25forlife
Basketball Club
Basketball Club
Both courts at the Vellore Village Community Centre were prepped to host all eight teams Friday evening,
but everyone knew that two of them wouldn’t make it to Saturday morning. The two featured match-ups saw
the Windy City’s Rambonews hand the young Toronto Falcons their first tourney loss, while Toronto 25 for
Life beat out its fellow nationally-ranked opponents the Toronto Dragons.
In second round action, the Falcons failed to put things together against the kids from FABA of DC Metro,
while the Dragons couldn’t hold a second half lead against the sharpshooting Flipside squad that featured
former OCAA standouts Jason Nepomuceno (Durham) and Jose Araujo (Humber – 2006 OCAA
Tournament MOP). The tournament ended early for both Falcons and Dragons, who were picked by some
to go deep into the weekend. Other second round results had Toronto 25 for Life handing the Angiels a 14-
point loss, while Rambonews lost out to the Kagers with a buzzer-beating lay-up by All-Tournament guard
Eric Liao.
Arrangements were made to shift all of the games to a single gymnasium on Saturday, with action starting
early at 9:00am in the morning. Local DJ icon DJ P-Plus was brought in by 25 for Life to spin his unique
mix of hip hop anthems to help create an atmosphere much like the Raptors enjoy at the Air Canada
Centre. The early game saw the ‘Cardiac Kids’ of FABA have their championship dreams ended, as they
ran into the much more physically imposing Angiels. Inconsistent shooting by Flipside’s gunners proved to
seal their fate, as Rambonews’ cohesive team play moved them on in the tournament. Toronto 25 for Life
continued its success over the Kagers, earning a hard-fought six-point win.
In what was arguably the tournament’s most physical game, Rambonews fought the Angiels tooth and nail
to come out with a three-point win. However, the win came at a price, as Rambonews lost a couple players
due to injury and received some major bumps and bruises. The toll proved to be too much in their second
match-up against the Kagers, as ‘Bad News’ seemingly ran out of manpower and gas in their 14-point
loss.
The stage was set for another 25 for Life / Kagers battle, the third including their PhilCan Finals faceoff
back in June. It seemed like with each successive game, the Kagers were gaining confidence and were
prime to hand the tournament favourites an upset at their very own tournament. However, the host team
came out blazing, led behind surprise starter AJ Serjue’s seemingly unstoppable offensive repetoire. The
‘25ers’ had focused their defense on stopping the Kagers guards and quickly built a double-digit lead
before the first stoppage in play. With solid contributions from team veterans JP Albano, Jerome Sta. Maria
and Mike Semira, and team defense that kept the Kagers’ Eric Liao, Don Pow and Jason Kim under wraps,
25 for Life cruised to a 14-point win. Serjue was awarded Tournament MVP and received a brand new TF-
1000 basketball from Spalding, Nike track suit from Basketball Ontario and headphones from Maxell
Canada (not bad for a couple day’s work!). The Unity Cup All-Tournament Team was rounded off by Eric
Liao and Jason Kim from Toronto Kagers, Roger Mehta from Chicago Rambonews and Mike Semira from
Toronto 25 for Life. Each awardee received a Unity Cup t-shirt and Maxell headphones.
Many thanks go out to everyone for making the inaugural Unity Cup Invitational a tremendous success,
especially Spalding, Gatorade, Basketball Ontario and Maxell Canada. Special recognition to the FHEF for
collecting clothing, medical and educational supplies on behalf of those less fortunate in the Philippines,
and the numerous volunteers that helped the tournament run smoothly. Plans are already underway for an
even bigger and better Unity Cup in 2009!
but everyone knew that two of them wouldn’t make it to Saturday morning. The two featured match-ups saw
the Windy City’s Rambonews hand the young Toronto Falcons their first tourney loss, while Toronto 25 for
Life beat out its fellow nationally-ranked opponents the Toronto Dragons.
In second round action, the Falcons failed to put things together against the kids from FABA of DC Metro,
while the Dragons couldn’t hold a second half lead against the sharpshooting Flipside squad that featured
former OCAA standouts Jason Nepomuceno (Durham) and Jose Araujo (Humber – 2006 OCAA
Tournament MOP). The tournament ended early for both Falcons and Dragons, who were picked by some
to go deep into the weekend. Other second round results had Toronto 25 for Life handing the Angiels a 14-
point loss, while Rambonews lost out to the Kagers with a buzzer-beating lay-up by All-Tournament guard
Eric Liao.
Arrangements were made to shift all of the games to a single gymnasium on Saturday, with action starting
early at 9:00am in the morning. Local DJ icon DJ P-Plus was brought in by 25 for Life to spin his unique
mix of hip hop anthems to help create an atmosphere much like the Raptors enjoy at the Air Canada
Centre. The early game saw the ‘Cardiac Kids’ of FABA have their championship dreams ended, as they
ran into the much more physically imposing Angiels. Inconsistent shooting by Flipside’s gunners proved to
seal their fate, as Rambonews’ cohesive team play moved them on in the tournament. Toronto 25 for Life
continued its success over the Kagers, earning a hard-fought six-point win.
In what was arguably the tournament’s most physical game, Rambonews fought the Angiels tooth and nail
to come out with a three-point win. However, the win came at a price, as Rambonews lost a couple players
due to injury and received some major bumps and bruises. The toll proved to be too much in their second
match-up against the Kagers, as ‘Bad News’ seemingly ran out of manpower and gas in their 14-point
loss.
The stage was set for another 25 for Life / Kagers battle, the third including their PhilCan Finals faceoff
back in June. It seemed like with each successive game, the Kagers were gaining confidence and were
prime to hand the tournament favourites an upset at their very own tournament. However, the host team
came out blazing, led behind surprise starter AJ Serjue’s seemingly unstoppable offensive repetoire. The
‘25ers’ had focused their defense on stopping the Kagers guards and quickly built a double-digit lead
before the first stoppage in play. With solid contributions from team veterans JP Albano, Jerome Sta. Maria
and Mike Semira, and team defense that kept the Kagers’ Eric Liao, Don Pow and Jason Kim under wraps,
25 for Life cruised to a 14-point win. Serjue was awarded Tournament MVP and received a brand new TF-
1000 basketball from Spalding, Nike track suit from Basketball Ontario and headphones from Maxell
Canada (not bad for a couple day’s work!). The Unity Cup All-Tournament Team was rounded off by Eric
Liao and Jason Kim from Toronto Kagers, Roger Mehta from Chicago Rambonews and Mike Semira from
Toronto 25 for Life. Each awardee received a Unity Cup t-shirt and Maxell headphones.
Many thanks go out to everyone for making the inaugural Unity Cup Invitational a tremendous success,
especially Spalding, Gatorade, Basketball Ontario and Maxell Canada. Special recognition to the FHEF for
collecting clothing, medical and educational supplies on behalf of those less fortunate in the Philippines,
and the numerous volunteers that helped the tournament run smoothly. Plans are already underway for an
even bigger and better Unity Cup in 2009!
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Mapquest
Vellore Village
Community Centre
1 Villa Royale Avenue
Woodbridge, ON
Vellore Village
Community Centre
1 Villa Royale Avenue
Woodbridge, ON
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TORONTO, ON
The Fourth of July isn’t usually celebrated in
Canada, but this year was different. Both
Chicago Rambonews and FABA of DC Metro
(Washington, DC) endured the long trek
across the border to compete against six
local teams to compete for the title of Unity
Cup Champion. Taking the trophy back home
with them wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, as
the host team 25 for Life – along with 5 of the
area’s top teams – had high hopes to defend
its home turf successfully.
Other participating teams included Toronto
Falcons (winners of PBA of Michigan
Independence Day tournament and Mabuhay
Cup in 2007), Toronto Kagers (2008 PhilCan
finalist and 2008 NACBA Chinese Nationals
Quarterfinalist), Toronto Dragons (2008
NACBA Chinese Nationals Quarterfinalist)
Angiels (www.angielbasketball.ca), and
Toronto Flipside. Aside from featuring three
of North America’s top 25 teams
(Rambonews #10, Toronto 25 for Life #18
and Toronto Dragons #25), the Unity Cup
featured the best local talent available.
The Fourth of July isn’t usually celebrated in
Canada, but this year was different. Both
Chicago Rambonews and FABA of DC Metro
(Washington, DC) endured the long trek
across the border to compete against six
local teams to compete for the title of Unity
Cup Champion. Taking the trophy back home
with them wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, as
the host team 25 for Life – along with 5 of the
area’s top teams – had high hopes to defend
its home turf successfully.
Other participating teams included Toronto
Falcons (winners of PBA of Michigan
Independence Day tournament and Mabuhay
Cup in 2007), Toronto Kagers (2008 PhilCan
finalist and 2008 NACBA Chinese Nationals
Quarterfinalist), Toronto Dragons (2008
NACBA Chinese Nationals Quarterfinalist)
Angiels (www.angielbasketball.ca), and
Toronto Flipside. Aside from featuring three
of North America’s top 25 teams
(Rambonews #10, Toronto 25 for Life #18
and Toronto Dragons #25), the Unity Cup
featured the best local talent available.