The 2008 Yamato Cup Ball Hockey Tournament was played in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, October 11, 2008. It was fun and fast paced tournament from start to finish featuring five teams locked in hard but fair competition for the ultimate prize in Japanese ball hockey, the Golden Godzilla! The tournament was entertaining for all involved, produced some great ball hockey games to play in and to watch, and raised $1400 dollars for the Second Harvest Charity. But you don't have to believe us, just see what some of the players in the tournament had to say!!

The Yamato Cup was won by a very deserving Team Korea who beat the Tokyo Street Hockey Association in an exciting end to end final by a score of 5 to 4 with the TSHA hitting the post in the final seconds to very nearly send the game into overtime! Five teams competed in the 2008 Yamato Cup. Four teams from around Japan and one from South Korea: The Beavers (JSBHF), The Boring Sponges, Team Korea, The Misconducts (MHL), and the The Tokyo Street Hockey Association (TSHA).

The tournament featured a round robin format with each of the five teams playing four times. The top three teams (TSHA, Team Korea, and MHL) each had a 3 and 1 record with the TSHA coming out on top because of goal differential and for having defeated the number two team, Team Korea, 4 to 1 in their head to head match-up. You can check out the statistics on all of the Yamato Cup 2008 games here: Yamato Cup 2008 Results.

The results of the round robin tournament eliminated the hardworking JSBHF Beavers from the tournament and set up two exciting semifinals: TSHA vs The Sponges, and MHL vs Team Korea. In the first semi-final, The TSHA disposed of their bitter rival, The Sponges, 8-2 in a battle that saw its share of sweet passes, nice saves, and plenty of back and forth action. The victory propelled the TSHA into the final against the victor of the second semi.

The second semifinal pitted the MHL and Team Korea against one another for the right to play the TSHA in the final. The MHL played their fast passing game and brought the game to the hard checking, play making Team Korea. It was an exciting game, and very much in the balance in the first half, but Team Korea pulled away in the end winning 5 to 2 and setting the much anticipated showdown for the Golden Godzilla with the TSHA.

This meant that the fourth place Boring Sponges and MHL would meet in the following game that would decide which team would claim the Silver Gamera. Despite a solid effort from some undermanned and exhausted Sponges the MHL dominated the game with their superior team work and quickness, overwhelming the Sponges 8 to 2 to claim third place, and the Silver Gamera, for their own.

This left only the final between the TSHA and Team Korea to decide the Champions of the 2008 Yamato Cup. The final was fast paced and hard fought from start to finish with the TSHA taking the lead and Team Korea fighting their way back into the game and finally overtaking the TSHA 5 to 4 in the final minutes. In the dying seconds the TSHA poured it on and got as close as hitting the post just before the final buzzer sounded to end the final game, and announce Team Korea's victory. Team Korea players were then presented with the Golden Godzilla championship trophy and medals.

The final results of the tournament were as follows: 1st Place - Team Korea - Winners of the Golden Godzilla! 2nd Place - The TSHA - Winners of the Silver Gamera! 3rd Place - The Misconducts - Winners of the Bronze Mothra! 4th place - The Boring Sponges - Winners of the kazoo... 5th place - The Beavers

After a quick shower for all the player the awards party kicked off a long night of partying from 9PM with individual awards being given out as follows:

MVP - Scott Lumsdon (Team Korea) Leading Scorer - Jamal Stephenson (Team Korea) and Colin Kozik (TSHA) Rookie of the Tournament - Valerie Prentice (The Beavers) Best Defensemen - Greg Goodfleish (TSHA) Best Goalie - Casey Lambert (TSHA) Most Fun - Tomohiro Takayama (The Misconducts) Most $ Pledged - Paul Robertson (The Boring Sponges) Most $ Raised - Dennis Ota (The Misconducts) The Energizer Award - John La Cara (TSHA/The Beavers/Referee/Organizer) The Yamato Cup Award - Nathan Briffa (The Boring Sponges)

After the individual trophies had been cheered by all, the players headed into the Tokyo night to find out why the Yamato Cup is definitely not about the hockey!!

Finally, check out some of the great playmaking in some videos from the 2008 Yamato Cup.

Next year's tournament, The Yamato Cup 2009, will again be held in Kita Senju in Tokyo, Japan on October 10, 2009. Please see The 2009 Yamato Cup website for details on how to sign up as a team or individual.