Vancouver Metro Basketball League

Perennial Metro League powerhouse, Team Serbia, took the 2010 West Coast Basketball Classic crown at the Olympic Oval. Alongside sweet crossovers by King Handles and the rest of the usual suspects in the Vancouver basketball scene, the 2010 West Coast Classic hosted a myriad of ballers from Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver and boasted it’s first annual Slam Dunk Contest and 3 Point Showdown.

2010 West Coast Basketball Classic from Victory Sport on Vimeo.

By Clint Lomax

After missing last year’s first annual Kitsfest event, I was looking forward to being a part of the 2nd annual extravaganza. The Victory team put together by Mark Starkey was stacked with talent, but I was lucky enough to be picked to help anchor the squad. However, due to an unexpected amount of minutes in the previous Hoopfest tournament in Langley, my surgically repaired knee had swollen to the size of a softball! Not only that, I was designated to cross the border for some essential items that you can’t get in Canada. Needless to say I was delayed coming back to Canada, and I missed both games. Luckily, Team Victory won both games including a controversial one point win that put us into the semi finals on Saturday.

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Casualties from day 1 and 2 included: UBC Alumni Kyle Watson and Douglas College Alumni Graeme McCallum (Also a member of the 2007-2008 BCCAA National Championship team, along with myself as an assistant coach), respectively. Which left us with eight players for the UBC game and possibly seven for Sunday’s final. The second semi final game started at 7pm and was between UBC and Team Victory (including yours truly). The game was a contest of WHO COULD MISS THE MOST SHOTS! I mean it was absolutely sloppy. Sadly to say, Team Victory won that contest…of who could miss the most shots. At the end of the first half, Team Victory had barely eclipsed the double digit mark! The 2nd half was a more entertaining contest between both teams, but UBC closed out the game in true team fashion to move on to the title game. I think that game had a touch of revenge attached to it, since their disappointing semi final lost to the host Hoopfest team the week before (which included YOURS TRULY)!

In the 3rd place game, Graeme overcame a wrist injury to propel Team Victory to a win over a young but talented University of Frasier Valley squad. It was truly a team effort that led to the 3rd place finish. Thanks to Tyler Lutton (Douglas College Alumni 07-08), Graeme McCallum, Greg “G-Dub” Washington, Matt “Poster Child of Vancouver Metro League” Mahar, Tim Unaegbu, Hermon “Herm” Tesfaghebriel, Kyle Watson, Kuba Lopuch, and Mark Starkey.

The title game matched UBC against the defending champs of the inaugural Kitsfest, Kits Beach Alumni. Even with a few missing players from last year like Junior Lennon, this year’s Kits team looked stronger than ever. Anchored by Joey “King Handles” Haywood, Andrew Sturgeon, Dwayne “Clark Superman Kent” Spade, and the legendary Josh Masters, Kits Alumni also added Emmy Unaegbu of the IBL Vancouver Titans! Even though on paper UBC seemed to have an uphill climb vs the vaunted Kits Beach squad, UBC hit the court with a look of determination I didn’t see last week. I think the presence of UBC Coach Kevin Hanson and Dahman Boudraa made a big difference in their eagle-eyed focus. The Thunderbirds hit the court red hot scoring the first 6 points of the game. Not only that but their team defense was like a chain linked fence! UBC had everyone moving in unison which not only slowed the fast break, but also forced Kits into more jump shots with the wind blowing off the water. While most of us were waiting on the inevitable Kits Beach comeback, the first half ended and UBC was still up 9! As the 2nd half started the Kits team, being the champions that they are, jump on UBC with a blitz of steals and layups to knot the game up midway through the 2nd half. However, UBC was on a mission and went on the attack again. After a number of drive and dish probes into the Kits defense, UBC senior Kamar Burke finished off an excellent pass with a massive one hand tomahawk jam from the left side block! From there UBC was re-energized once again, and went on a double digit run. The Thunderbirds held a two possession lead with two minutes left in the game, and were looking for the dagger shot. After a number of quick passes around the perimeter, Nathan Yu snuck behind the Kits defense for a pass but was too far under the hoop to get a shot off. He alertly found Brent Malish at the right corner free throw line for a clutch contested jumper to essentially seal the deal! It was a total team effort, but my personal MVP of the game had to be UBC senior guard Alex Murphy. Murphy led all scores with 23 and sank clutch free throws at the end of the game (on an outside double rim with the wind up)!

Shout out to the victorious UBC Thunderbirds: Melvyn Mayott, Alex Murphy, Nathan Yu, Brent Malish, Balroy Bains, and Kamar Burke. Also wanted to wish a speedy return to Doug Plumb, Tommy Nixon, and Graham Bath who suffered a nasty twisted ankle in the Hoopfest tournament a week before. Good luck this season!

Metro Basketball League Organizers, Victory Sport, rock out at local Vancouver Streetball tournament with digital content development, player interviews and photography.

While our passion here at Victory is tossing epic sporting events for our athletes, spectators, tourism organizations and, well, anyone we work with – we can’t help ourselves but to dish out some love to all the other events going on around our home base of Vancouver, British Columbia.

This past weekend was no different as the 2nd annual KitsFest Tournament hit the concrete courts at one of the most beautiful basketball venues – dare we say – on the planet. Settled in the heart of Kitsilano Beach overlooking the North Shore mountains and Pacific Ocean, Kits Beach has been a staple in the streetball scene above the 49th parallel for decades and, while the weather looked grim on our iPhone weather apps, the sun was shining all weekend on the courts here on the left coast of Canada.

Equally as exciting, Victory is producing a series of short films on basketball and we’re stoked to share those with you in the coming months as we release ‘em. In the meantime, check out the pics from the 2010 KitsFest Streetball Tournament that we sponsored and keep an eye on our GAMEDAY blog for more of the projects Victory is doing in the industry.

Men’s Division 1

Capilano 94 – Tri-City 69

Led by a balanced scoring attack, the Cap College Blues cruised to an easy win in their first game of the WCC. Cap got double-digit scoring from seven different players including 17 from young point guard James Lum. Tri-City was led by Lenny Piprah who scored a game high 25 points in the loss.

Hawks 99 – Ol’School 91

Hawks took home a decisive win in their first game of the weekend. SFU stand-out Matt Kuzminski led the Hawks in scoring dropping 25 points. Ol’School’s Tim Nicholson was the games high-scorer, pouring in 33 points including 22 in the second half.

SWAT 95 – Seattle 85

In what was a barn burner of a game, SWAT pulled out their first win of the tournament with a slim 95-89 win over a very good Seattle squad. The game started off quite slow for both sides with each team turning the ball over consistently and consistently shooting the ball poorly. As the game progressed so did the level of play. Seattle’s Chad Toyer set the tone early for his squad, hitting numerous jumpers from the outside, keeping his undersized team in the hunt. SWAT’s significant size advantage proved to work in their favour as they controlled the boards helping them get second and third chance opportunities. Former BC Titan Andrew Sturgeon cleaned up the glass throughout, helping him score a team high 32 points. While Sturgeon grabbed the boards, Jordan Mason was scorching from outside, nailing threes and keeping Seattle scrambling to guard the perimeter. The game came down to the final minute with just three points separating them. Seattle’s Chris Lynn was hot from the land beyond, but SWAT held their ground with Jordan Mason hitting crucial free throws in the dying seconds to seal the win. Seattle’s Chad Toyer was the game’s high scorer dropping 36 points in the loss.

Remix 88 – Force 79

Remix hold on in a nail biter of a game between them and Vancouver College’s Force team. Remix held the lead throughout most of the game, but the young Force squad managed to stay in the game even taking over the lead with just under nine minutes to go in the game. Remix led by high scorer Choyal Brown (27 points), just couldn’t seem to shake this Force team who battled right down to the final buzzer. With just under three minutes to go, Force cut the lead to three, 77-74, but Remix’s defence helped them score in transition helping them keep space from this scrappy Force squad. In the end Remix maintain earning their first win of the weekend while Force put themselves behind the with eight ball with a first game loss.

Molson 120 – Tri-City Monstars 75

Molson flexed their muscles with a convincing 120-75 over Tri-City. Mark Tasic’s 46 points were not only a game high, but also the highest point total thus far for the weekend. This game wasn’t even close with Molson jumping out the gate early and never looking back. Tri-City loses their second game of the tournament, eliminating them from the championship round.

Hawks 77 – BC Ballers 73

Last year’s WCC champs BC Ballers kicked off their first game of the tourney with a heart breaking loss to the surging Hawks. Down three with 20 seconds remaining, Ballers captain, and last year’s tournament MVP, Ricardo Hernandez’s three point attempt finds iron with the Hawks scooping the rebound which forces the Ballers to foul, sending Hawks Matt Kuzminski to the line. Kuzminski hits one of two, extending the Hawks lead to four -75-71. Ballers Duane Dacre then races down court for a quick score, cutting the lead to just two 75-73 with seconds remaining on the clock. Ballers are then forced to foul which sends Chris Marsh to the line who coolly hits both, icing the game for the Hawks. BC Ballers fall to 0-1, while the Hawks earn their second win of the weekend, locking up the Pool A.

SWAT 102 – Top Gun 100

SWAT win on a last second tip-in from Monjeff Peters who tipped in Jordan Mason’s missed jumper with just a fraction of a second remaining on the clock. This was without a doubt the game of the weekend. Top Gun jumped out the gate early on, holding a 24-9 lead just minutes into the first half. SWAT, however, battled back going on an 18-4 run, cutting Top Gun’s lead to just one. From there SWAT began to take control, earning them a 57-50 lead going into half. The second half proved to be more of the same as both teams remained close throughout. SWAT never relinquished their lead, but did find Top Gun clawing at their door down the stretch. Top Gun’s Jason Keegstra was a monster in the second half. Keegstra hammered two and one dunks and hit a massive three pointer that tied the game at 100 with just 4.6 seconds remaining. SWAT called a timeout and got the ball to Jordan Mason whose jumper found the rim, which than Peters tipped in the game winner while the final buzzer sounded. SWAT go undefeated through the day earning them first place in Pool B.

Remix 85 – Team Serbia 83

Remix win pool C with their second win of the weekend, barely edging Team Serbia 85-83 in a barn burner of a game. Serbia was in control throughout most of the game, but Remix just wouldn’t go away. The Remix squad erased a 10 point deficit in the second half and managed to take the lead by going on a late game 21-7 run that they never let go of. Choyal Brown led Remix once again in scoring dropping 17 points while Team Serbia’s Igor Dutina was the game’s high scorer putting in 32 points in the loss.

Top Gun 111 – Seattle 105
Top Scorers:
TBA

BC Ballers 90 – Ol’School 80
Top Scorers:
BC Ballers – Roger Sheung 18
Ol’School – Tim Nicholson 27

Team Serbia 111 – Force 90
Top Scorers:
Serbia – Vlado Vidic 28
Force – Cole Penman 21

Molson 100 – Capilano 90
Top Scorers:
Molson – Mark Tasic 42
Caplilano – Mike Zayonc 18

Men’s Division 2

Strathcona 100 – Others 94

The kids from Strathcona hold court in their first game at the WCC with a 100-94 win over the Others. Down 47-45 at the half, Strathcona battled back in the second half led by the hot hand of Warren Liang who scored a game high 37 points. Jack NG led the Others with 31 points.

B2B 92 – Air Ballerz 32

B2B open their weekend with an impressive 60 point win over Air Ballerz. Former St. George Saint’s standout Frank Liu led B2B with 42 points while his teammate Tony Lee supplied 37 of his own. Ricky Luis led Air Ballerz with 8 points in the loss.

Strathcona 96 – Air Ballerz 66
Top Scorers:
Strathcona – Warren Liang 35
Air Ballerz – Tyler Barton 15

Women’s Division

Team Borg 109 – Victorious Secret 21

To say this was a blowout would be an understatement. Team Borg held VS to just 13 points in the first half while scoring an incredible 59 points. Kat Fuess led Team Borg with 21 points while Rina Arienda was VS’s high scorer with 7 seven points.

Juicy 75 – Team Anderson 39

Juicy open up their tournament with an easy 75-39 win over Team Anderson. Chelsea Church led Juicy with 19 points, while Lauren Doubroff was Anderson’s top scorer with 9 points.

Team 1 62 – Victorious Secret 43

Victorious Secret dropped their second game of the weekend with a 19 point loss to Team 1. Jenna Gatey’s 26 points for Team 1 led all scorers while Jenny Graham led VS with 8 points.

University of the Fraser Valley 79 – Team Anderson 67

UFV earn their first win of the tournament with a 12 point win over Team Anderson. This game was tight throughout the first half with UFV holding on to a slim 37-33 lead going into the half. However, UFV pulled away early in the second half and never looked back. Alexa McCarthy led UFV with 15 points, while Team Anderson’s Lauren Doubroff led all scorers with 26 points.

Borg 90 – Team 1 27
Top Scorers:
Borg – Erin Allan 14
Team 1 -

University of the Fraser Valley 77 – Juicy 34
Top Scorers:
UFV – Alyssa Gaukel 15
Juicy – Britney Church 15

Team Anderson 73 – Team 1 56
Top Scorers:
Team Anderson – Stephanie Shea 21
Team 1 – Rhonda Simpson 21

DCYBA Division

Vancouver Sun 34 – Richmond Raptors 23
Top Scorers:
Vancouver Sun – Andrew Weale 12
Richmond Raptors – Keith Miller 10

Vancouver Sun 58 – Surrey Suns 34
Top Scorers:
Vancouver Sun – Andrew Weale 15
Surrey Sonics – #10 17

Richmond Raptors 38 – Surrey Sonics 32
Top Scorers:
Richmond Raptors – #19 10
Surrey Sonics – #10 9

Check out Vancouver Basketball’s Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden’s exclusive interview with 19 year-old Canadian National Team member Kelly Olynyk.

Kelly discusses his National Team experience thus far, his relationship with head coach Leo Rautins and his forthcoming sophomore season at Gonzaga.

Kelly Olynyk Interview Click Here

Check out Vancouver Basketball’s Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden’s exclusive interview with Toronto Raptors Vice President & Assistant General Manager Maurizio Gherardini.

Maurizio gives his thoughts on the Raptors summer moves, Hedo Turkoglu and the future of the Raptors.

Maurizio Gheardini Interview Click Here

By Clint Lomax

NBA CONSPIRACY THEORIES

A number of my family and friends and me have been talking about NBA conspiracies since the early 80s. This does not included things like; why Portland drafted Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Or why the Pistons drafted Darko Milicic instead of Carmelo Anthony. These are not my examples of what qualifies as a conspiracy. The following examples are my ideas of what should be deemed “NBA Conspiracies”:

- The 1985 Draft where the Knicks received the #1 overall pick, and were able to pick Patrick Ewing.

- The Lakers getting Magic Johnson in the 1979 draft, and then getting James Worthy in the 1982 draft. Both of which were #1 overall picks. Not to mention that the Lakers won the title in 82’, and still were able to obtain a #1 overall pick for the following season.

- The 1987-1988 Los Angeles Lakers who beat the Detroit Pistons in game 7 for the NBA title, had four #1 overall picks on their roster at the time. No other team has come close to that feat.

- Game 7 of the 1993 Western Conference Finals Suns vs Sonics, where the Suns shot 63 free throws to Seattle’s 36.

- Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals Bulls at Indiana, where Reggie Miller two-hand shoves Michael Jordan to get open and hit the game winner.

- Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals Bulls at Utah, where Jordan one-handed push on Bryon Russell to hit the championship shot.

- The 1999 Joe Smith/Minnesota Timberwolves scandal (this one really upsets me).

- Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference playoffs Lakers at Sacramento. Not only did they shoot 27 4^th quarter free throws, Kobe Bryant elbows then runs over Mike Bibby on the out of bounds play with the Lakers up 1 point (If you want more insight into this series, check out “The Greatest Tragedy in Sports” on YouTube. It is well done from a Sacramento fans perspective).

- Tim Donaghy! Not only the games he bet on and refereed in, but the book that was supposed to come out but was put on hold. Why? David Stern threatened a lawsuit on its publication.

- The 2006 NBA Finals featuring the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. The Josh Howard time out, and the Dwyane Wade phantom foul in game 5.

- SONICGATE (for obvious reasons).

- The 2008 Pau Gasol trade to the Lakers for a bag of peanuts!

- The 2009-2010 season featuring the Lakers getting their first 19 out of 21 games at home! Not in the last 30 years has any team in sports history had that kind of home court advantage to start a season.

What are your NBA conspiracies? There are a lot of rumors and gossip out there, but I’m looking for the full fledged time honored conspiracies that have the flavor of truth, but have yet to be confirmed or solidified. Let’s hear what you have. I’m making this subject a mini-series too. It would have to be or this article would be a 700 page book like “The Book of Basketball” by ESPN’s Bill Simmons (which is an excellent read by the way).

RAUTINS SCORES 19 AS CANADA ROUTS CHINA

Last Updated: August 12, 2010

VANCOUVER – The Canadian Senior Men’s National Team (SMNT) dominated the Chinese national team as they opened the Jack Donohue International Classic on Tuesday with a 86-62 win at Rogers Arena.

New York Knicks guard Andy Rautins (Syracuse, N.Y.) put on a shooting display for Canadian basketball fans. He scored 19 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting from the floor.

“It felt really good, they way we did it, just playing together,” said Joel Anthony (Montreal), starting centre of the Miami Heat. “Defensively we played really well in terms of doing things we wanted to do by taking them out of their sets and being really aggressive and helping each other.

“Offensively, we were able to get some great looks. We weren’t rushing things.”

Jevohn Shepherd (Toronto), who spent last season with the Halifax Rainmen in the Premier Basketball League, came off the bench to score 16 points. Anthony added eight points and pulled down a game high eight rebounds.

“We go deep,” said SMNT Head Coach Leo Rautins. “We will continue to go deep to make sure people stay fresh.

“Everybody that I call on, there is a lot of trust. I’m not afraid to put different guys in at different times. The depth is a positive factor for us.”

Canada led 41-16 going into halftime and dominated the glass as they outrebounded China by 19.

“Canada took it to us tonight,” said Robert Donewald Jr., head coach of the Chinese National Team. “We were like deer in headlights in the first half.”

China made a run in the second half, outscoring the Canadians 46-45.

“Our guys fell asleep in the first half,” said forward Yi Jianlian, who was traded to the Washington Wizards this summer. “In the second half we tried to pick it up.”

“We played pretty good in the second half. We needed to play the whole game like that.”

Veteran guard Liu Wei, who keyed China’s run in the third, led China with 19 points. Yi finished with 15 points and five rebounds.

The SMNT concludes their domestic exhibition series with back-to-back matches against France on Thursday and Friday at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. local time and game summaries will be posted on

By Eric Koreen, Postmedia News August 9, 2010

Two years ago, the Canadian national men’s basketball team was in disarray.

At a qualifying tournament in Athens for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the team fell apart. Samuel Dalembert, a centre with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the Canadian team’s most recognizable player, was kicked off the squad when he butted heads with coach Leo Rautins. Canada also lost badly in the quarterfinals of the tournament, falling short of its goal.

Rautins’ job was on the line, and the core of that team was in question.

After a successful summer last year, with Canada qualifying for the coming world championship in Turkey, all of that has changed.

“I think these guys really do get along,” Rautins said Friday as he officially announced his 15-man roster.

“During the year they’re talking to each other, checking in on each other. They can’t wait to get together in the summer. We all felt it. From the minute we hit the floor the other night [at Toronto's Air Canada Centre], everybody was there.”

Of course, it is easy to talk about unity before the meaningful games are played, but the Canadian team goes into the lead-up to the world championship as a band of brothers. That stretch starts with a game against China on Tuesday at Rogers Arena, and then a pair of games Thursday and Friday in Toronto against France, a team Canada will face in group play in Turkey.

As the team speaks of unselfishness and togetherness, Rautins plans to enforce it. The coach spoke of the ideal of playing no one player more than 24 minutes in any game, taking advantage of Canada’s depth in the absence of star talent.

Point guard Jermaine Anderson understands why that can work now when it could not have in the past.

“I think we were immature,” Anderson said. “I think a lot of the times we might have used playing for Canada to get jobs in the fall. And now I feel like everybody is here for one common goal. I think now a lot of the guys are already assigned for the summer instead of using this to get a job. That’s changed.”

Said Rautins: “I think part of the reason these guys are in the situation they’re in is because of the time they spent here developing their games. We’ve had a lot of guys who have got very good pro contracts in Europe because of the exposure they got with us. There’s a loyalty that forms with that — that’s a give and take. You’re representing your country, but it’s become a huge benefit for you, as well.”

Indeed, the 13 players on the roster with professional contracts — Robert Sacre of North Vancouver and Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops are still in school at Gonzaga University — play in 11 different countries. Still, all the job security in the world will not help them in Turkey.

“A lot of the teams that you’ve seen before, a lot of the teams in Europe, they’ve been together for years, from the junior programs all the way up,” Miami Heat centre Joel Anthony said. “In the past, our national team hadn’t had that same opportunity. Now I’ve seen a lot of the same faces for my past four years of competing.”

Also on the roster are national team veterans Levon Kendall of Vancouver and Tyler Kepkay of North Vancouver.
© Copyright (c) National Post

By Clint Lomax

 

The first player I thought of when Sherron Collins wasn’t drafted was Khalid El-Amin!  They are both about the same size and weight.  The both have National Championships, and they both can handle the rock.  However, that is where the comparisons end in my opinion.  El-Amin’s University of Connecticut (UConn for short) had more experience and had a more athletic starting 5, than the Collins led Kansas Jaywalks of 2008.  Not only that, Collins was a 2^nd team All American his junior year and a 1^st team All American his senior year.  He is also the all time leader in wins in Kansas Jayhawk basketball history, led the Jayhawks to three Big 12 basketbll tournament championships, and a ridiculous four consecutive Big 12 regular season championships!   Not to mention he was the PG when they beat a top ranked Memphis Tigers team for the championship led by Derrick Rose! While El-Amin was drafted 34^th overall by the Chicago Bulls in 2000, Collins was left waving in the wind on draft night this year!  While El-Amin did have a successful career over season, the question still remains……what is wrong with Sherron Collins? 

 

I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but here is a few people that El-Amin was drafted over:  Eddie House, Eduardo Najera, MICHAEL REDD, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Hart.  You mean to tell me that Sherron Collins, a two time All American and National Title winner isn’t better than a few of these 2^nd round picks of 2010:  Andy Rautins, Landry Fields, Armon Johnson, Terrico White, or Willie Warren?  No offense to these guys (I’m happy for anyone who is lucky enough to get drafted), but solid point guards are hard to find.  I had heard from a few sources that his work ethic was not what a future NBA player should be.  Plus they had questions about him tipping scales at 200+ lbs.

 

Many players in his position would relegate themselves to overseas basketball teams where they will only get 10-12 minutes a game.  Hoping that with every summer that passes, they will find a spot on a summer league squad, and play their way onto a team in 10 day contract fashion.  Fortunate for Collins, he is able to skip the overseas portion of the journey, once he was signed to the Charlotte Bobcats this summer!  He was signed to a two year non-guaranteed contract, which I have no doubt is incentive laced.  I think Sherron needs to send a gift basket to former starting PG Raymond Felton who signed a contract to player for the New York Knicks next season.  Collins add more toughness to the PG position behind D.J. Augustin and Shaun Livingston.  He is definitely in good hands in Charlotte with legendary head coach Larry Brown, and the greatest basketball player of all time (G.O.A.T.) at the ownership helm in Michael Jordan!  If you can’t stay motivated with hall of fame pieces like that in place, you don’t deserve to be in the NBA!  Good luck Mr. Collins!  I’m pulling for you!

 

Twitter@mjlover23

Metro Basketball

www.metroleague.ca – New fall 2010 season at the Richmond Olympic Oval

www.westcoastclassic.ca – Sept 11-12, 2010 – registration now open!