Home

Los Angeles TH defeats CalHeat and wins the 2010 California Cup

Fri, 12/18/2009 - 12:24 — smayer73

Los Angeles Winner 2The Los Angeles Team Handball Club grabs the 2010 California Cup out of CalHeat's hands for the first time since 2006. Vancouver B.C runs Berkeley out of the gym and goes home with the Bronze Medal.

 

Final Standings:

                                                                                                                                                  Los Angeles TH              

Pos. Team Name W L T  GS GA Pts
1. Los Angeles TH 3 1 0 94 87 6
2. San Francisco CalHeat 2 1 1 87 82 5
3. Vancouver B.C. TH 3 1 0 106 79 6
4. Berkeley Golden Bears 1 3 0 79 100 2
5. Seattle Speed 1 1 1 63 63 3
6. Kagura (Japan) 0 3 0 63 81 0

 

Final Game Results:CalHeat

Group A:

San Francisco CalHeat - Seattle Speed 20:20 (9:10)

Los Angeles TH - Seatte Speed 22:18 (11:7)

San Francisco CalHeat - Los Angeles TH 22:19 (9:10)

Group B:                                                                                                                               San Francisco CalHeat

Vancouver B.C. TH - Kagura (Japan) 28:18 (15:11)Vancouver

Berkeley Golden Bears - Vancouver B.C. TH 19:20 (10:14)

Kagura (Japan) - Berkeley Golden Bears 24:28 (11:10)

Seminfinals:

Vancouver B.C. TH - Los Angeles TH 25:27 (11:12)

San Francisco CalHeat - Berkeley Golden Bears 23:17 (11:7)                                                  Vancouver B.C. TH     

5th Place Match:Berkeley

Kagura (Japan) - Seattle Speed 21:25 (10:11)

Bronze Medal Game:

Berkeley Golden Bears - Vancouver B.C. TH 15:33 (5:16)

Gold Medal Game:

San Francisco CalHeat - Los Angeles TH TH 22:26 (12:9)                                                     Berkeley Golden Bears

 
      Seattle     Kagura    Smurfs                      Seattle Speed                                    Kagura (Japan)                                California Smurfs            
 
The tournament got started on Saturday morning with the first game of Group B between Vancouver B.C and Kagura (Japan). From the beginning Kagura was not only outmatched by size, but also by strength. Vancouver had no problems to score from almost any position and had no problems stopping any attacks by Kagura. Kagura on the other side tried to use their speed during fast breaks to keep the game close. However Vancouver kept a firm control over the game and cruised to an easy 28 to 18 victory after a comfortable 15 to 11 lead at halftime. 
 
The second game featured San Francisco CalHeat and Seattle Speed from Group A. Seattle came out very determined and put immediately immense pressure on CalHeat. On the other side CalHeat seemed to be stunned and could only react to Seattle’s play. Therefore it was not surprisingly that Seattle took a narrow 10 to 9 lead at halftime.  At the beginning of the second half CalHeat tried to gain control over the game. It worked at first and allowed CalHeat to grab the lead. But Seattle fought back and kept answering every goal from CalHeat with a goal of their own. 2 Minutes before the end CalHeat grabbed the lead again. However Seattle was able to tie the game with only 40 seconds left. CalHeat tried to push for the win, but Seattle’s defense held and the game ended in a 20 to 20 tie.
 
Next up was Group B again with the match of Vancouver B.C. against the local Berkeley Golden Bears. At first Berkeley took Vancouver by surprise and got very quickly a three goal lead. However Vancouver recovered quickly and used all their experience to get a comfortable 15 to 11 lead at halftime. During the second half Berkeley pushed again hard and was able to close the gap to only one goal. Now both teams were fighting for every inch and no one could build a decisive lead. However it was Vancouver that grabbed the lead 1 minute before the end. Berkley tried hard to tie the game, but could not penetrate Vancouver’s defense and therefore had to settle for a 19 to 20 loss.  
 
The fourth game of the day saw Los Angeles taking on Seattle Speed. After the surprising tie against the home team Seattle was now looking for a win. While Los Angeles was eager to get a good start into the tournament. An even match started to unfold first, where neither team could get a comfortable lead. On the contrary the lead kept changing constantly. However towards the end of the first half it was Los Angeles that increased the tempo and was able to get an 11 to 7 lead at half time.  Seattle tried everything to keep the game close during the second half. But Los Angeles did not let go of their 4 goal lead anymore and in the end took a 22 to 18 victory.  
 
The last game of Group B between Kagura and Berkeley was determining who gets the second place of Group B and consequently a place in the semifinals. Both teams lost their first games and this was their last chance to advance. Kagura got the better start and was determined to gain control of the game. Berkeley started a bit slow and was struggling to get into the game. However the score stayed close and Kagura had only an 11 to 10 lead at half time. During the second half Berkeley was finally in the game, while Kagura seemed to show first signs of fatigue. Slowly but steadily Berkeley took control over the game and the lead. Kagura tried hard, but was not able to get back into the game anymore. Therefore Berkeley claimed a 28 to 24 victory and a spot in the semifinals.
 
The last game of Group A between Los Angeles and the home team of CalHeat presented a tense showdown for the last spot in the semifinals. After their tie in their first game against Seattle, CalHeat needed at least a tie or a loss by no more than 3 goals to advance directly to the next round. Anything else would have Seattle advance to the next round and leave the home team to play only for the 5th place. Los Angeles on the other side already had their semifinal ticket in their pockets. However they were determined to block their archrivals path to the semifinals.  Therefore both teams were totally focused and determined not to give up any grounds.  A very close match developed during the first half. Leads kept changing frequently. But it was Los Angeles that went with a slight 10 to 9 lead into the half time. In the second half CalHeat stepped it up one more notch to gain control over the game. However Los Angeles wouldn’t give in and battled back. Neither team could establish a solid lead and the game stayed tied.  Finally during the last 5 minutes of the game CalHeat was able to stop Los Angeles attacks and break through their defenses on the other side to get a two goal lead. Los Angeles was not able to recover anymore and CalHeat went on to the semifinals with a 22 to 19 win, while Seattle had to settle for a consolidation game.
 
The first semifinal match on Sunday featured Los Angeles and Vancouver. Both teams were poised to make the final and a very tense game developed with many 2 minutes suspensions and 7m penalty shots. Neither team could gain the upper hand and the score stayed close with Los Angeles grabbing a narrow 12 to 11 lead at half time.  In the second half Los Angeles got the better start and extended their lead to four goals. Vancouver was struggling to keep up. But towards the end of the game they mobilized all their last resources and started to close the gap. However the push came too late and Los Angeles secured their place in the final with a 27 to 25 victory.
 
The second semifinal between CalHeat and Berkeley was an interesting one. Both teams know each other very well from local competition. Therefore both teams started very slowly with many missed shots, which kept the score low. Finally during the last 15 minutes of the second half CalHeat increased the pace a bit and was able to build up an 11 to 7 lead at half time. However at the beginning of the second half CalHeat eased off a bit and Berkeley was able to close the gap. This forced CalHeat to push harder to extend the lead again to 4.  Berkeley tried everything to stay in the game for the reminder of the second half. But it was just not enough and CalHeat advanced to the final with a 23 to 17 victory.
 
After the exciting semifinal games the following placement game between Kagura and Seattle proofed to be entertaining as well. Kagura was especially motivated to finally land their first win of the tournament. Seattle on the other hand was determined to secure the 5th place. Therefore the score remained close throughout the first half with Seattle getting only a narrow 11:10 lead at halftime. During the second half Kagura tried to push for a victory, but fatigue led to many missed open shots and easy technical mistakes. Seattle on the other side kept cool and cruised to a 25 to 21 victory.
 
The bronze medal game featured Vancouver and Berkeley, the two losers of the semifinal games. Both teams met already in group play, where Vancouver got only a very narrow victory. It was widely expected that Berkeley would be out for revenge. However nothing seemed to work out for Berkeley and Vancouver more than dominated the first half by taking a very comfortable 16 to 5 lead at half time. Unfortunately nothing changed during the second half. Berkley looked tired and struggled heavily. While Vancouver was not really challenged and just did what needed to be done. The final score was 33 to 15 for Vancouver, which after last year’s silver took this year’s Bronze Medal home.  
 
The gold medal game featured another matchup between the archrivals of San Francisco CalHeat and Los Angeles. Both teams had met before during group play as well, in which CalHeat prevailed.  Therefore a very exciting final was to be expected and both teams didn’t disappoint during the first half. CalHeat tried to control the game, but Los Angeles fought back hard, which led to a very close game. Only towards the end of the first half CalHeat was finally able to pull away and open a 12 to 9 lead at half time. But this didn’t stop Los Angeles. On the contrary they came back with a very aggressive defense at the beginning of the second half, which caused CalHeat to struggle. At the same time CalHeat’s defense started to soften up and Los Angeles was able to penetrate it with their powerful offense. The game was now tied again and neither team could pull away. As in the previous game against each other the defense during the last 5 minutes of the game decided the winner.     
But this time it was CalHeat which could not keep Los Angeles from scoring, while Los Angeles highly aggressive defense didn’t allow CalHeat to break through. This lead to further frustration and resignation on CalHeat’s side and helped to lift Los Angeles to a 26 to 22 victory over their archrival CalHeat, which after 4 consecutive California Cup victories had to settle for the second place only.   
 
For scoresheets see Attached.
 
For pictures have a look at our gallery or follow the link below:
 
For videos of most of the games follow the link below: