The North Langley Basketball Association playoffs are back!! After 5 months of competitive basketball and highlight finishes, 8 teams will duke it out for the 2016 championship at the Langley Events Centre, St. Nicholas’ Church and the Langley Fine Arts school.
After changing the age format this year, the U15 division (formerly U16), has featured top-tier talent and an essentially fair disparity between teams.
The playoffs will feature some player’s first taste of must-win basketball. The North Langley Basketball Association , commissioned by Melanie Laird, wants her “kid to play well, as well as some fair referee-ing, hopefully {her} team steps up to the occasion like they did last year”.
2015 U16 Champions. Melanie Laird’s son featured bottom row, second to the left.
In what is probably the most competitive basketball league other than high school and club ball, The NLBA offers a cheap fee for entry and allows you to watch your kid develop into a better and more confident player. All coaches volunteer, making every practice and game equally as valuable to them as their players. This is a great league for children that wish to polish their skills or just to receive some healthy exercise.
One of the main factors in this being a great league to join is the “evenly distributed playing time.” All kids are playing the same amount on the court as the best players.
The 2016 playoffs will provide drama and heartbreak for kids, spectators and parents guaranteed. Close games and crucial plays will dictate who will be wearing medals in the middle of March.
Last week, The Raptors and Celtics went head-to-head in the regular season finale. The Raptors had an early lead but late in the first half and early in the second, they allowed the Celtics to pull away. They now meet each other again, in consecutive games. This time, for all the marbles.
“I don’t think we were supposed to turn the ball over 40 times..” Says Melaine Laird.
Turnovers have been the achilles heel of the bottom feeder teams this year but the playoffs allow all teams to start a new slate and write their names in history.
Playoffs commence, Thursday, February 25th, at the Langley Events Centre. Here are the first round match ups:
6:30 South – (1)Thunder vs (8)Hornets
6:30 North – (2)Celtics vs (7)Raptors
8:00 South – (3)Wizards vs (6)Heat
8:00 North – (4)Magic vs (5)Warriors
“Terrance’s team (Magic) is the team to look out for I think.” The Magic possess the best tandem in the league in Matthew Martens and Amara DePradine. Matthew is a “one man show”.
“I’ll probably have to go for the Raptors,” Laird states with a laugh when I asked her about who she is rooting for.
The Raptors, coached by Liam Foley and myself, have Jeremy Laird on their team for the second straight year with championship aspirations. Finishing the season at 3-8 doesn’t do a lot to intimidate other teams but their last 6 games they went 3-3, all without one of their stars, Lucas Cooper.
The seventh seeded Raptors will look to build on that decent 6 game stretch which 1 of those losses came down a missed call by the referee in the last minute of the game.
Click here for full standings.
- Full schedule of U15 Playoffs and Scores
- Sign your kids up for camps today!!
- Scores from U15 2015-16 Season
APEX MOUNTAIN MOTION PICTURES 