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Ladybird undefeated so far in Port Alberni spring basketball league

Last week was the third week of Men’s Spring League action
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LB Woodchoppers’ #7 Trey Bell elevates above Zech MacDonald’s defense for two of his 37pts on the night. SUBMITTED PHOTO

CRAIG BROOKS

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

The third week of Men’s Spring League action brought with it two games that were both decided by single digits and saw what would have been two new Top 3 Individual performances. Ladybird Engraving looked to hold onto first place coming out of their bye week, while Co-op had to wait and see how they would fair in league standings as they headed into theirs.

LB Woodchoppers (76) vs. Dave Ralla (84)

Both teams traded baskets often in the opening minutes. Ralla looked to capitalize with speed, scoring in transition regularly while the ‘Choppers preferred to play more of a half-court set. Midway into the first half, Ralla’s sustained offensive pace left the Woodchoppers trying to match. This led to a series of unforced turnovers and allowed Team Ralla to finally surge ahead on a 16-6 run. By halftime, Ralla led by 11, 44-33.

The second half Woodchopper charge was led by Trey Bell, who put up an impressive 24-pt half, leading to a Top Individual Performance (37 pts) for the game. This opened the driving lanes for Dave Eamer, who contributed with 11 of his 19 points in this half. Team Ralla’s superior ball movement enabled them to ultimately withstand the ‘Chopper resurgence, having four different players reach double digit points. Greg Wiatr’s 29 would have been enough to secure a spot in the top 3 performers of the year, were it not for Trey besting the entire field so far. Bobby Rupert’s 24 points also figured prominently in the Ralla win.

Italian Stallions (77) vs. Ladybird Engraving (82)

Between the two teams, six players reached double digits in scoring with each of them contributing with aggressive drives and shots from downtown. While each team drained the occasional three-pointer, most scoring came in the form of tough drives to the basket and excellent physical work on the offensive glass. Mike Lange (28 pts) and Gabe Barbosa (15 pts) mirrored each other with shoulder down drives to the hoop. Coby Felsman (24 pts) and Kevin Titian Jr (21 pts) used their speed and shiftiness to drive to the hoop on one possession and pullup on the next. Martin Adair (10 pts) used his length to either finesse his way to the hoop or go with a mid-range pull-up jumper, while Gredy Barney (18) used his deep ball accuracy to open lanes for himself later.

While Ladybird led for the entirety of the game, they could never gain more than a seven-point lead, and the Stallions would not even concede that for long. Throughout the entire game, the Stallions found themselves within a single possession of taking the lead.

Top 3 Individual Performances of the Year: Trey Bell (LB Woodchoppers) with 37 points, Coby Felsman (Italian Stallions) with 31 points, Mike Lange (Ladybird Engraving) with 30 points.

The next games will take place on Thursday, May 9. Dave Ralla faces Ladybird Engraving at 6:30 p.m., while Co-op will take on the Italian Stallions at 7:30 p.m. Games take place at the ADSS gym.