Bballnationals Boys: Day 1
10:00am Games
Dynamite U17 vs VanCity Basketball
VanCity basketball scored first with a 7-0 run before Dynamite could put 2 of their own. VanCity dominated on both ends early on, but lost their significant lead when Dynamite came back to tie VanCity at 19 points even with just under five minutes to go.
VC stepped up and put up a few more layups to take the lead, but Dynamite wasn’t ready to quit. They went neck-and-neck until the end of the first half, with Dynamite slightly up 33-28.
The opening minutes of the second proved to be a battle to stay in the lead--VanCity pressured Dynamite, with both teams struggling to hit the hoops. VC amped it up and finally took the lead again over their opponent, which they played hard to keep.
VanCity ended the game with a final score of 64-58 over Dynamite in what ended up being a very tough fought battle on both sides.
NexGen vs Salmon Arm Synergy
NextGen scored first, but Salmon Arm Synergy came back with 3 of their own. The boys locked down D on both ends for first the few minutes, but NextGen came back with another two to take the lead. The first half was crazy even, with both teams hitting the scoreboard on back-to-back possessions to fight to stay ahead.
NextGen kicked it into high gear and more than doubled their opponent with just under five minutes to go in the first; led 28-12. After complete domination in the paint, NextGen led 34-18 at the end of the first half.
With a packed audience around them, both teams came to win in the next half, with NextGen continuing their climb in points. Synergy, despite trailing, never gave up. The boys battled hard in hopes of taking the lead, but it just wouldn’t be enough.
NextGen won with a final score of 58-49 over Salmon Arm Synergy.
Player of the Game # 11 Chris Ogie had this to say following the win:
“It feels great; we went out there and did our thing, tried hard, slacked a bit there in the second half but came back. I can’t win player of the game without my team--we went out there as a team and got the win.”
North Stars U17 vs Northern Bounce
It was an incredibly close game from start to finish. Northern Bounce led just 40-34 after the first half.
The second half swayed between leaders as the North Stars were eying the W and even took a slight lead near the end of the game. With a bit more back-and-forth play, Northern Bounce led by just 1 point with 18 seconds to go. Would it be enough time for the North Stars to come back and take their first win?
Bounce sunk in a foul shot giving them a solid 2-point lead and unfortunately for North Stars, they just could not find the hoop on their last possession. Northern Bounce clinched their first win of the tournament with a final score of 57-55.
Player of the Game # 20 Jordan Foster had this to say after the close game:
“In the end, we came through in the clutch and had some big plays.”
Foster scored 10 points for Northern Bounce.
Calgary Storm vs North Stars
The Storm raced out to a 12-5 start, as the North Stars couldn’t seem to handle the Storm’s inside presence. However, the North Stars went on a run to make it just a three point game at the seven minute mark, and eventually took a 27-26 lead.
At this point, you think it would be wire to wire the rest of the way. But you would be wrong. The Storm stormed back and went on a 18-3 run of their own, taking a healthy lead into halftime.
The second half saw the North Stars come back yet again, making it just a three point game with eight minutes to go. But the Storm scored 20 points the rest of the way, compared to just nine for the North Stars — as a result, Calgary took this one 83-71.
“We just started picking up our defence” said the Storm’s Alonzo Tan afterwards. [. . .] Our team ended up pulling out the win with some fast break layups and some threes.”
Tan had 17 points for the Storm, while Tre Campbell had 20 for the North Stars.
Dynamite U15 vs Northern Bounce U17
In a battle of BC, Dynamite had the first strike. They led 12-4 early, on the back of some timely three point shooting. In the second half Dynamite continued to shoot the ball well from distance. But, Northern Bounce got some defensive stops and scored 10 straight to tie it at 39 late in the game. From there, Dynamite put the clamps down and saw this one out 51-46.
“We played great defence, got a few turnovers, and got some easy layups on the fast break” said Dyanmite’s Dima Gadashev on the turnaround late.
Ethan Fung of the Dynamite had 12 points, while Cam Sole of Northern Bounce had 16.
Stormhawks vs North Stars United
The North Stars didn’t take this game lightly — it was 21-3 around the 10 minute mark for the team from Toronto. The Stormhawks tried to mount a run of their own, but the North Stars defence was just too much to handle. At the half, it was 56-17 for the North Stars and they didn’t really look back from there, winning 95-39.
“We worked really well as a team” said the North Stars’ Jakob Pavkovic. “We played really well on defence, we were really high intensity, and ran the floor to get easy buckets.”
11:20am Games
IEM Spartans vs Bata Sports
This game started out close right from the jump! Bata passed well in transition and guarded the ball with ease in order to gain a decent lead over their opponent. With a promising first half on both ends, Bata Sports led 27-24 over the IEM Spartans.
Spartans’ Coach must have lit a fire under his boys as they came back with a vengeance in the second! With exceptional defensive plays, they held IEM to minimal points while sinking a few beauties of their own. They led 45-39 after the first six minutes of play.
The intensity of this game continued as time drained on the clock, with the Spartans fighting for the win and continuing to keep the lead. They killed it in this half, defeating Bata Sports 70-56.
# 7 Joseph Ogunleye was named POG with 16 points for the Spartans.
“We worked as a team, just passing well and making good shots,” said Ogunleye. He’s most looking forward to winning every game and playing together as a team.
Northern Bounce vs Vancouver Selects Green
Northern Bounce were first to put up points with a small 4-0 run; however, Vancouver Selects led 34-25 at the end of the first half.
Van Selects took it to the next level in the second, hitting many of their field goals and continuing as the leader for the duration of the game. In the end, Vancouver Selects Green defeated Northern Bounce with a final score of 63-37.
# 10 Zach Zapanta led his team with 20 points.
VanCity Basketball vs Live2Give
VanCity raced out to a 21-5 lead, but Live2Give went on a 13-5 run right after to make it close at the end of the first half. Unfortunately, that is a close as they would come as Live2Give fell to VanCity Basketball 64-48.
“We played hard” said VanCity’s Tyler Mah afterwards. “Lots of good defence, our offence was passing a lot, cutting. It was great”
Westshore Dawgs vs Split Second U13
Split Second scored over 40 points in the first half and cruised to a 104-39 victory over the Westshore Dawgs. Split Second got mad buckets in this one, scoring seemingly at will.
“We played good defence, we scored and played together” said Split Second’s Finn McDougall on how the game went for his team.
Dynamite U13 vs Vancouver Selects Purple
Wesley Ainu’u had 16 points as the Vancouver Selects Purple beat the Dynamite U13 58-36. Vancouver never trailed in this one, although Dynamite put some pressure on them at the end of the second half.
12:30pm Games
MacHoops U17 vs Westshore Dawgs
Westshore Dawgs were first to hit the board with a nice little layup from #7. Machoop held their own, keeping it a tight game early on. With just five minutes to go in the half, we had ourselves a tied game at 19 points each.
MacHoops took a slight lead, with # 17 Usman Tung going off--he had 20 points in the first half alone. Heading into the second, his team led 28-25.
The Dawgs had a whole lot of bite in the next half, putting up a few points before MacHoops could get to the hoop. As the time clock ticked on, both sides kept it close and denied hoop access early on. They hit a couple shot clock buzzer beater and continued their point climb with a lead of 41-32 over Machoops with just 10 minutes to go.
Westshore Dawgs seemed to find their fit on the court by making impeccable lineup swaps, which kept players fresh on both offense and defense. With an epic recovery, the Dawgs won 55-46 over MacHoops in their first matchup of the day.
Coach Kevin Brown had this to say about his team after the comeback win:
“We stopped their best player from scoring 21-28 points in one half,” he said with a chuckle. “Plus our leader was on the bench for the first half from trouble, so getting him back on obviously changes the game, as well. So I think just calming down, getting the right guys back on the floor, and following a game plan seemed to work.”
Salmon Arm Synergy vs Dynamite U17
Dynamite U17 and Salmon Arm Synergy played an extremely tight game. Dynamite led 27-26 after the first half. Though Synergy kept within just one point for much of the second, Dynamite clinched the win with a final score of 59-54.
Player of the Game Wilson Yu scored a monstrous 23 points and says they truly came together as a team to take the win.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to play with my teammates and win as many games as we can [at Bballnationals].”
VanCity Basketball vs StormHawks A Johnson
While the StormHawks were the first to hit a layup, VanCity Basketball showed up for this entire game, taking the lead 42-23 at the half.
Continuing their hot streak into the second, they dominated with endless layups and pristine passing. Winning their first game with a final score of 74-42, VanCity Basketball shut down the StormHawks A Johnson by showing us the team’s ability to come together on either side of the court.
# 11 led this team with 14 points.
Stormhawks vs Dynamite
It was incredibly high scoring early on, as both teams combined for close to 70 points with four minutes left on the clock in the first half. Dynamite managed to pull away after that, using their superior size advantage to dominate down low. Dynamite won this one 91-55.
“We try not to have that mindset” said the Dynamite’s Hazara Jawanda about how confident his team was heading into their game with the North Stars. “We try every game like a new game. [. . .] they’re a big team and they’re going to be good.”
Wolfpack vs North Stars
The Wolfpack never got their offence going, scoring only 10 points in the first half. By that point, they were in too much of a hole to bounce back as North Stars won 88-24.
“We were just playing as a team” said North Star’s Tiger Judge after his team’s victory. “We were getting out on the fast break, getting easy buckets.”
Northern Bounce vs North Stars U16
It was tight early on, as the North Stars had just a four point lead early in the half. Both teams traded buckets after that, before Northern Bounce went on a 7-4 run that gave them a 74-60 win.
“We had a loss this morning, so we just wanted to come out with more intensity” said Northern Bounce’s Amir Dhillon. “We rely heavily on our guard play, and our guards just took over the game.”
1:45pm Games
CBA Cobra U17 vs StormHawks C Johnson
CBA hit the courts in an exhibition game--since some StormHawks were sent home for disciplinary reasons--against a StormHawks team that was pieced together just moments before the game. CBA went on a massive 20-0 run before the Hawks could find the hope for 2.
CBA had a strong 33-10 lead at the end of the first.
While the second half showed promising effort by the Hawks, CBA demolished again offensively, putting up another 22 points. They defeated the StormHawks C Johnson with a final score of 65-41.
Northern Bounce vs Split Second U13
The Split Second U13 boys absolutely crushed Northern Bounce in the first half, going on a 29-0 run within the first 8 minutes.
Despite a tiny run, the North could not bounce back. They trailed their opponent by 30+ points before the second. Split Second had a huge lead 45-8.
It was déjà vu to start the next half, with Split Second putting up 12 points before Northern Bounce finally had a chance at the foul line to sink one in. Still, Split Second’s lead by 50+ points would be far too much for Bounce to catch. For the second time today, Split Second dominated their opponent and took their second win, with a final score of 77-11.
# 43 Trey Ebose won POG honours and says he’s most exciting about potentially getting noticed for the NBA is what it’s all about at Bballnationals.
“We moved the ball around very well and we got a lot of rebounds, we finished strong, too. All around, we played very good together.”
VanCity Basketball vs Vancouver Selects Purple
VanCity used their deadly three-point shooting to take a nine point lead early in the game. They led 29-22 at the half, and in the second they ran the floor excellently and won 62-43.
“I thought our team did pretty well” said VanCity’s Denayden Lee-Daniel. “We had the lead, then came back and forth, but I thought our team played very well.”