Vancouver Metro Basketball League

(2) Canada One 87 – (8) 3D 73

Canada One hold strong to their reigning champion crown with a win over the Cinderella kids, 3D. Navi Sekhon led the way with a 28 points for C1 who had to battle hard throughout the first half to keep the scrappy 3D from staying in the game. 3D slayed the Metro Leagues top team Heart,Hustle & Soul in the first round but were without two of their top players in Nate Ashmead and Jason Hubbs, this however didn’t stop them from putting up a fight. 3D’s forward Malcolm Campbell controlled the boards in the first half putting in 12 of his 22 in the first 25 mins helping his squad keep pace with C1 down 37-31 at the break. C1 brought the heat in the second half turning 3D’s ice cold shooting into fast break points as they love to do. 3D’s sensational point guard Taylor Cherris did his best to keep his team in putting down down a game high 30 points, 19 coming in the second half, but C1 was just too hot to handle as Sekhon kept up his torrid pace scoring and getting to the stripe with ease while captain Howard Kelsey tossed in 13 of his 18 in the final 25, including three from the land beyond helping Canada One  return to the finals to defend their title for a third consecutive season.

(4) Vancouver United 70 – (3) SWAT 58

Vancouver United, the best newcomer team in the Metro League advance to their first final with a commanding grind it out win over SWAT. Led by a balanced attack United held a slim three point lead going into the half. SWAT, undermanned with just seven players kept pace with United led by forwards Darren Spithoff and Nic Paret who were cleaning up the glass on both ends of the floor. United however had two big men of their own controlling the paint with Kerri Westmore and Jeremy Alexander throwing a block party for their squad. SWAT was able to keep United’s sharp-shooters Hardeep (11 points) and AJ (9 points) relatively quiet but couldn’t contain Mio who had a game high 20 points with most of them coming in the second half when United started to pull away. Down six in the final minute SWAT turned the ball over on a botched inbound that sealed their fate. SWAT was left to foul sending United to the line where they iced the game. Spithoff led all scorers for SWAT dropping 18 in a losing effort while United had four players score double digits helping them earn a chance to win the Metro League title in their inaugural season.