Basketball World Toronto

BWT - Winter 2009 - Men's League - Championship Game
BWT's Winter 2009 Men's League Championship Game was held this past Sunday April 12th, 2009 at the Air Canada Centre - Toronto Raptors Main Court. The game featured Eastern Conference Champions – NT Huskies vs. the Western Conference Champions – Vytis. The game was an even matchup of the well balanced NT Huskies vs. the run and gun style of Vytis.

The game started off quickly as both teams attempted to feel each other out. The NT Huskies broke out early and were led by Matt Kokish (#11) and Michael DeGiorgio (#23) who slashed and broke down Vytis’s defense. Scoring easily, they seemed to have Vytis’s number early and often frustrated them with their aggressive play. However, Vytis was able to counter the NT Huskies quick start with Matthew Akelaitis (#3) and David Akelaitis (#5) as they scored inside and outside with their own counter attack. As the two teams traded baskets it seemed as if neither team could build any substantial lead. The half ended with the NT Huskies leading 21-16.

As the second half started, the Huskies continued to control the game. Led by the Division MVP, Aaron Duncan (#42), the NT Huskies methodical play continued to work. Duncan scored inside and outside while DeGiorgio (#23), Kokish (#11) and Matt Koller (#3) got into the paint and caused problems for Vytis. But Vytis was relentless and continued to fight back. Dominating the paint was Vytis’s Alex Zimnickas (#22) whose inside game could not be matched by the NT Huskies in the second half. Zimnickas forced the NT Huskies into foul trouble and consistently made his free throws as he stepped to the line. In addition, Vytis’s captain Denis Hucal (#14) and Matthew Akelaitis (#3) started to come alive again for Vytis. Hucal was aggressive on the boards collecting 5 offensive rebounds and Akelaitis made several timely baskets which helped Vytis take their first lead late in the game. On the way to being selected BWT's Playoff MVP & Championship Game MVP, Matthew Akelaitis (#3) from Vytis finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals. The game ended as Vytis had built a 5 point lead and won BWT’s Winter 2009 League Championship, 52-47.

Congratulations and thank you to all players who participated in the Winter 2009 League this year and we look forward to seeing you all in BWT’s Summer League 2009 starting the first week in May.

BWT's Men's Competitive All-Star Game was held on Monday March 16th, 2009 at the Air Canada Centre - Toronto Raptors Practice Court. The game featured the East All-Stars vs. the West All-Stars in a competitive, fast paced game.

The game started off quickly with both teams attacking. The East worked the ball inside going to their strength. The East's Milton Laidley (#34) and Cam Eby (#5) were dominant in the paint as the East broke out to a quick lead. Combined with some sharp outside shooting and slashes to the basket by the East's Carlyle Francis (#21) and Vaughan Daley (#8), it seemed as if the East were going to cruise to an early half time lead. But, the undersized and under matched West squad had a consistent attack led by point guard Chris Blackwood (#3), Shane Dennie (#34) and David Akelaitis (#5). The West continued to keep the up tempo game moving by fast breaking and scoring in transition. By the time the half time buzzer went, the score was even matched up at 47 points apiece.

3-POINT CONTEST
At half-time, BWT's 3-Point Contest took place. In the first round, the 3PT contest featured head to head matchups between the top two 3-PT shooters in each division. From the East Division, Tristan Gordon (46.0%) and Richard Sheppard (30.0%) participated. From the South Division, Devon Smith (50.0%) and Chester Morgan (35.5%) participated. Finally from the West Division, Andrew Motta (49.0%) and Tervil Brown (42%) participated. After the first round, we had a one clear leader – the West’s Tervil Brown with 11 made 3-PT’s and a 3-way tie for 2nd, between the East’s Richard Sheppard, the South’s Devon Smith and the West’s Andrew Motta with 10 3-PT's made. In the final round, Tervil showed his consistency from the outside by shooting another 9 3-PT's to become BWT’s Winter 2009 - 3PT Contest Champion.

DUNK CONTEST
Also held during the half time break was BWT’s Dunk Contest. The crowd was entertained by four participants. The East’s Carlyle Francis, the East’s Vaughan Daley, the West’s Tervil Brown and the West’s Mark Perrin. Carlyle laid down a sick two hander and starting it all off. Mark decided that he would need to jump over a teammate and did so with his crazy leaping ability. Tervil pulled out the trickery with a cartwheel dunk which wowed the crowd. But it was Vaughan Daley who threw down two spectacular dunks and was crowned the Winter 2009 Dunk Contest Champion.

As the 2nd half got under way, the East All-Stars once again came out on fire. They seemed like they had complete control of the paint. Scoring at ease from inside were the East’s Milton Laidley (#34) combined with some sharp shooting and “Lebron Like” passes from Carlyle Francis (#21). The West tried to counter by continuing with the run and gun approach behind Mark Perrin (#32) and the ever decisive David Akelaitis (#5). But as the time counted down the East had built an 8 point lead and the West could not catch-up as they could only trade baskets. The West’s leader Carlyle Francis and All-Star Game MVP could not be stopped as he finished the game with 20 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds and 1 steal and helped his East teammates secure the win 85-78 over the West All-Stars.

Congratulations and thank you to all players who participated in the All-Star Game, 3-Point Competition, the Dunk Contest and especially to all family, friends and fans who came out to show their support.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 10 was awarded to the East Division’s – Jerome Roberts (#8) from Ronin. Roberts played a vital role in his team's big win against Party Krashers scoring 15 points to go along with 15 rebounds, 1 block and 2 assists. Jerome has been a key player for Ronin this season and with the win, he helped his team secure 3rd place in the East Division. Jerome will again be called upon this Sunday as his team faces ifs first round playoff matchup with Mamelukes. Congratulations and good luck.

 Honorable Mentions
East Division - The Way - Matt Cole (#5) - 17 points, 2 assists & 3 rebounds.
West Division - Spartan Warriors - Sheldon James (#21) - 28 points, 3 steals, 5 blocks, 1 assist & 15 rebounds.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 9 was awarded to the West Division’s – Anthony Guada (#15) from Assassins. Guada was on fire scoring 29 points on 4/8 FG and 6/8 from 3-PT land in his teams big win on the weekend against Steady Mobbin 81-52. Anthony combined his scoring with 3 steals, 4 assists and 8 rebounds in a well rounded stat line. Guada will need to come up big again as his team looks to revenge their early season loss to 2nd place U-Play this coming Sunday. Congratulations.

Honorable Mentions
East Division - H1N1 - Chris Pollmann (#32) - 17 points, 2 blocks, 1 assist & 9 rebounds.
West Division - NT Huskies - Matt Koller (#1) - 18 points, 3 steals, 4 assists & 4 rebounds.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 8 was awarded to the East Division’s – Andrew Black (#23) from Party Krashers. Andrew scored 28 points to go along 2 steals, 1 block, 1 assist and 9 rebounds in last Sunday's win over the Jayhawks. Andrew, who is 3rd in the East Division in scoring at 17.7 PPG and 3rd in rebounds at 9.4 RPG has his team firing on all cylinders as they make a run towards the playoffs. Congratulations. 

Honorable Mentions
East Division - The Way - Kadeem Willis (#1) - 21 points, 1 steal, 3 assists & 6 rebounds.
West Division - Spartan Warriors - Darnell James (#1) - 10 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 11 assists & 12 rebounds.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 7 was awarded to the West Division’s – Nathaniel Mitchell (#11) from Spartan Warriors. Nathaniel scored 32 points combined with 5 assists and 8 rebounds in a dominant win over Steady Mobbin 84-47. Nathaniel, who is 3rd in scoring at 20.6 PPG and 1st in assists at 6.6 APG has helped lead his team to a 2nd place standing in the division. Nathaniel will again be called on by his team to lead them in their rematch against the Winter season League Finalists - NT Huskies this coming Sunday. Congratulations. 

Honorable Mentions
East Division - Party Krashers - Andrew Black (#23) - 11 points, 1 steals, 10 assists & 12 rebounds.
West Division - Red Knights - Sandy Velt (#34) - 24 points & 12 rebounds. .

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 6 was awarded to the West Division’s – Tyrell Vernon (#5) from U-Play. Vernon scored 23 points, combined with 5 assists, 2 rebounds & 1 steal in leading his team to a 75-70 win over the only other 5-0 team, the Gunners. Distributing the ball evenly amongst his teammates and scoring when needed, Tyrell ensured his team's success last Sunday. Second in the league in assists and 10th overall in scoring, Vernon will be leading his team against last season's League Finalists - the NT Huskies. Congratulations.

Honorable Mentions
East Division - Party Krashers - Glen Booth (#32) - 15 points, 2 steals, 2 assists & 9 rebounds.
West Division - Triumphant - Durvin Rugless (#32) - 19 points, 1 steal & 8 rebounds.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 5 was awarded to the East Division’s – Anthony Alexander (#11) from Ronin. Anthony scored 25 points, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 5 assists and 5 rebounds leading his team to a Division Leading win on the weekend. Second in the East Division in scoring, 3rd in steals and tied for 4th in assists, Anthony has helped his team secure the lead in the East Division as we reach the half way point of the season. Congratulations. 

Honorable Mentions
East Division -The Way - Tristan Gordon (#8) - 22 points, 1 steal, 2 assists & 6 rebounds.
West Division - Spartan Warriors - SHeldon James (#21) - 13 points, 1 steal, 5 blocks & 14 rebounds.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 4 was awarded to the West Division’s – Michael Allicock (#11) from the Gunners. Allicock scored 30 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists as he led the Gunners to a big win over the perennial powerhouse NT Huskies. Leading his team in scoring, Allicock has been instrumental in his team's successful start and securing the #1 spot in the highly contested West Division. The Gunners will look to remain undefeated this weekend as his team matches up against the Spartan Warriors. Congratulations.

Honorable Mentions
East Division - The Way - Kadeem Willis (#1) - 21 points, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 assists & 19 rebounds.
West Division - Triumphant - Jamaal Fyffe (#8) - 29 points, 5 steals, 6 assists & 3 rebounds. .

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 3 was awarded to the East Division’s – Donovan Gayle (#34) from H1N1. Gayle scored 22 points, had 3 steals, 1 assist and 12 rebounds in a big win over The Way. Leading his team in scoring, Donovan will look to help his team stay undefeated this weekend when his team matches up against the other undefeated team Ronin. Congratulations.

 Honorable Mentions
East Division -Mamalukes - Mitchell Wiggins (#15) - 22 points, 1 steal, 2 assists & 8 rebounds.
West Division - U-PLAY - Arun Kumar (#3) - 22 points, 5 assists & 5 rebounds.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 2 was awarded to the West Division’s – Nolan Gooding (#23) from Assassins. Gooding scored 33 points in a dominant win over Steady Mobbin. Combining that with 2 steals, 2 assists and 7 rebounds, Nolan helped secure his teams first win of the season. Leading the league in scoring, Nolan will now look to add to his team's success as they face U-Play next Sunday. Congratulations.

Honorable Mentions
East Division - Party Krashers - Andrew Black (#23) - 15 points, 2 steals, 2 assists & 12 rebounds.
West Division - Spartan Warriors - Darnell James (#1) - 22 points, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 3 assists & 15 rebounds.

BWT's - Men's Winter League 2009 - Player of the Week - Week 1 was awarded to the East Division’s – Howard Campbell (#15) from Ronin. Campbell scored 23 points, had 2 steals and 8 rebounds as he led his team to an overtime win against the Toronto Police squad. Campbell will look to help his team add to the win column this weekend when they face perennial powerhouse The Way on Sunday. Congratulations.

Honorable Mentions
East Division -The Way - Wills Francis #34 - 17 points, 6 steals, 1 assists & 10 rebounds.
West Division - Red Knights - Simon Farine (#8) - 21 points, 3 steals, 5 assists & 9 rebounds.