IBL this Week

Published on May 16, 2013 under International Basketball League (IBL) News Release

Strikers land from Houston this week

The LoneStar Strikers will hit the court Saturday as a tornado struck, and we don`t mean our Nippon Tornadoes, the greater Dallas area during their flight. With delays in the area, the Strikers land with the Vancouver Volcanoes on Saturday. As a replacement, the Kitsap Admirals will take on the Portland Chinooks Friday at Eastmoreland Courts. "We are happy to help out our fellow IBL team, and would not get to see Portland otherwise on our schedule. It is a great opportunity for our guys to keep showcasing their talent!" Head Coach of the Admirals Ashley Robinson shared.

While they awaited their flights, we took some time to catch up with them to see how they are adjusting, preparing to play strong teams in the Pacific Northwest and what they have in store for us this season.

The Strikers will operate as an IBL branding team for the 2013 season, which will allow the team to play five regular season games against top-caliber teams in the league. The IBL's branding team concept allows new teams to participate in a portion of the regular season to determine the viability of their market prior to becoming a full season team within three years.Glenn Shepherd, the owner of the Strikers, spoke to us about what it is like being back in the PNW, "It's an exciting time and opportunity to come home to the Pacific Northwest. I am from Seattle and attended college in Oregon so to be able to come back to the PNW and bring a pro team in PNW is amazing," explained Shepherd. "We are looking forward to playing some good games and also to open up an opportunity for southern teams to come and see how the IBL is structured and hopefully make them want to join."

As far as prepping for the competition this weekend, the Strikers are hoping to get in a couple of workouts and go over some practice drills in order to get into the winning mindset. Shepherd did mention that they will also be spending time recuperating from the long flights and even longer layovers they had to take while traveling. This year's team consists of 7 footer player, Blake Thompson who has played in several different places, including college ball in Germany. He is known for being a very agile center that is quick on his feet. The Strikers also have a very strong backcourt that should bring big contributions to their play.

We asked the Vancouver Volcanoes to comment on what they were looking forward to when hosting the Strikers, "We are excited to host the LoneStar Strikers and to have great competition from Houston joining us this season, the League is building in a purposeful, positive direction. We are 4-0 at home currently, with a goal to stay that way this Saturday, knowing there is great talent about to hit our home court." Bryan Hunter, General Manager of the 11-0 home record Volcanoes in their 2011 Championship season.

You can catch the LoneStar Strikers in action during their time in the Pacific Northwest this weekend as they play Vancouver Volcanoes and Bellingham Slam. For those fans that remain in the Lone Star state be sure to catch them during their two home games June 1 & 2, at John Cooper Gymnasium in The Woodlands.

Portland Chinooks:

6`9" F Jared Cunningham currently averaging a DD 26.7ppg, 12rpg 2013 IBL Player of the Week last week, 2012 IBL All Star

Vancouver Volcanoes:

6`6" F Chehales Tapscott, currently averaging DD 18.2ppg, 12.7rpg, currently 6 DD in a row this season

Bellingham Slam:

6`5" C Blake Poole currently averaging DD 21ppg, 13rpg, leading the league in rpg as he did in 2012; 2012 IBL All Star

IBL Player of the Week- Paul Hafford

Presented by Phiten, #31 Paul Hafford now a part of the Vancouver Volcanoes, after five enjoyable seasons with the Bellingham Slam, has been named IBL Player of the Week. This 6'4" guard with six seasons of experience in the IBL was added to the Volcanoes roster after a move back to the area where he grew up just east of Vancouver, Washington, with a new look. Familiar with some of his teammates from his alma mater, Portland State University, and fellow 2012 IBL All Stars including Murray and Tapscott, this 2012 Most Improved Player made his impact in two wins this week, which add up to six in a row for the Volcanoes, still undefeated at home 4-0.

With 2012 IBL MVP Andre Murray out, Hafford got his game up this past weekend, putting up 29 points and 7 rebounds versus the Sabres in the 120-113 victory at home, then 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in the win on the road in the Battle of the Bridge II versus Portland, 121-112. "Salem was a close game, with Andre out he is so aggressive for us, so Tapscott and I had to step up, with Tarver adding the assists to get the win. We all came together and in Portland everyone had good games. West gave us a boost with rebounds, crucial buckets to get us to the win, we grew up more and became more of a team in these two games," Hafford observed as he reflected on game action and results.

With his favorite movie being Dumb and Dumber, you know there is some humor in this family and Hafford is thankful to have their laughter and cheers follow him. "My family has been so supportive my whole life from little league on, and the fact that I am still doing this at almost 30 years old at this level, I feel really blessed to have them behind me," Paul shared with great pride.

When asked about Hafford Head Coach of the Volcanoes, Joe Navarro simply said, "He`s really good. Paul is one of the best players in the league, and has immediately become one of our leaders on the floor. The guy is all about winning and will do whatever it takes. He scores in so many different ways its really hard to guard him. You don't see many players who get added to a team fit in as fast as he did, and that's really a compliment to him and his teammates. I'm really glad he moved to Vancouver,

Navarro chuckled.

His Coach doesn`t talk about it but 6 wins in a row, 4-0 at home is starting to look like the 11-0 home record during the Volcanoes Championship year in 2011, and Hafford knows what it takes to be a Champion winning the title in 2012 with the Slam. With a one game at a time approach the Volcanoes travel to Salem Friday and host the LoneStar Strikers a new team in the IBL at home, who "look big" according to Navarro. "8-0 at the end of the weekend, 5-0 at home is our goal, that would be nice. We usually have more of a scouting report as we know our other opponents well, but we don't know the LoneStar team, we will see what they bring, which gives us incentive to get a good start in the game," Hafford offers.

"Personally I feel like I am back on track with our last game putting up 7 assists. I want my passing to be up there, we have so many scorers there is no excuse not to. We want to win the championship, and we have all the tools to do it, it depends on how well we can gel together. I feel like we are improving every game feel and hopefully we can peak at right time. In winning the 2012 championship I learned sharing the ball is important to win the title, to get a total team effort you don't play to score, you play the same way all the time, as a team," Paul suggested.

View Paul Hafford's full player profile here.

IBL Game Recaps

Sabres vs Admirals

The Salem Sabres scored their first IBL win at Chemeketa Community College on Saturday, May 11th. This is one of the first games the Sabres played without starters Jeff Dunn and 6'6" F Cory Largent, yet the Sabres controlled the game to the finish and beat the Kitsap Admirals 133-116. 6'3" G Tysaiah Curry of the Kitsap Admirals led the team with 28 points and 6'5" G Glen Hollis with 25 points.

"It was great to get our first win of the IBL season." said Sabres General Manager Joe Becerra. "We have been battling the Admiral since our winter season. They are a team with a lot of heart. As a team we have had some more time to play together and get use to each others style of play."

The Sabres worked hard in this game and got what they wanted out of it. 6'5" G Mike Taylor led the way for Salem with 32 points while 6'9" F Daniel Deane had 22 points and 11 rebounds. "This game we rebounded and shot a lot better overall. Daniel Deane had been working hard on both ends of the floor. Joe Burton almost got the teams first triple double and Mike Taylor stepped up and gave an impressive performance. Sergio Rosario and Kyle Long were key contributors in this win against Kitsap." Becerra concluded.

Although saddened by a loss, Head Coach of the Admirals Ashley Robinson has big plans for his team in future games. "The game against the Sabres was another classic between the 2 organization full of excitement, heart, determination and pride! The Sabres are up 1 game over the Admirals 3-2 in our clash on the hardwood. We look forward to playing them at home in June which both teams are undefeated at home against each other." Robinson said. On and off the court, Head Coach of the Sabres, Sterling Alexander and Ashley Robinson are good friends and friendly rivals and have no problems when playing against each other, but will surely always be competitive. "The Alexanders are a great friend on and off the court and we value our relationship and rivalry." Robinson concluded.

The Kitsap Admirals take on the Japan Nippon Tornadoes Sunday May 19th at Olympic High School. Also, catch the Salem Sabres taking on the Vancouver Volcanoes and the Portland Chinooks at home this weekend, click here for tickets.

Vancouver vs Portland

Vancouver Volcanoes had their sixth win in a row this past Friday against the Portland Chinooks at Eastmoreland Courts. Paul Hafford added 25 points and seven assists for Vancouver, while Jake Carlisle had 15 points, and Josh Tarver had 14 points. Chehales Tapscott, the top scorer for Vancouver had a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Jared Cunningham of the Portland Chinooks led with 27 points as the Vancouver Volcanoes defeated the Portland Chinooks, 121-112. Coach Joe Navarro of Vancouver is ready to take on more teams as the Volcanoes come together and keep up their win streak. "We're starting to learn to play together right now. Without Alex and Andre we needed guys stepping up and we had four or five guys that did just that. Road wins are not easy in this league, and its good to get one against a team as good as Portland is." Navarro stated.

Portlands Jared Cunningham not only put up a good fight in this Battle of the Bridges Part II, but was surprised at the outcome of the game. "Playing against the Volcanoes for the first time at our new arena didn't go as planned. We were hoping to walk out of there with our first win of the season. That didn't happen. It was a well played game by both team. We play Vancouver again on Friday so we are definitely looking forward to that, hopefully we can get back to the drawing board and figure out what we have to do to win." Cunningham stated.

One of the Vancouver Volcanoes lead scorers, Chehales Tapscott also was in good shape in the Battle of the Bridges Part II. Surprisingly, Tapscott was homegrown in Portland but decided to play for Vancouver. "Being from Portland, one would assume that I'd play for the home team Chinooks but I wanted a change. The city of Vancouver along with the fans and ownership is just a great mix! I feel like I made the right decision to play in Vancouver!" Tapscott informed the IBL.

Tapscott is amongst some of the IBL players that attended Portland State University. Many of these alumni have played years before Tapscott and that gives a lot of great mentoring to him and others on the Vancouver team. "It feels great and is an honor to play along side of Portland state alums like Paul, Andre Murray and jr Moore. These guy have played in years before me and have great experience so I get to learn a lot from them. And as far as playing against some of my alum like Michael Harthun, it's great. It just shows that PSU has great talent from the northwest and that Portland state is a pipeline for great players in the IBL." Tapscott stated.

Tapscott and the other Vancouver players are a strong team so far this season winning six games in a row. The Volcanoes are doing well early on this season and think they are ready for the playoffs this year. "Our team is built for the playoffs, we were assembled to win! We have size, speed, shooting and leadership. Early in this season so far although we have won, we have shown signs of inconsistent play on both offense and defense. But it's just the fact that we are getting our chemistry right and getting comfortable with one another. So I believe by playoff time we will be extremely dangerous and the favorites to win." Tapscott concluded.

Vancouver is set to play Portland again on Friday, May 24th at Eastmoreland Courts. As Vancouver has set their minds to beating Portland in the playoffs, hopefully the Chinooks can make a comeback and this Battle of the Bridges rivalry will go down to the Championship game.

Kitsap has arrived

In lieu of the Kitsap Admirals home opener this Sunday at Olympic High School against the Japan Nippon Tornadoes, we spoke with Owner and Head Coach Ashley Robinson about what it's like being a team in Kitsap.

"Being the first IBL team in Kitsap and now playing our first home game is history in the making history for the Admirals organization. I start my professional career in the IBL in 2006 as a player now as a owner and coach giving others the opportunity is a blessing. Kitsap is an area of untapped talent that have lacked the platforms like the bigger cities such as Tacoma and Seattle with the IBL the Admirals feel our time have finally arrived," said Robinson.

As far as special game activities go, the Kitsap Admirals are ready! This weekend they will be showcasing their new break dance crew Kitsap Break Life, along with their team DJ, DJ Cruz from Hand on Entertainment. There will be a variety of contests taking place from Halfcourt shot, skill challenges and raffle draws held by Eddie SuperBoy Mabanglo our Public Address Announcer.

So how do the Nippon Tornadoes stack up against the Kitsap Admirals? The Tornadoes have thus far played only one game while the Admirals have played three. Although neither of the teams have won a game the Admirals average higher than the Tornadoes. This Sunday might well be the Kitsap Admirals first win so you don't want to miss it!

International Basketball League Stories from May 16, 2013

• IBL this Week - IBL

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.