Hoopsfix Pro-Am Finals Preview: SBB vs CMBC, Ruby vs Diamond
The 2025 Hoopsfix Pro-Am comes to an end this Sunday at Brixton Rec (tickets still available here), and there are much anticipated men’s and women’s final match ups.
Here are the previews of both games.
Men’s Pro-Am Final
It was bound to happen. SBB and CMBC both perfect on the season have been locked on a collision course since Week 1. Each squad has taken on the cream of its bracket, weathered every storm, and now stands face-to-face in a showdown that few saw as anything but inevitable.
SBB: Masterclass in Balance
SBB is led by MVP frontrunner Flynn Boardman-Raffet, a rare breed of big guard whose three-level scoring makes him virtually unguardable. He’s averaging a team-leading 17.5 points, 6.3 field goals on 14.8 attempts, shooting 42.4% from the floor and 50% inside the arc, while dishing out 5.5 assists per game . No defender has found an answer for the shifty playmaker, whose tight handles let him navigate past defenders for crafty finishes or step back for cold-blooded pull-ups.
Yet SBB’s prowess extends well beyond its star. Brandon Tchouya may not have had his best outing in the semis, but over the season he’s delivered a highlight-reel of athleticism, averaging 11.5 points on 51.5% shooting and 4.8 rebounds per game enough to rank him fourth league-wide in efficiency at 56.0. Josh Steel is the kind of teammate you just love having on the court: he rarely needs more than one dribble to find his spots or throw down a thunderous dunk, and his pinpoint passing (3.3 apg) has been invaluable.
Don’t overlook the Asante brothers either, two lightning-quick guards who combine for over 11 points and 4 assists per game, wreaking havoc on defense with their pest-like on-ball pressure and setting up teammates with their explosive first steps .
In the semi-final, SBB kept its flawless record intact with a gritty 61–52 victory over Hoopspace. Boardman-Raffet poured in a game-high 22 points, adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while the team knocked down 12 of its 17 three-point attempts (70%) and converted 13 assists to just 10 turnovers .
CMBC: Powerhouse Precision
CMBC have looked every bit the juggernaut, pulverising opponents with a balanced arsenal that leaves rival defences guessing. Offensively, they average a league-best 77.8 points per game while holding foes to just 57.0 ppg . That suffocating defence virtually identical from positions 1-5 forces opponents into brutal low-percentage looks and scrambles the fun right out of their game.
Victor Olarerin has spearheaded CMBC’s charge, posting 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per contest while shooting 51.2% from the field, including 72.7% on two-point attempts.
James Claar, too, has been unstoppable, averaging 14.3 points and 7 rebounds on a blistering 58.3% shooting clip and a perfect 100% from the foul line.
And then there’s Luke Busumbru—the unassuming engine whose true magic eludes the box score. At first glance, his 6.3 points per game and absence of poster-worthy dunks might seem pedestrian, yet his impact is unparalleled. The ball never sticks in his hands, nor does he force up contested shots; instead, it is through his masterful control of tempo and rhythm that the entire squad feeds off him. I wish there were a way to quantify the tangible impact he makes on games—he’s been purely magnificent to watch, if you know what you’re looking for.
If Olarerin and Claar are the meat and potatoes of the meal, Busumbru is the salt and pepper: the team would be complete but bland without him, for he brings out the flavour in every teammate.
In their semi-final, CMBC dismantled The Minimum Brand with clinical efficiency, winning 81–58. Their discipline was on full display: 48% shooting overall, 62% on two-pointers, 16 assists to only 9 turnovers, and an edge on the boards (39–38), confirming that this team isn’t just powerful it’s precise.
Finals Matchup: A Study in Styles
When SBB’s multi-dimensional scoring and cohesion meet CMBC’s powerhouse precision, the chess match will be enthralling. SBB thrive on dynamic ball-movement, lethal spacing, and depth any of their six or seven contributors can seize the moment. CMBC, meanwhile, impose their will through elite two-man games and suffocating team defence, backed by textbook execution at both ends.
At the tip-off, expect Boardman-Raffet to draw the early focus, creating openings for Steel and Tchouya to feast in transition. Conversely, CMBC will look to initiate through Busumbru’s controlled pace, feed Olarerin in the mid-post, and let Claar and their shooters punish missed rotations. Defensively, both teams boast versatile athletes capable of switching across positions, so matchups will shift like quicksilver.
Ultimately, this final isn’t just about who’s the best team it’s about which style will prevail: SBB’s chemistry and depth or CMBC’s clinical dominance. Buckle up this is must-watch basketball.
Women’s Finals
Team Ruby
In stark contrast to the men’s finals, the matchup between Ruby and Diamond was far from predetermined. Both teams endured fierce semi-final clashes two nail-biters with scarcely anything separating squads in the women’s bracket. The parity of competition hit an all-time high in the semis, and that razor’s-edge intensity promises to carry through to the final.
Yes, Team Ruby enters the championship game boasting a perfect 4–0 record this season, but each of those victories has been carved out by the slimmest of margins against Emerald, who left lasting dents in what once appeared an untarnished campaign. In both semi-final rematches, Ruby and Emerald traded blows down to the buzzer, before Yazmin Edwards delivered a clutch dagger 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals to snatch a 49–45 win and preserve Ruby’s unbeaten run .
That performance was hardly an outlier: in pool play, Ruby averaged 47.3 points per game while shooting 42.9 percent inside the arc and crashing the glass for 46.3 rebounds outrubbing opponents by over six boards per contest. Edwards has spearheaded that attack from Day 1, pouring in 14.0 points and grabbing 7.0 rebounds on average, her lethal first step and dependable jumper a constant thorn in enemy defences.
Alongside her, Tiwalola Roberts has provided steady interior ballast averaging 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in pool play, and chipping in eight points and five boards in the semi to form a complementary one-two punch under the rim.
Team Diamond
Team Diamond arrive as underdogs, yet their demolition of Sapphire in the semis leaves no room for complacency. After allowing 47.8 points per game in pool play, Diamond smothered Sapphire’s high-octane offence limiting them to 54 points, well below their 57.8-point average and thoroughly asserting control on the glass with a 51–38 rebounding advantage.
They silenced Modiegi Mokoka and Lindsey Cleary both front-runners for MVP honours after pool play with season marks of 13.5 and 12.3 points per game by denying second-chance looks and staunching momentum at every turn .
At the heart of Diamond’s stifling defence sits Kat Goldsby, a whirlwind in the mould of Isiah Thomas. She races the floor like a supercharged sports car slashing to the rim or threading half-court dimes with ease averaging 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per outing on 37.5 percent shooting in pool play.
In the semi she backed that up with 15 points, 2 boards and 3 assists, igniting transition breaks with surgical precision . Chinwe Iwunze, whose season line reads 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, can truly do it all plugging leaks wherever they appear. She answered Sapphire’s early surge with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, then sealed the 59–54 victory with a critical steal and a floater in the lane.
And towering over the paint is Helene Trailin, a glass-gobbling force: she hauled in 15 rebounds (five offensive) in the semi, reinforcing her 6.7-rebound average and fuelling Diamond’s fast-break opportunities .
Now, as Ruby’s high-octane guard play gears up to meet Diamond’s suffocating defence, this final promises to be a chess match of contrasting philosophies. Will Edwards’s blistering first step and perimeter touch carve open lanes against Diamond’s league-leading 7.8 steals per game? Can Roberts stake enough post position to counter Trailin’s relentless glass-cleaning? And which pace will prevail the swift, assist-driven movement Ruby averaged (12.7 assists per game) or the stingy, turnover-hungry hunts Diamond engineered (forcing 16.3 turnovers per contest) ?
Whatever the outcome, this clash of juggernauts; with MVP resumes on the line and season-long narratives reaching their crescendo guarantees fireworks and another chapter of women’s basketball at its most electrifying. Don’t miss it.
Buy your tickets for the 2025 Hoopsfix Pro-Am finals day here – with the women’s final at 15:30 and the men’s final at 16:45.
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