led Velvet Hoop with 28 points, including six three-pointers, Jason Reynolds chipped in 19 points and Hunter Jordan supplied 15 points in the win. Jeremy Alexander led Van United with 20 points and Kerri Westmore added 19 points in the loss. The number two team in the Metro League is bounced while the Cinderella squad, Velvet Hoop, advance to the semi-finals.

(6.) Team Serbia 85 – (3.) Bullets 80

Team Serbia give their best performance of the year in a hard fought win over the Bullets. Serbia jumped out the gate scoring in bunches helping them earn a 10 point lead early on. Bullets would swing the momentum slightly when Ben Lee connected Jaime Robinson with an alley-oop dunk that would bring the Bullets bench to their feet. Serbia, however, wouldn’t let it faze them as top-scorer Igor Dutina lite up the floor dropping 28 points while teammates Thomas Wan and Srdjan Vujovic added 18 points. The Bullets really couldn’t get much going throughout the game. Ben Lee was the Bullets high-man with 21 points while Jamie Robinson added 14 points. Bullets are gone while Team Serbia is in the semis.

(4.) Heart, Hustle & Soul 143 – (5.) Remix 83

H.H.S. advance to the semis with an easy win over a mixed up Remix squad. Only three official players from Remix were available to play so Remix were forced to pick up three transfer players from SWAT and Vancouver United to play the game. H.H.S. took complete control of this game right off the hop, earning everything with relative ease. Jason Birring and Mark Tasic had their way for H.H.S., while the rest of the squad also got their points, in what was a game played with zero defense. Kuba Lupac and De’Shawn chipped in for Remix, while point-guard AJ Adusei was the games high-scorer. Remix’s inaugural season is finished while H.H.S. get their chance to battle for a Metro League title after losing in the first round last season.

New Gym

1. SWAT vs 8. Sonic Boom

Alumni Gym

2. Vancouver United vs 7. Velvet Hoop

9pm

New Gym

3. Bullets vs 6. Team Serbia

Alumni Gym

4. Heart, Hustle & Soul vs 5. Remix

Season Matchup

SWAT 83 – Sonic Boom 61 (Week Three)

Top Scorers

SWAT – Andrew Sturgeon, Clayton Crellin & Tommy Nixon

Sonic Boom – Lonzell Webster, Joey Haywood & Connor Rockandel

2. Vancouver United (6-3) vs 7. Velvet Hoop (4-5)

Season Matchup

Vancouver United 92 – Velvet Hoop 75 (Week Five)

Top Scorers

Vancouver United – Hardeep Bassram, Kerri Westmore & Taylor Cherris-Wilding

Velvet Hoop – Chris Horwood, Hunter Jordan & Jason Reynolds

3. Bullets (6-3) vs 6. Team Serbia (4-5)

Season Matchup

Bullets 86 – Team Serbia 83 (Week Two)

Top Scorers

Bullets – Ben Lee, Jamie Robinson & Adam Rattray

Team Serbia – Igor Dutina, Vlad Ruzic & Prince Carino

4. Heart, Hustle & Soul (6-3) vs 5. Remix (6-3)

Season Matchup

H.H.S. 84 – Remix 80 (Week Two)

Top Scorers

H.H.S. – Mark Tasic, Jason Birring & Zach Russell

Remix – Doug Plumb, Lulian & Edvin Malashuga

SWAT (9-0) 90 – Bullets (6-3) 45

SWAT go undefeated for the year throwing a beat-down on the Bullets with a statement win. Andrew Sturgeon led all scorers with 30 points while teammate Tommy Nixon added 24 in what was a lopsided game from the get-go. SWAT jumped out to a 12 point lead within the first 12 minutes of play, scoring continually in transition, taking advantage of the Bullets ice-cold shooting. The Bullets, who were without top forward Jaime Robinson, were stifled by SWAT’s defense and couldn’t find a shooter who wasn’t challenged. SWAT played their best defensive half of the season holding the Bullets to a season low 18 points in the first half, taking a 43-18 lead into the break. The final 25 minutes were much of the same with Sturgeon and Nixon scoring with ease and opening up the shooting lanes for their teammates.  Ben Lee led the Bullets in scoring with 11 points. With the loss, the Bullets slip to third place setting up a first round playoff match with Team Serbia.

Other Scores from Week Nine

Heart, Hustle & Soul (6-3) 117 – EA (1-8) 78

Mark Tasic scored a Metro League season-high 51 points leading H.H.S. to a crushing 39 point win over EA. EA got 24 points from recruit Edvin Malashuga who joined the team from Remix due to EA needing a fifth player. The loss eliminates EA from the playoffs.

Sonic Boom (2-7) 97 – Team Serbia (4-5) 73

Sonic Boom slip into the playoffs with a convincing win over Team Serbia. New-recruit Joey Haywood led the Boomer’s with 31 points including five three-pointers while teammates Connor Rockandel chipped in 17 points and Lonzell Webster added 16 points. Sonic Boom sealed the win with some incredible three-point shooting, dropping 13 from the land beyond. The Boomer’s will now have the tough task of handling the Metro League’s top team, SWAT, in the first round of the playoffs.

Remix (6-3) win by default over Vancouver United (6-3)

Velvet Hoop (4-5) win by default over Nike (1-8)