Ramblers Deliver Moody Blues

Maple Ridge Rams Sr. Boys vs Port Moody Blues 

December 9, 2023

 by Stuart Mittlestead 

Before the cool North Vancouver rain began, the Maple Ridge Ramblers squared off against the Port Moody Blues at Carson Graham Secondary.  Both teams hadn’t had any luck so far in the tournament and were looking to change that. The big men, Bajarunas in light blue vs Fernandez in red, started things off at centre court. Maple Ridge’s Mouawia and Samson showed their chemistry early, with the former getting a steal. He found Samson with an abundance of time beyond the arc to make his mark. The 3 stretched the Ramblers lead to 7. Their teammate, Llarena, came off bench with back-to-back power moves to continue the early press. This forced the Port Moody coach to call a time-out hoping to stymie the early momentum. Alex Gour answered back with some quality down-low play and a few steals at the other end of the court. As the momentum swung the Blues way, it was Maple Ridge’s turn to take a time-out. The Blues finished the quarter with 2 steals and narrowed the Ramblers early lead to only 9,  23-14 for Maple Ridge. 

The quality play continued into the second quarter. The tall gentlemen battled hard. Marty Bajarunas of the Blues rejected the attempt of Fernandez in the paint. Refs agreed, it was “all ball”, letting the Blues take it the other way for a score. Fernandez would have revenge the next possession, finally finding some space this time and converting down low. The play was back and forth, punctuated by Haruto Abe kissing one off the glass over his opponent's outreached arm. Liam Samson was making his impact for the Ramblers. He drove the paint for an “and-1” as well as finding some space on a long breakout pass. The Blues had some success on their own deep shot and a fast break of their own. The Blues were singing like Eric Clapton in the 70’s going on a 14-0 run.  The Ramblers' lead was cut to just 2. A foul that was spicier than a Delany’s peppermint mocha sent the Blues to the line with a chance to equal the score. Alex Gour was clutch from the line making both shots with 3 seconds left in the half.

As the teams headed to their dressing rooms, the score read 31-31, perhaps an ode to #13 Quinn Keast. 

The Ramblers, who were once up by 12, were eager to get their lead back in the second half. Coach Herman’s half-time adjustment helped the Ramblers go on a 9-0 run to open the second half. Mouawia, Llarena and Fernandez were the names on the scoresheet- although Kobe Li for the Blues sure was heating up. He succeeded twice from well beyond the arc paying homage to his first name. Despite Kobe’s sharp shooting, the Ramblers began to extend their lead. Reduced unforced errors, a few steals and impressive shooting percentage from the foul line, all contributed to a 17-point lead at the end of Q3.  

Like an elf on Christmas eve, the Rams will be looking to wrap this game up over the final 10 minutes and get one more game at the No Regrets tournament. Kobe Li continued his sharpshooting, reminiscent of a young Steph Curry. Wonder if he golfs well too? My count had him 5 for 8 on 3 pointers in the second half. Maple Ridge turned up the temperature on the defensive side of the court. Mouawia used his speed to collect a few steals, teaming up with Samson a couple of times to add to their lead. Li and Gour were looking good and leading the comeback.  A Ramblers lead that once looked out of reach was cut to only 3 points with 2 minutes to go. Gour was presumably in foul trouble and had to watch the final 60 seconds from the pine. We were treated to an exciting final minute. Missing one of their leaders in Gour and some tough free throw luck made the comeback impossible. Final score was 78-71 with the Ramblers edging out the Blues.  

Player of the game: #7 Liam Samson who played almost the whole game and had an impressive game at both ends of the court.  

High scorer’s: Kobe Li and Liam Samson