Top Teams Dominate in CYBL Session Four

They CYBL’s fourth session wrapped up in Hamilton, ON at Hillfield Strathallan College, which played host to some mouthwatering matchups.

Teams are beginning their final push before playoffs with only two more sessions to be played from Feb. 17-18 and Mar. 10-11.

Grade 7 Division

In the Grade 7 Elite Pool, Team Breakdown South won all four of their games pushing their record to 11-1. They moved further into first place in the pool by beating 2nd place, NBA Collective 52-41.

The other top teams in the division, CIA Bounce and Triple Balance both had great showings in Hamilton. CIA Bounce went 3-1, while Triple Balance went undefeated closing the gap with the boys from Brampton.

The middle of the pack including, Oakville Venom, Northern Kings (Central) and Toronto City Elite all finished with a 2-2 record making the final two sessions incredibly important for playoff positioning.

Even though the Oakville Venom sit only 1.5 games back of Triple Balance, there is still a clear separation between the two teams. Triple Balance defeated the Venom 52-45 in their matchup this past weekend.

As we move into the Grade 7 Competitive Pool, the top five teams dominated.

Northern Kings (East) remains 1st place and still undefeated with an 11-0 record. The team out of Toronto had a very strong game against a much improved Ottawa Elite, defeating them 70-66.

The Northern Kings (D) did not have the greatest performances despite winning both their games. They were only able to defeated 6th place team Motion Marksmen 59-53 and 8th place CBA-North 39-36.

After this session, there is a very clear picture on who the top teams are in the Competitive Pool. Ottawa Elite defeated a strong U13 Waterloo Wolverines team 65-54, in large part due to an inspiring performance from Tracy Kalonda who scored 32 points in the victory.

The Wolverines sit just .5 games back of Ottawa Elite (7-3) with a 7-4 record but have good separation between themselves and the Marksmen (4-7) in 6th.

Grade 8 Division

In the Grade 8 Elite Pool, YAAACE (Canada Elite) completely dominated and showed why they are first in the division and undefeated with a record of 12-0.

The boys from North York defeated 2nd place CIA Bounce (East) (9-3) by double digits, winning 83-71. The following day they crushed CIA Bounce – Appiah (8-3) 65-25. YAAACE (Canada Elite) look unstoppable after Session Four and will have an easier schedule in Session Five.

Much like in the Grade 7 Divisions, there is a massive gap between the top teams and the teams at the bottom. 5th Place Triple Balance (Canada Elite) currently hold an 8-4 record while Team Breakdown (416) are in 6th with a 3-7 record.

The Grade 8 Competitive Pool proved to play host to the game of the weekend.

CIA Bounce (West) and YAAACE Purple were both undefeated heading into the session and both teams had this game marked on their calendars.

YAAACE Purple had lost earlier in the day to Northern Kings Central, which made this game a must win in order to keep pace with CIA Bounce (West). This game was a battle throughout with lead changes almost every possession. The end-to-end action made this game impossible to turn away from.

Back and forth game between CIA Bounce (West) and YAAACE Purple. Battle to stay undefeated… 58-58 with 3:50 left in the game. pic.twitter.com/xxvf0CP1wd

— Devon Imrie (@devonimrie10) February 3, 2018

With the game tied in the final minutes, it was YAAACE Purple, led by D’Shawn Thorne’s incredible 35 point performance, who took the lead for good. YAAACE Purple 74-68 CIA Bounce (West).

This pool has been tight all season with teams 1st through 7th all having the possibility of a playoff berth.

Team Breakdown Central and Toronto City Elite (Black) both remain tied for the 3rd spot with 9-2 records. London CYO also had an impressive weekend finishing with a 3-1 record and remaining only one game back of 3rd/4th.

Halton Basketball Club (Albano) is now tied with Northern Kings Central with a 6-6 record after Halton defeated Northern Kings 58-55 in another great battle in this pool.

Northern Kings North (4-8), Team Breakdown (Ainsworth) (4-8), Triple Balance (2-9), Oakville Venom (1-11) and Milton Stags (0-12) round out the Grade 8 Competitive Pool.

We will get a much clearer view of the playoff picture after CYBL Session Five takes place at UTM from Feb. 17-18.