The Basketball Tournament: Big Results for NBL Canada Stars

As the 2022 edition of one of the world's biggest invitational basketball competitions, The Basketball Tournament, nears its conclusion, there was still plenty more action and excitement to come from the teams still vying for the million dollar prize. NBL Canada veterans had already made their mark on the tournament so far, but some of the NBLC's newest stars were still on-hand to provide plenty more action.

London Lightning breakout Jermaine Haley joined a team of fellow West Virginia Mountaineers alumni who formed Best Virginia. They opened their 2022 campaign in one of the biggest rival games of the first round against Virginia Dream. The game began incredibly close, with a single possession standing between the teams early on.

Best Virginia built on their slender advantage in the second and in the third they began to run away with it, outscoring Virginia Dream 25-6 on the quarter. There Haley scored seven points as part of his total 11 points, to go with six rebounds and three assists, for Best Virginia who breeze through the first game and into the second round having beat their rivals by thirty points.

Moving on from this, Haley one of three Best Virginia players to score seventeen points in their second game against Herd That (Former Marshall Thundering Herd players). The teams couldn't be separated early on before Best Virginia surged in front by seventeen points. Herd This closed the gap but the Virginians' three-point shooting, along with a 14-1 run, saw them end the third leading by sixteen.

Beating Herd This by thirteen, they advanced to the regional semi final where awaiting them was a team of ETSU alumni, the Bucketneers. With the better shooting success early on, Best Virginia led by nine and maintained their advantage throughout the second quarter. When play resumed eight points from the Bucketneers put them up by one.

Best Virginia kept it close while the Bucketneers continued to find points in the paint; they went back in front courtesy of threes from Jamel Morris and Kevin Jones. With the scores tied at the four-minute mark, Best Virginia hit six points without reply, while seven from the Bucketneers put them up by one. With the very last shot of the game Jones sealed the win for Best Virginia in dramatic fashion.

Elsewhere, the Sudbury Five's Jeremy Harris was seeing more success with Blue Collar U over in the Syracuse bracket. In their second game the Buffalo Bulls alumni had a close encounter with Friday Beers, whose ball distribution and outside shooting saw them average a double-digit lead throughout the first half.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter when Blue Collar's low post play closed the gap, with Wes Clark giving them the lead and Blake Hamilton completing the incredible, unlikely comeback. Blue Collar went on to defeat The Nerd Team 83-62 in the semi-final, advancing to the Syracuse final to face Heartfire for a place in the final eight.