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Written By: Mike Mon

With 8 of the most evenly matched teams, the Men’s Open division would turn out to be one of the most unpredictable groups played throughout the weekend. Saturday’s games featured many tight pool play games, highlighted by undefeated performances from the hometown Markham FCCM and Toronto Dragons b (average margin of victory= 2 pts). Most of the games were so close that heading into Sunday, no one really knew what to expect come playoff time. In the Quarters, Markham FCCM was first up as they faced the Philly Suns B. FCCM advancing easily 45-26 as Daniel Liu (14 pts, 8-9 ft, 2 steals) paced Markham and the 3 Fung Bros (Jerry, Liken, Liwayne) scored all 26 of Philly’s points (eldest brother Li coached the team as well). The next game was more typical of the Open division in terms of tenacity and excitement as the Winnipeg Storm took a commanding lead thanks to Eric Fong’s all-around scoring binge (15 pts, 8 rebs). In the second half, James Li (14 pts, 7 rebs) sparked an intense NYC comeback that barely fell short, as the Storm advanced to the Semis 39-37. Up next, NY United East had a date with Washington CYC B. UE’s Chuk Hei Ma (12 pts, 5-8 ft, 1 trey) and Leighton Kuet (13 pts, 2 treys, 3 dimes) provided stellar play at both ends, and NY’s physical perimeter defense was able to clamp down on a previously hot shooting CYC B team (averaging 8 triples per game), by holding them to only 3 three’s in the game. UE moved on 40-36 as they sank 13-17 free throws in the second half to ice the game and put numerous CYC players on the bench with 5. Up last in the round, the winless NY USAB B team would meet up with the undefeated Toronto Dragons B. Toronto looked like they were going to win the game, with Matt Lum (13 pts) and Victor Mo (6 pts) playing well. But the game’s pace soon slowed to more of a half court style which favored the shorthanded USAB’ers. With Eli Strauss (12 rebounds) controlling the glass all by himself, and the Joe Chin/Daniel Wong duo putting points on the scoreboard, USAB came from behind for an amazing 29-28 W.

In the First Semifinal, Markham FCCM would meet the Winnipeg Storm in an all-Canadian match. The All-Tourney Liu brothers were very good at the outset, with Daniel (11 pts, 2 assists) and Darren (17 pts, 10-11 ft) directing their teams to run crisp plays leading to easy buckets. Markham’s Jackie Fung and Hubert Wong got the assignment to slow down All-NACBAIT pick Eric Fong. They did a great job, holding him to only 4 points. Jason Au (16 pts) picked up the slack for the Storm, as he sank 4 of 7 from deep. In the end, Darren Liu showed why he deserved to be one of the players featured on the cover of the 2010 Program as he closed out the game by sinking his last 10 free throws to push his team to the finals 45-34. In the second Semi, a battle for the Big Apple would ensue as NY United East was scheduled to play NY USAB B. These teams are intimately familiar with each other as these programs have played each other many times over the years. But with top shooting guard Tommy Zheng nursing an injury, the outlook appeared bleak for UE. USAB’s Menley Khuu (NACBA Top 18’s) had a flashback to his glory days early on as he hit a pressure 3-ball and followed that up by getting to the cup a few times to get USAB out in front. Robert Chin (All-Tourney, 13 pts, 5 steals), Jerry Lu (9 pts), and Jack Ma (12 pts, 2 triples) all took turns answering with counter treys for United East, but USAB went to a more balanced attack later on in the first half to keep a 24-22 edge. In the second stanza, Robert Chin demonstrated superior conditioning and Jack Ma stayed hot as the dynamic duo spearheaded a 46-43 win to move on to Monday. Joe Chin paced USAB with 10 points.

On Championship Monday, both Markham FCCM and NY UE had pretty decent contingents cheering for them in the stands, given that it was a regular workday in Canada (they don’t celebrate Memorial Day) and many New Yorkers might have preferred to start driving back to the States early. In their Saturday round robin matchup, Markham had destroyed UE 58-25 in the Open division’s biggest blowout of the day. But UE had mentally regrouped on Sunday and was looking to bring more of a challenge on the big stage. NY’s Jason Yee and Leighton Kuet looked to be a potential matchup problem for FCCM at the start. United East began the game with a certain hop to their step, swatting 6 Markham shots in the first half and intimidating Markham with some braun and athleticism. MVP Darren Liu (18 pts, 5 assists) decided he would have none of that at his alma mater. With his parents nervously watching in the stands, Darren put on a show for all to see as he hit his first two 3’s to draw out the UE defenders, and then he penetrated at will for easy pull-ups j’s, layups, or dimes to wide open teammates. Jackie Fung (8 pts, 1 block, 2 steals) and Alex Luk (8 pts, 4-5 ft, 8 boards) did the rest as Markham controlled the game from there on out. Wai Chang paced UE with 10. FCCM 46, United East 28.
Great job Markham!

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Pool O	W	L
1. Markham FCCM	2	0
2. NY United East	1	1
3. Winnipeg Storm	1	1
4. NY USAB B	0	2

Pool OO	W	L
1. Toronto Dragons B	2	0
2. NY Crossbearers	1	1
3. Washington CYC B	1	1
4. Philly Suns B	0	2

Markham FCCM def Philly Suns B
Winnipeg Storm def NY Crossbearers A
NY United East def Washington CYC B
NY USAB B def Toronto Dragons B

Markham FCCM def Winnipeg Storm
NY United East def NY USAB B

Finals
Markham FCCM def NY United East

All-Tournament Team
Darren Liu, Markham FCCM (MVP)

Daniel Liu, Markham FCCM
Robert Chin, NY United East
Eric Fong, Winnipeg Storm
Matt Lum, Toronto Dragons B
James Li, NY Crossbearers A
Ricky Choi, Washington CYC B
Joe Chin, NY USAB B

Titans Prevail 18U Div.

Canton China to Montreal

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