posted by Romy Aquino

HALIFAX RAINMEN 93, LONDON LIGHTNING 85

Halifax Top Performers

Taliek Brown - 20 pts (5-7), 10-14 FT, 2 reb, 2 ast

Chris Hagan - 16 pts, 6 ast, 3 rebs, 2 stl

London Top Performers

Gabe Freeman - 21 pts (8-12), 21 rebs, 4 stl

Eddie Smith - 18 pts, 6 rebs, 5 ast, 4 stl

Michael Ray Richardson and the London Lightning have never lost two in a row this season.  

Until now.

The Lightning were shocked by the Halifax Rainmen for a second straight night,  losing 93-85 forcing a fifth and final decisive game in the NBL Canada championship series.  Halifax had a stellar second half and stepped their defence up in the third quarter where they held the London Lightning to just 10 points.

“We just focused on defence really.  That’s what its all about, our defence.” said Vancouver native and Halifax Rainmen guard, Joey Haywood “We played bad defence in the two games we lost to them, so we buckled up and played hard.”

The former Saint Mary Huskies guard scored 9 points for Halifax including two big baskets in the third quarter that sparked the Rainmen run.  London shot just 4 for 21 in the third quarter and the Lightning couldn’t recover after that.  The series is now knotted at two games apiece.

Taliek Brown led the Rainmen with 20 points, scoring 16 of them in the second half.  Even though it was the Rainmen’s sixth game in eight nights, the Rainmen put all their effort on their home floor.

“We just played hard. We flat out played hard and just gave it our all.  Everybody’s tired but it’s for a championship.” said the former UConn point guard, Taliek Brown.

London failed to get any momentum going in the second half and shot just 36% from the field in the contest.  NBL Canada MVP, Gabe Freeman had a monster game with 21 points and 21 rebounds but fell into foul trouble at the midpoint of the fourth quarter.  Eddie Smith finished with 18 points and game one hero, Shamari Spears, scored 15 points.  

The series now moves back to London where the Lightning will look to regroup, defend their homecourt and win a championship.  

The Halifax Rainmen will not let that come easy though.  Joey Haywood would like to build off their successes from the past two games and incorporate that into game five.

“It’s going to be tough again, they’re a good team. We’re going to have to come together like in these last two games at home.” Haywood told NBL Live! “Come together, play as a team.  If we play as a team, we can win and beat anyone.”

This also means more travel for the Halifax Rainmen who have had a hectic playoff schedule.  Halifax’s Taliek Brown is not going to let the fatigue be a factor.

“My body is beat.”  said Brown “So hopefully these couple of days we can rest a little and get back to it on Sunday. We just got to play hard…we just got to play defence just give it our all. It’s our last game.  Both teams have got nothing to lose.”

The remainder of the playoff dates look like this:

NBL Championship Finals

Game 5 at London Sunday, March 25 – 2PM EST 

(Photo via the LFPress)

Who will be holding up that championship trophy on Sunday?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino

Clip from last night’s Halifax Rainmen and London Lightning NBL Canada championship game three. Rainmen secure the win with a Chris Hagan jumper with 1.3 seconds to play.  The two teams face off for game 4 tonight in Halifax.

posted by Romy Aquino

HALIFAX RAINMEN 95, LONDON LIGHTNING 93

Halifax Top Performers

Chris Hagan - 16 pts, 10-10 FT, 4 ast, 2 stl

Joey Haywood - 15 pts (7-14), 6 rebs, 2 stl

London Top Performers

Gabe Freeman - 21 pts (9-16), 12 rebs, 6 ast

Tim Ellis - 22 pts (9-12), 11 rebs, 3 ast, 2stl

Halifax’s Chris Hagan helped the Halifax Rainmen live to see another day.  

Hagan’s jumper with just three seconds to play put the Rainmen up 95-93 in a wild finish at the Halifax Metro Centre on Wednesday night.

“It felt really good man.  It always feels good to come through for your team.” Hagan told NBL Canada Live!  “But I didn’t win that game, the rest of my teammates won that game with all those plays they made before that. So it may look like I won it but I’m just happy that they made the plays to put us in that position and were able to pull it out.”

Chris Hagan finished with 16 points for Halifax and Joey Haywood broke out of his shooting slump from game 2 and scored 15 pts in the Rainmen win.  Halifax trails the championship series two games to one.

Halifax almost let the game get out of hand early in the second half.  With the Rainmen up 48-47 at the half, the London Lightning came out of the gates firing, going on an 11-0 run to start the third quarter.  But Halifax answered back, going on an 11-4 run of their own with some big baskets from Hagan and Darnell Hugee.

Hagan credits the team’s aggressiveness to be one of the deciding factors in the win.

“We were just more aggressive, I don’t know if that comes from being at home and not wanting to go down on our home court.” said Hagan “But we were a lot more aggresive and defensively down the stretch we turned it up. I think that’s what did it for us”

Gabe Freeman had a quiet 21 points for the London Lightning and picked up his normal double double with his 12 boards.  Tim Ellis also had an impressive game for London with his 21 points and 11 rebounds but also missed two key free throws down the stretch when Hagan was called for the foul with the Lightning up 89-85.  That proved to be costly at the end.  It was a rare occasion but this normally confident and experienced Lightning squad looked stunned in the closing minutes and were unable to close out the win.

This marked the first playoff loss for the London Lightning and just the second loss to the Halifax Rainmen this season.  The two teams will meet again on Thursday night in Halifax for Game 4, gametime 6PM EST/7 PM AST.

Chris Hagan and the Halifax Rainmen are ready to fight it out one more time at the Halifax Metro Centre tomorrow.

“We’re just gonna come out with the same intensity and we know that anything can happen now.  We can get this next one here and then it’s up in the air, so… we’re going to keep fighting.”

The remainder of the playoff dates look like this:

NBL Championship Finals

Game 4 at Halifax Thursday, March 22 – 7PM AST 

Game 5 at London Sunday, March 25 – 2PM EST (if nec)

Playoff dates are subject to change.

(Photo via the Halifax Rainmen)

Can the Rainmen force the series back to London?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino

posted by Romy Aquino

LONDON LIGHTNING 113, HALIFAX RAINMEN 96 

London Top Performers

Gabe Freeman - 21 pts (6-12), 9-12 FT, 13 rebs, 4 ast

Tim Ellis -  21 pts (7-13), 7-7 FT, 11 rebs, 2 ast

Halifax Top Performers

Taliek Brown - 20 pts (9-16), 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl

Christian “T-Bear” Upshaw - 18 pts, 5-7 3-pt, 2 rebs, 3 stl

The Halifax Rainmen are one of the best shooting teams in the NBL Canada.  

But when your shooters aren’t making shots, it’s tough to win in the playoffs. Halifax shot just under 40% for the second straight night as the London Lightning dominated the Rainmen in the 113-96 Game 2 victory.  London now takes a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-five series as it moves back to Halifax for game three.

Normally, guys like Joey Haywood, Justin Johnson and Lawrence Wright are some of the Rainmen’s best shooters on the floor but Monday night was a big exception.  Haywood went 0-8, Johnson went 0-7 and Wright shot just 4-12 from the field as the Rainmen struggled to gain any momentum against the Lightning.  The free throw shooting was just as poor, with the Rainmen making only 14 of 31 free throws.

London’s Gabe Freeman led his Lightning team with another impressive double double (21 pts/13 reb) and looked confident on his home floor, jumping on the scorer’s table when his team was up big.  Tim Ellis had 21 points for London as well, to go with his 11 rebounds and NBL All-Star captain, Eddie Smith, had a game-high 25 points in the win over a tired Rainmen squad.

Halifax looked gassed on the night, playing their fourth game in five nights with a travel day in between.  Even though the Rainmen made a run in the third quarter where they outscored London 33-19, the fatigue definitely played a factor in the final quarter for Halifax.  The turnovers and poor shooting (39% FG) got the best of them.

Halifax’s own, Christian “T-Bear” Upshaw had his best game of the year with 18 points (5-7 3-pt) while point guard, Taliek Brown, finished with 20 points.

Now, the Rainmen are in another do or die situation when they go back to Halifax and attempt to get back in this championship series against the Lightning.

The two teams will meet again on Wednesday in Halifax for Game 3, gametime 6PM EST/7 PM AST.

The remainder of the playoff dates look like this:

NBL Championship Finals

Game 3 at Halifax Wednesday, March 21 – 7PM AST

Game 4 at Halifax Thursday, March 22 – 7PM AST (if nec)

Game 5 at London Sunday, March 25 – 2PM EST (if nec)

Playoff dates are subject to change.

Can the Rainmen bounce back at home for Game 3?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino

posted by Romy Aquino

LONDON LIGHTNING 86, HALIFAX RAINMEN 83 

London Top Performers

Gabe Freeman - 17 pts, 13 rebs, 3 stl

Tim Ellis - 15 pts, 9 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl

Halifax Top Performers

Chris Hagan - 23 pts (6-15), 8-8 FT, 3 ast, 2 stl

Tyrone Levett - 13 pts (5-12), 12 rebs, 3 stl, 1blk

If the first game is any indication, this is going to be a close series.

It came down to one of the final possessions of this Game One, as London’s Shamari Spears nailed a jumper with 10.5 seconds to play while getting fouled by Halifax’s Taliek Brown. This helped the London Lightning gain a five point advantage.  Halifax’s Lawrence Wright nailed a three with just seconds to play but it wasn’t enough as London took the one game lead in the best-of-five NBL Championship series.  

Both teams struggled shooting the ball on Sunday afternoon in London. The Rainmen shot 36% from the field while London shot just 38%.

“We played well in the last 5 minutes of the game,” said Lightning Coach Michael Ray Richardson in a Lightning press release. “This is the first game all year that we shot the ball 38% and won. I can guarantee you tomorrow we won’t shoot that low. We were really rusty after 9 days off. This is championship basketball though so it’s not about how many points you win by it’s the fact that you win.”

NBL Canada MVP, Gabe Freeman, had a strong performance for the Lightning and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds in just 35 minutes of play.  The 6’7” forward sat out most of the fourth quarter while his Lightning teammates sealed the victory.  Eddie Smith finished with 16 points and Tim Ellis finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Halifax’s Chris Hagan, who was impressive in the semifinal series against the Quebec Kebs, continued his stellar play and scored 23 points against the Lightning.  Late in the game, Hagan had his floater bounce off the back of the rim that would have tied the game up at 82 with just 28 seconds to play.  On the next possession, Shamari Spears nailed the jumper that proved to be the difference maker.

Tyrone Levett, a former member of the London Lightning finished with the double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow in London for Game Two, gametime 7pm EST/8 PM AST.

The remainder of the playoff dates look like this:

NBL Championship Finals

Game 2 at London Monday, March 19 – 7PM EST

Game 3 at Halifax Wednesday, March 21 – 7PM AST

Game 4 at Halifax Thursday, March 22 – 7PM AST (if nec)

Game 5 at London Sunday, March 25 – 2PM EST (if nec)

Playoff dates are subject to change.

Who’s taking Game Two?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino

posted by Romy Aquino

(Photo via Halifax Rainmen/stkPhoto.com)

The Tale of the Tape:

London Lightning (28W-8L Regular Season, 2W-0L Playoffs)

Halifax Rainmen (23W-13L, Regular Season, 2W-1L Playoffs)

Season Series:

London won the regular season series 5-1

Game 1 of the NBL Canada Championship Finals, today at 4PM EST/5PM AST.  Watch it live online, here.

Well, the NBL Canada championship finals are finally here.  The top two teams from this season will battle it out in London, Ontario today for Game 1 of the best-of-five series.

It will be a matchup between the rested and the weary today, as the London Lightning have over a week’s rest, playing their last playoff game on March 9th.  The Rainmen on the other hand, finished off the Quebec Kebs in their semifinals series in Halifax on Friday and travelled to London early on Saturday morning.  

The Lightning, who have been the Rainmen’s arch rivals all season long, have had plenty of success against Halifax, winning five of the six regular season matchups.  On the other hand, the positive for Halifax was that their lone win against the Lightning was their last regular season matchup where Halifax won by a large margin 104-78.

Rainmen head coach, Josep ‘Pep’ Claros has confidence that they can win this. 

‎”It is very difficult to reach the finals. Some people never get there in their whole career. We are right there and now, and we want the championship.” said Claros (via the Halifax Rainmen Facebook Page).  ”This is my 12th final in sixteen years and even though London has been the best team, I believe we can beat them.”

The Lightning have a lot of weapons on their side, including 2012 NBL Canada MVP, Gabe Freeman, who has had a spectacular season in the NBL Canada and also brings along championship experience from his playing experience in the Philippines.  London also has a couple of tough guards on their squad with NBL Canada All-Stars, Eddie Smith and DeAnthony Bowden.

Halifax has relied a lot on their shooting this season with a multitude of scorers.  Guys like Joey Haywood, Lawrence Wright, Tyrone Levett and Justin Johnson, all have the ability to go off on any night.  They also have a good point guard combo of Chris Hagan and Taliek Brown, who have all proven that they can control the tempo of the game and make big plays in crunch time.

But possibly the missing piece of the puzzle for Halifax may be the addition of big man Richard Anderson and 6’7” forward Darnell Hugee, who have added toughness to this Rainmen roster.

The two teams should put on an entertaining final as both franchises have had great regular seasons and also have two of the largest fan bases in the league.  

Expect high-level playoff intensity from both squads especially with both of these head coaches.  Both London’s Michael Ray Richardson and Halifax’s Josep ‘Pep’ Claros are no stranger to championship experience.  Just check their resumes.

Game time  4pm EST/5pm AST at the John Labatt Centre in London.

Who to watch for in this series:

Tyrone Levett, Halifax Rainmen - Levett has the opportunity to take it to his former team.  Levett was traded to the Halifax Rainmen earlier on in the season in exchange for Rodney Buford. 

Gabe Freemen, London Lightning - The reigning NBL Canada MVP is a double double machine that has championship experience and will hope to rise to the occasion in this NBL Canada finals series.

Darnell Hugee, Halifax Rainmen - Hugee, who was a late addition to the Rainmen roster, had an impressive run in the playoff series against the Quebec Kebs.  Hugee averaged 14.7 ppg 6.3 rpg in this playoff run and will look to build off that in this series.

Eddie Smith, London Lightning - The Lightning are loaded with so many offensive weapons, and Smith is one of them.  In the Lightning’s last matchup with the Rainmen, Smith dropped 34 points in the losing cause.Expect Smith to give his All-Star rival captain, Joey Haywood, a good run in this final series.

Who’s taking the championship home?  And in how many games?  Tweet me your NBL Canada Finals predictions at @romyaquino!

For more information on the league, visit www.nblcanada.ca. Connect with us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nblcanada or Facebook at www.facebook.com./nblcanada.

posted by Romy Aquino

HALIFAX RAINMEN 106, QUEBEC KEBS 95 

Halifax Top Performers

Chris Hagan - 27 pts (9-15), 8-9 FT, 6 ast, 3 reb

Tyrone Levett - 25 pts (9-20), 4-9 3pt, 11 rebs, 3 ast

Quebec Top Performers

Carl Krauser - 19 pts, 13-14 FT, 3 rebs, 1 ast

Ricky Volcy - 13 pts (4-10), 3 reb, 1 ast

It was do or die for both the Halifax Rainmen and Quebec Kebs on Friday night.  And the home team prevailed.

Halifax, who got torched by Royce Parran and Ralphy Holmes the previous night bounced back to eliminate the Quebec Kebs out of playoff contention in a tough and gritty playoff series.  Halifax closed out the Kebs 106-95 at the Halifax Metro Centre to advance to the NBL Canada Championship Finals.

Chris Hagan, who had been matched up with Royce Parran for most of the night, had an impressive game scoring 27 points for Halifax.  He and Tyrone Levett led the Rainmen down the stretch to help punch in their ticket to the championship finals.  Levett had 25 pts and 11 rebounds, Lawrence Wirght had 17 points. Halifax Head Coach, Josep ‘Pep’ Claros was happy with his team’s performance.

“First, I would like to congratulate Quebec. They were a good opponent, they played hard.  Second, I would also like to congratulate our players for the work they have done,” said Coach ‘Pep’.  ”I think our players, they went all out. Yesterday, we were not playing at that physical level that we were supposed to, but once we do it, we can compete. No matter where or against who, we can compete.”

The Rainmen started out the game with a better start than their previous game, jumping on the Quebec Kebs early, picking up a 23-17 lead with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.  The Quebec combo of Parran/Holmes who combined for 70 points the previous night, had only combined for 7 points at the half.  Halifax made the necessary adjustments to pull out the win by protecting the ball more and hustling on every possession.  NBL Canada All-Star, Ralphy Holmes, was ejected early in the second half and was a non-factor in Friday night’s matchup.

It was a truly physical game between both teams as 63 combined team fouls were called.  Montreal native, Ricky Volcy, put up 13 points for Quebec while Carl Krauser put up 19 points.  Quebec’s shooting wasn’t impressive from the field, shooting just 38%.  They also turned the ball over 25 times.

“It was a hard fought game. The guys gave a 100% effort” said Quebec head coach, Rob Spon.  ”We have nothing to be ashamed of. We played one more game than everyone else expected us to play. It was a pleasure to coach this season.”

The Halifax Rainmen now have no time to rest as they quickly travel to London for Game 1 of the NBL Canada Championship Finals in a best-of-five series.  Both teams will play in London on Sunday.  

Coach Pep knows that they will have to quickly get back to work.  ”The only problem we have now, is that we have a game on Sunday and Monday” said Coach Pep, “and we need to get one, at least one game (in London).”

Playoff dates look like this:

NBL Championship Finals

Game 1 at London Sunday, March 18 – 4PM EST

Game 2 at London Monday, March 19 – 7PM EST

Game 3 at Halifax Wednesday, March 21 – 7PM AST

Game 4 at Halifax Thursday, March 22 – 7PM AST (if nec)

Game 5 at London Sunday, March 25 – 2PM EST (if nec)

Playoff dates are subject to change.

What’s your NBL Canada Finals predictions?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino

posted by Romy Aquino

QUEBEC KEBS 112, HALIFAX RAINMEN 109

Quebec Top Performers

Royce Parran - 39 pts (12-19), 7-11 3pt, 2 rebs, 2 ast

Ralphy Holmes - 31 pts (8-17), 12-13 FT, 2 ast, 8 reb

Halifax Top Performers

Darnell Hugee - 23 pts (9-11), 10 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl

Tyrone Levett - 24 pts (7-13), 4-8 3pt, 10 rebs, 3 blk

Royce Parran may be one of the smallest guys on the court, but he was a beast on Thursday night.  Parran was lights out for the Kebs, helping his team avoid elimination with his 39-pt performance at the Halifax Metro Centre.  Quebec squeaked out the 112-109 win in what was an exciting back-and-forth finish.  

The 5’10” Parran was spectacular from start to finish; getting hot from the beginning and nailing his all three of his first 3-pt attempts early on in the first quarter.  Quebec Kebs head coach, Rob Spon, had nothing but praise for his leading scorer.

“Royce has been doing that for three years with me.  He’s the go-to guy, he’s a great scorer.  He can create his own shot and in this league and at this level, those guys are hard to find.” Coach Spon told NBL Live! “I told him before this game, you got to be more aggressive on the offence and he just took over this game.”

And it wasn’t just Parran that was impressive for Quebec.  NBL Canada All-Star, Ralphy Holmes, put up 31 points and 8 rebounds for the Kebs.  The Kebs, who have struggled against the Halifax Rainmen during the regular season, came up big when it counted.

The Rainmen on the other hand, made a run in the fourth quarter to tie the game up and eventually took over the lead but came up short in the final seconds.  Halifax turned the ball over on the inbounds play with just 11.6 seconds to play which proved costly.  But it was free throw shooting and some sloppy turnovers that caused the Rainmen’s struggles on the night. Halifax shot just 59% (26-44) from the free throw line and turned the ball over 19 times.

Darnell Hugee had one of his best games as a member of the Rainmen, scoring 23 points and pulling down 10 boards in the loss.  NBL Canada All-Star, Tyrone Levett had the double double with 24 points and 10 rebounds.  Taliek Brown had 17 points and 7 assists while Eric Crookshank grabbed a game-high 15 boards for the Rainmen.

The Kebs and Rainmen will battle it out one more time at the Halifax Metro Centre on Friday night to decide which opponent will face off against the London Lightning in the championship finals.  Coach Rob Spon is ready for the deciding game.

“It’s going to be war.  They’re well coached (the Rainmen), they have the best shooters in the league.  We got to play real hard defence, make them earn every shot.” said Coach Spon. “This is fun.  This is what it’s all about.” 

Can the Kebs pull out another win in Halifax?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino

posted by Romy Aquino

NBL Canada hoop heads, we’re getting closer to the NBL Canada Championship Finals!  The London Lightning are all set to challenge for that championship, and face off against the winner of the Halifax Rainmen-Quebec Kebs semifinal series.  The Halifax Rainmen have a one game lead on the Quebec Kebs as both teams will be meeting on Thursday night for game two of the NBL playoffs.

So now you’re looking for the NBL Canada Finals schedule?  The league released a breakdown of what the championship finals schedule will look like (in all possible scenarios):

If Halifax wins on March 15 (2-0 series win)

Game 1 at London

Saturday, March 17 – 7PM EST

Game 2 at London

Sunday, March 18 – 4PM EST

Game 3 at Halifax

Tuesday, March 20 – 7PM AS

Game 4 at Halifax

Wednesday, March 21 – 7PM AST (if nec)

Game 5 at London

Sunday, March 25 – 2PM (if nec)

If Halifax wins on March 16 (2-1 series win)

Game 1 at London

Sunday, March 18 – 4PM EST

Game 2 at London

Thursday, March 22 – 7PM EST

Game 3 at Halifax

Sunday, March 25 – 2PM AST

Game 4 at Halifax

Monday, March 26 – 7PM AST (if nec)

Game 5 at London

Wednesday, March 28 – 7PM EST (if nec)

If Quebec wins on March 15&16 (2-1 series win)

Game 1 at London

Sunday, March 18 – 4PM EST

Game 2 at London

Thursday, March 22 – 7PM EST

Game 3 at Quebec

Friday, March 23 -7PM EST

Game 4 at Quebec

Sunday, March 25 – 1PM EST (if nec)

Game 5 at London

Wednesday, March 28 – 7PM EST (if nec)

Playoff dates are subject to change.

Who do you want to see in the NBL Canada championship finals?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino

posted by Romy Aquino

HALIFAX RAINMEN 96, QUEBEC KEBS 87

(photo via the Halifax Rainmen)

Halifax Top Performers

Lawrence Wright - 16 pts (5-12), 3-7 3pt, 7 rebs, 2 ast

Chris Hagen - 16 pts (4-8), 5 ast, 3 reb

Quebec Top Performers

Ralphy Holmes - 18 pts, 10-11 FT, 12 reb, 5 ast

James “Boo” Jackson - 11 pts (5-10), 11 rebs, 3 ast

The Rainmen stole a game from the Kebs on Sunday afteroon.  

The Halifax Rainmen pulled out a big road win in Quebec City and defeated the Kebs 96-87 in a game where Halifax took control early on. Halifax jumped out to an early 28-22 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Halifax had six players score in double figures with Lawrence Wright and Chris Hagen leading the way with 16 points a piece.  NBL Canada All-Star, Tyrone Levett finished with the double-double (10 points/10 rebounds).  Halifax was also happy to have star point guard, Taliek Brown, return to the lineup as he came off the bench to score six points and dish out six assists in 22 minutes of play.

Quebec’s Ralphy Holmes had a solid performance, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  The 6’4” guard also got to the free throw line eleven times.  The Kebs shot just 39.7%, going 27-68 from the field.

The road win for the Rainmen gives them a significant advantage going into Thursday night’s Game 2 in Halifax.  The Kebs are now in a ‘must-win’ situation and will look to force a third and final deciding game.

Will the Kebs force a game three on Thursday?  Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino