Vancouver Metro Basketball League

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!

Another great night at Metro League!!

The predicted Game of the Night lived up to the hype and it was a heated battle between 3D and EA Sports.  Run N Gun stepped up (with big buckets from Jordan Yu) to take the win over Bullets.  Sonic Boom and the Celtics hit the floor for another good match while Canada One and Swat easily rolled on to victory! 

Highlights:
Block of the Night – East Van Mutineers John Sirmul
Assists of the Night:
Corey Wee (Swat) alley-oop lay-in
Josh Booy (3D) touch pass give-n-go

Game of the Night

3D  75 - EA Sports 66

It was a battle of the big men last night and Josh Booy of 3D instantly set the tone with a massive block to start the game.  Blocks became a recurring theme on the night as Booy had a few rejections on the night, with Graeme McCallum (3D) and Matt Mahar (EA) both swatting shots away.  3D’s team work earned them a comfortable lead at half (33-22) with big scores from Graeme McCallum (21), Jason Hubbs (19) and Taylor Cherris-Wilding (15). 

EA refused to go gently so Mike Baxter and Matt Mahar took over the 3rd quarter – each earning 25 and 16, respectively.  Baxter stepped up his game again and nailed two consecutive 3′s to give EA the lead for the first time in the game.  With just over 5 minutes remaining,  tempers began to flare and the refs handed out a couple T’s to very unlikely candidates (Baxter and Hubbs).   Some tight calls sent the teams to the line,  forcing them to stay in the game one point at a time (3D hit 70% of their 26 free throws, EA hit 60% of 22).  3D pulled away with the tough win on the night with their characteristic unselfish offense and smothering defense despite the heroic efforts of EA’s Baxter and Mahar.

Canada One 117 – East Van Warriors 84

The Warriors all tried to battle the league giants with good scoring coming from Dennis De Vita (18), Gary Haywood (18), Andrew Millard (16), and Cesare Martino (15), but the League Champs controlled the game from start to finish.  Eric Butler (18) and Sean Maxwell (19) had great games, but the night was dominated by another big performance from Navi Sekhon who gathered up 39 points.  Howard Kelsey had a big night with 22 points to ensure the win.  Randy Nohr was notably absent (curious to know what he will do after his 61 point night last week), but I’m sure he’s busy preparing the UBC Tbirds bball team for their last home game of the regular season (Sat night 8pm). 

Sonic Boom 59 – Celtics 43

The game stars in this match-up were definitely Sonic Boom’s Paul Rother (20) and Igor Dutina (19).  Celtics kept in this game despite missing their big man Melvyn Mayott and late arrival of David Toljanich.  Toljanich (10) added 5 buckets along with Rannel Ramos’ 12 points.  Big defenders Dutina (2 blocks) and Connor Rockandel (8 points) forced the Celtics to shoot from long range, but they couldn’t convert enough 3′s to close the gap.  However, Pat Caffrey continued to find his way through the trees to nab buckets from inside for 8 points.

Run N Gun 95 – Bullets 77

Run N Gun’s new recruits have dramatically increased their scoring power – even against the experienced Bullets.  Ben Lee (22) and Jamie Robinson (25) produced big buckets, but the Bullets could keep pace with Run N Gun offense.  Jordan Yu (31) and Mark Tasic (28) both had big nights, forcing the Bullets to defend both inside and out.  Yu lit it up from 3-point range, tallying seven treys. 

Swat 78 – East Van Mutineers 40

Swat had a rocky start in the late game, but quickly regained their energy with sneaky Corey Wee at the point and a hard-slashing Monjeff Peters (17).  The biggest swat of the night honour goes to John Sirmul of the Mutineers who might be getting the call to play beach vball with that big swinging block.  Jay Glover was ignited by his cheering fans to score 16 points on the night, but Swat’s Sherlan John found the inspiration to score four 3′s and earn 23 points for his team.  Stefan Avall hit some key buckets to swing the momentum back to his team and a beautiful alley-oop from Corey Wee to Monjeff Peters was a definite crowd-pleaser.

Thursday, February 5

Canada One – East Van Warriors, 117-84
Sonic Boom – Celtics, 59-43
Run N Gun – Bullets, 95-77
3D – EA Sports, 75-66
Swat – Eat Van Mutineers, 78-40

Feb 5 Box Scores

This past week brought some more close, high-octane games.  The benches were a little deserted this week and for some teams it meant running out of gas at the end of a close game and for others, it brought out some very inspired basketball.

Game of the Night

Canada One 125 – Run N Gun 108

Canada One took on Run N Gun on Thursday night in a very active, high-scoring match.  Run N Gun guards (Kavie Toor -13, Jason Abrams-17 and Jordan Yu-19) were firing from 3-point land to try and match the unbelievable performance of Canada One’s Randy Nohr.  When you compare Mark Tasic’s 35 points to Navi Sekhon’s 33 points it seems fair, but when Randy bombs away for a record 61 points, what can you do??  Yes, that’s 61 points in 50 minutes (eight 3′s).  Seriously. 

Swat 50 – East Van Warriors 47

It came down to the wire in this game  and Swat’s win is credited to tough defensive stops and quick helpside defense.  The Warriors maintained their composure on offense and patiently passed the ball around to make Swat work.  Swat had equal contributions from the entire team – led by Jeremy Alexander (13) and Sherlan John (12).  Srdjan Vujovic (15) and Cesare Martino (14) led the Warriors – with Cesare nearly stealing the win after being fouled at the 3 and hitting all his free throws.  Swat’s defensive toughness at the start of the game (inspired by Corey Wee’s multiple steals) carried over into some aggressive offense rebounding to finish the game – one of the last plays continued with 5 offensive boards to eek out the win by 3. 

EA Sports 61 – Bullets 57

Mike Baxter of EA had his way out on the courts again, pulling in the game high of 20 points.  His presence on defense helps to quiet his opponents and also mops up the boards.   New addition Zach Russell strengthens the guard position and EA’s offense has certainly increased in speed.  Jamie Robinson (13) and Adam Rattay (10) were the power forwards who battled Baxter under the boards with consistent efforts from Tim Nichols (12) and Paul Proznick (10).  Robinson’s athleticism helped Bullets to keep the game close and big final plays by Nick Vojic nearly completed the comeback.  But, the control of the boards went to Baxter with EA Sports maintaining the lead in the dying moments of the game.

3D 89 – Celtics 69

3D only had a roster of 5 guys, but managed to keep up the intensity throughout the match, never letting the Celtics back into the game.  Melvyn Mayott (20) and Dante Andres (9) tried to stay in the game with some solid outside shooting while Pat Caffrey (11) earned a few tough inside hoops.  3D’s Alex Zabori was on a mission to start the game strong, hitting 4 three’s right off the start.  Jason Hubbs (27) and Taylor Cherris-Wilding (26) dominated the offense for 3D.  It was a great performance again by the 3D teamwork as they earned a 3-0 record.  Cody Fox (11) was the stand-out defender and kept the pace of the game high – even without any subs.  Josh Booy chipped in with 13 points and 2 blocks (including a big swatting rejection).

Be sure to check out the 9pm games this Thursday as you will likely catch the Games of the Night: 3D vs EA Sports and Run N Gun vs Bullets.

Thursday, Jan 29
Canada One – Run N Gun, 125-108

Friday, January 30
Swat – East Van Warriors, 50-47
EA Sports – Bullets, 61-57
3D – Celtics, 89-69
Sonic Boom - Mutineers, 66-52

Jan 30 Box Scores

Seeing the scores posted must have inspired the big shooters to nab a few extra points as the night brought some big scores from: Navi Sekhon (36), Paul Rother (34), Mark Tasic (32), Randy Nohr (27), Matt Mahar (25), Melvyn Mayott (23), Jamie Robinson (22) and Monjeff Peters (22).

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Warriors 68 – Celtics 66

This game started out with a bang – with the first four buckets of the night all hailing from 3-point land.  Things quieted down as the St Pat’s alumni Celtics team cruised into control of the game.  The hot hand of the night was definitely Melvyn Mayott, who hit 5 three’s, one (massive) block, a few 2′s and shot 100% from the line for a grand total of 23 pts.  This kid (I can say kid because the whole team graduated ’03-’05) plays with such natural grace and fluidity that I had to “google” him to see where he played (fyi, he’s an SFU alum who won the Canada West Rookie of the Year , 2004-2005).

At half, the young Celtics (who still refuse to don the old short-shorts) had a healthy lead of 45-20.  But, in the second half, the rust started to fall off the Warriors as Dennis DeVita (19) led the charge back.  Srkjan Vujovic and Cesare Martino each added a solid 10 points and Michael Martignago chipping in with 9 points to narrow the gap.  The Warriors hit a 3 to take the lead for the first time of the 2nd half (63-62), the teams traded buckets, keeping the game up for grabs.  Celtics Allan Flores hit a big three to regain the lead (66-63), but DeVita countered quickly with a trey to tie the game (again).   The game came down to the wire and the Warriors won by sinking  two free-throws.  Chalk one up for the “old guys”, but watch out for the young’uns led by Mayott!

EA Sports 69 – Run N Gun 60

Our recently profiled Matt Mahar (25) was clearly “in the zone” and posted big numbers along with teammates Shane Luke (17) and Matt Ng (14).  The entire EA team had to be exhausted from chasing the very athletic Run N Gun team and clearly nabbed the win with great defensive stops.  The only guy they couldn’t stop was ex-TBird Marc Tasic (32), who is proving to be one of the toughest guys to stop in the league.

Canada One 89 – Sonic Boom 70

Sonic Boom played tough pressure defense, earning them a surprising amount of steals from the most experienced team in the league.  But, they just couldn’t contain the lethal combo of Navi Sekhon (36) and Randy Nohr (27).  Paul Rother took the ball hard to the hoop and was playing to the refs mercy by earning a trip the charity stripe 7 times (shooting 12/14).  That is surely a league record, of some sort.  Igor Dufino (sp?) subbed in for Sonic Boom, making his debut in the league and added 12 points.  Sean Maxwell of Canada One had great overall stats with loads of boards, working hard inside and even stepping out to nail a couple trey’s for a total of 18 points.

Bullets 66 – Mutineers 44

Big man Jamie Robinson and point guard Ben Lee controlled most of this game, adding 22 and 11 respectively.  Jay Glover (19) and Donald Ross-Richardson (13) rallied back, but the Bullets team play was too tough to handle.  Bullets seemed a bit too quick and stealthy for the Mutineers who were left to hack the hard-driving Bullets.

3D 88 – Swat 72

Without Sherlan “the man” John, the Swat team was missing some of their characteristic energy – not to mention the gym was a whole lot quieter!  3D took the early lead and never relinqueshed their dominance on the court.  3D is proving to quite the force with continued unselfish play and great help-side defense.  Josh Booy led the team’s points with 18, but was closely followed by Graeme McCallum (16), Taylor Cherris-Wilding (15), Jason Hubbs (15), and John Thomson (13).  Cody Fox and Alex Zabori were controlling the floor and distributing the ball, effectively stalling Swat’s late surge.  Monjeff Peters (22) led the charge for Swat, but they were unable to overcome the 20-point deficit of the first half.  Newcomers Kash Ahterton (13) and Jon Pradinuk (8) displayed some fancy footwork on their way to the hoop and Chris Peerless was the sniper at the 3-line (hitting four 3′s on the night).

In love and basketball,

cb

Wednesday, Jan 21

EA Sports – Run N Gun, 69-60

Canada One – Sonic Boom, 89-70

Bullets – Mutineers, 66-44

Warriors – Celtics, 68-66

3D – Swat, 88-72

Jan 21 Box Scores

The season opener was all about the league’s wily veterans while the new teams sorted out their new team dynamics.  The new teams had a few more miscommunications, errant passes and clanging rims than they are used to as they adjusted to the fast-paced offenses and gritty defense of the league’s returning teams. 

3D vs East Van Warriors (106-43)

The new team of 3D bonded quickly (as I predicted) and had the high score of the night with 5 guys all chipping in for double digits.  The Warriors fought to stop 3D’s relentless energy, but guys like Graeme McCallum (32 pts) and John Thomson (19) were damn near unstoppable on this unselfish team.  Jason Hubbs (11), Mike Schmidt (18) and Taylor Cherris-Wilding (13) rounded out the team’s offense supported by Cody Fox, Alex Zabori, and our recently profiled Josh Booy.  I told you to watch for team chemistry!

Canada One vs EA Sports (93-89)

The EA team/coworkers nearly took down last year’s champs in the first game of the season, losing a close to Canada One (93-89).  EA’s new guy, Mike Baxter, had a great intro to the league with top scoring honours of the night by knocking down 17 jumpers, nabbing 42 points in total.  But, the experience of Canada One prevailed, with consistent scoring from Langara pals, Navi Sekhon (32) and Randy Nohr (16).  I know an embarrassing amount of stories of how these two guys can dismantle an opponent.  For now, let’s just say that 2 years ago they led their rec team to a whopping 200-120 win (in 60 minutes running time).  They are ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.  What’s even more annoying is how purely they play the game – you wish you could hate them, but you respect them too much. 

Celtics vs East Van Mutineers (61-49)

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch 2 games at once and missed the match-up between new teams: East Van Mutineers and the Celtics.  Celtics, led by Melvyn Mayott and Patrick Caffrey, rallied back after trailing by a few hoops  most of the first half.   Trevor Boubard was bombing 3′s, but the Mutineers couldn’t recover their lead back and lost out to the persistent Celtics (who I’m hoping will live up to their name and start sporting some old school Bird short-shorts).  Just a thought.

Run & Gun vs Sonic Boom (91-61)

The boys were working late in this 10pm start and put on an entertaining show!  Run & Gun captain, Kavie Toor, did some great recruiting in the off-season (aka the Christmas holidays) and signed some great UBC alum to round out the roster.  Adding Mark Tasic was a stroke of genius as this guy was relentless under the boards and earned 31 points by battling Sonic Boom’s big guy, Connor Rockandel, in the low post.  Run & Gun kept feeding their big man (with some fancy little flip passes) as they charged the hoop - Tasic only seemed to get stronger as the minutes ran down, posting 12 points in the first half and 19 in the second.  Paul Rother battled back with 23 points by sacrificing his body and earning a few trips to the charity stripe – especially impressive when you consider he was up against a pro-footballer who seemed eerily at home on the bball court.   Sonic Boom hung in the game until a slow start to the second half sealed their fate (giving up an 8 bucket run).

Game of the Night: Bullets vs Swat (57-50)

Prior to the start of the second season both team captains did a little recruiting and made some great additions to their already solid rosters.  Bullets nabbed the early victory over Swat (formerly VanCity) with big contributions from Tim Nichols (11) and point guard Ben Lee (19).    Adding the high-flying Jamie Robinson (17) is a great complement to Lee’s aggressive offense.  The team is rounded out by the tenacious defense of Paul Proznick and the heart and hustle of Jason Rudd and Nick Vojic.  Rudd and Vojic are the ideal teammates and are true leaders of this squad, but whose efforts don’t always make it onto the score sheet.  Swat was led by the overwhelming passion of Sherlan John who tried to bring his team into the lead with a big push in the remaining 5 minutes (fueled with support from his own cheering section).

The scorekeepers were kept on their toes in the final moments as Sherlan snatched an offensive board and capitalized with a classic 3-point play to bring Swat back within 8 points.  Captain Mark Starkey matched John’s energy and added a bucket before finding Sheldon Guy in the corner for a baseline 3 to whittle the Bullets lead to a mere 2 buckets with 3:39 left in the game.  The big guys battled and Bullets’ Jamie Robinson hit a tough turnaround jumper before Starkey returned the favour (off a steal/assist from teammate Jon Pradinuk) and knocked down a big 3 over an outstretched 6’5″ defender.  Bullets are now up 51-48, Lee takes over and serves up a nice dish to Nichols.  Sherlan tries to steal the win with another surge of energy and forces Lee to foul him and earns 2 freebie points from the line.  Team leader Vojic steps up and bangs it out in the post for a 55-50 lead.  On the inbound, the big leaper Robinson steals the high lob pass and Swat is forced to foul him.   Time runs out on Swat in the season opener, but there is lots more great bball to look forward to in the coming weeks.

~cb

Thursday, Jan 15
Canada One - EA Sports, 93- 89
Bullets - Swat, 57-50
Celtics - East Van Mutineers, 61-49
3D - East Van Warriors, 106-43
Run & Gun - Sonic Boom 91-61

Box Scores – Jan 15