Wow, looks great Svip! I can't tell for sure, but is the blade beveled slightly? For your hilt, did you use the groove method to slip it onto the core or the hole method to slid it on? Either way, lookin' good. One thing I found works REALLY well for basket hilts and cross guards is minicell. You can find it in walmart commonly sold as "high impact" gym floor mats. It comes in black sheets, 2' x 2', and about 4 sheets per pack. Downside is each pack runs about $18.00.
I used the stuff for some crossguards once and it worked like a charm. Its so dense that you can make a pretty low profile hilt and cut down on layering.
As for the pommel, the rules don't specifically state that it has to be cylindrical like typical pommels are, only that they cannot pass >0.5" through a 2.0" hole. So as long as there is foam covering the bottom of the basket hilt (ie. its more than just core there) you don't need to put a "pommel" there. Although I'd recommend putting at east a disc or two on the bottom of the hilt just to be sure.