SABL had another successful season we had a lot of new faces and a lot of new winners this season. I hope everyone is enjoying the new crystal trophies. You can view the full stat sheets for each of the winners by clicking on their names. You can pick up your awards on Sundays, let the stat keepers know who you are and which award you came to collect. Some of you were not able to join us for the Spring season, do not miss out on the Summer season. You can claim your team spot now by submitting your deposits for the summer season.
I know everyone is waiting on the new basketball uniforms but we had a hiccup in the order and have to find a new supplier. In the mean time if you plan on playing now or in the future please make sure your uniform order is submitted. If you no longer want your uniform please let me know as you will be responsible for paying $20 for the first set and $15 each for any additional sets. Unfortunately, the new supplier is costing us more and there is only so much we can cover. If you do not elect to submit your order with the bulk the price will be $40 per uniform going forward. You can verify your orders by clicking on the google sheet below. Whatsapp me 347-749-3257 with any changes.
Being raised all around SABL, Playing, Stat Keeping, and Finally Officiating at a Gym Near You, Sandeep Singh has been always around. He sits down with the Rant to describe him watching his older cousins, how he got involved with Stat keeping, and now officiating under the Queens Boy’s Officials Board, 119. My conversation with Sandeep, Now.
Forgot the podcast, please take a moment to listen to it very interesting information about the league and referees.
This special edition of The Rant is a collaboration with SABL – otherwise known as the South Asian Basketball League. Our guest this episode is Kash, with a K. I like to call him the Thanos of the SABL – he’s the commissioner, he’s a player, and he’s even a basketball official. We discuss his experience in wearing all of these hats simultaneously, and discuss how Referee Rant and the SABL will work together now, and in the future. We will be starting a new podcast that will showcase SABL players each week, as well as a docu-series showing a day in the life of an official at SABL. And so, my conversation with Kash, now. Please check out more rants by Ralph at http://refereerant.com
Goon Squad vs T.M.S. was a fast passed and high scoring affair with Goon Squad winning 81 to 71. This teams seems to be unstopped every week they have a different player who breaks out with a high score this week Gurpreet Singh had a season high 28 points with a 73% FG. They have so many weapons it almost seems like they have no weak links. The administration will defiantly have to lower the talent level on this team next season. This will be the first time Goon Squad makes the playoff in SABL. T.M.S. on the other hand seems as if they are finally learning how to play together and look to be a contender at least for next season.
Wolverine vs Loud Pack was a great game where two teams that are evenly matched had a close contest with wolverines coming out on top 56 to 53. The team’s new player Michal Julka is helping turn this team around had a great shooting night along with Paul Lee who shot for 80% from the field. Loud Pack loses another close matchup captain Rashid still has a lot of coaching to do. For example Zahid Hasan is the leading scorer on the team but that’s only because he takes way too much shots then he makes. He is only shooting 34% yet taking almost 17 shots a game. I don’t know about you but no one on my team better be taking 17 shots a game and only scoring 34%. He has more shot attempts than anyone else in the league. Their best player is really Hammad Arshad who is averaging 49% with only 9 shots a game. Please get this guy the ball if you want to win. Omar Khan also putting up great number probably needs more confidence as he is not taking enough shots but has a good FG%.
Adrenaline vs Penguins was a little too physical for my taste and the word in the gym is Adrenaline likes to play a little dirty. But that’s what happens in a close sloppy game with Adrenaline winning 43 to 41. Teams be warned they have a lot of enforcers on the team along with talent so keep your wits up when you face off against them. Hammad Khan has been the backbone of this team all season but he has been in a slump the last two weeks he better wake up by playoff time if they want to win this chip. Someone has to get Ehteshamul Noor off the 3 point line this guy is scoring 57% behind the line that’s crazy probably the best in the league. The Penguins have not been playing like the championship team they once wear. They need to feed Sharif Khan more scoring 65% inside but only attempts 8 shots a game. Feed the beast if you want to make the playoff. We for see a battle for the last spot between (Imaan, Penguins, and Wolverines).
Imaan D3 vs Longshot started out as a good match up with Imaan only have 5 players but within the first 10 minutes of the game Imaan lost its cool and one of its players got ejected. They were forced to play with 4 guys the rest of the game and the team was already tired as they had just finished their game for D2 and had no chance against Longshot 5 on 4. Longshots blow out Imaan 72 to 50. Longshot has a good team but they just have not been able to finish out their closely contested games. It may be too late for them this season, but look for them to come back stronger next season.
Division 2
We knew Decepts vs Kartoos would be an easy win by Decepts 60-47 but didn’t expect Muhammad Begawala to have a break out with 24point 72% all from behind the line. Other key players continue to struggle this season but they some how always pull off the win as a team. Kartoos is really a D3 level team but they have too many decent players to qualify for D3 unless they cut some of their players. Expect to see them play in D3 next season.
Imaan D2 vs Panthers looked like a good matchup with back and forth lead changes but Imaan was short handed as always and struggled to play as a team in the second half. Ishmael Nausrudeen had a great game 9-13 shooting but they he didn’t get the ball in the second half as much. No one can argue with Omar Abrahim hustle, heart, and ability to steal the ball in a help defense but his desire to chase the ball sometimes leads to easy layups and he has been really struggling this season on offense especially behind the line only 21%. Not the 3 point shooting treat we reminder him as. They need Farhad Babury back in the lineup he has the best FG% in the entire league at 80% 20-25 shooting in 3 games. They are lucky the other two teams in the division are not at their level otherwise they would not even make the playoff this season with a 2-4 record.
Asphalt Ninjas vs Tinderwolves was not a fare matchup as Tinderwolves only had 4 players and after week 5 you are not allowed to pick up players without receiving a forfeit for the game. Tinderwolves did not disappoint as they fought really hard and finished the game off 79 to 57 with Asphalt Ninja on top. Its not easy scoring 57 points against the Ninjas.
Division 4
Force vs Trojans a very close matchup through out but Trojans still have not learned to close out games, force goes undefeated 45-41. Even with their best player out Force manages to find a way to win all their games this season. This will be the first time Force makes the playoff in a very very long time J. Love Singh seems to be struggling this season did not register a single point and was having a hard time breathing on the court, he needs to hit the gym if he wants to help his team make playoff this season. Thankfully the division is top heavy only the top two teams are too good which we will adjust next season but the rest of the teams still have a chance of making the playoffs.
NY Aces vs Jailblazers was a close matchup; the Aces attempted a last minute push and seemed as if they had enough momentum to come from behind and win the game but Arif Mohammed hit a dagger 3 pointer in the last few seconds of the game. Jailblazers won 55 to 54. Moe Abdel seems to be carrying the team as they have not lost since they acquired him. NY Aces on the other hand are a very young team and in the age of steph curry everyone wants to shoot 3 pointers. Guys have to know their strength and their weakness and their captains have to guide them to maximize their strengths. Take Avneet Gill decent player inside scoring 46% but only 2-21 from behind the line. Please do yourself and your team a favor and stop shooting 3 pointers, play your strength. Jasjot Singh you seem to be better at scoring from behind the line then you are trying to take layups. Hamza Khan is their most efficient scorer inside please feed him the ball inside. Gurkirat Dhillon your floaters do not work you are only scoring 36% inside if you going to shoot take a good shot stop driving in with floaters all the time. It also does not help that you take the most shots on the team, as point guard you have to do a better job.
Fire Squad vs Hurricanes seemed like it was going to be a blow out since Hurricanes were missing key players, but they still managed to put up a fight 46-39 Fire Squad. Usman Ghumman lead all scorers with 18 points with 41% FG. Sajeel Haque really needs to pick up his game if they want to have a shot at playoffs. Fire squad was just too efficient for them Talha Shahnawaz and Syed Shah both in the 71+ FG% easy layups. Even captain Zia Samad was 50% for the night.
This season has started off with a lot of uncertainty unsure if we were going to be able to host D1 this season or not. It had all the players scrambling for new homes and opportunities. The summer season ended the Decepts dynasty over division 2 as Trojans managed to defeat them twice in the playoffs. Mandeep has taken over the team and they will be playing under their Panthers name but without their best player Brian. As he not only acts as their point guard but also lead the team in rebounds and points. Panthers will be adding some new talent along with bringing back veterans like Vish to the team.
Gurpreet aka Goppy is bringing back Showtime and he has added MVP Maaz, scoring champ Evan, Manjot a real work horse in the paint. Gurdeep will try to win another rebounding champ award with this team. They have the bigs and the guards but can they build chemistry in time for playoff as these guys are not used to playing with one another. Prediction they will lose in the finals.
Shafiq is finally healthy enough to manage his team and ensure his guys show up to the games. They have the same core team but with Imaan it's all about attendance. Shafiq has brought back Reyad, Farhad, Tariq, Ish, Zak, Omar, Yahma, Sayar. They always had the talent now they just have to show up consistently. Our prediction this team will likely make the playoffs.
Kashif aka Kash has brought back team Omega. He has picked up Saffi aka the ring collector to ensure a fruitful season along with Azfar, Usama, big man Andre, Khurram, and Saleh who is new to the league. They have never played together so chemistry will be their biggest issue. Prediction will make it to playoff just on talent but chemistry will tell if they go far into the playoffs or not.
Eli has finally decided to bring his core NYCE team from 30+ division into division 2. But he might be in for a surprise when he realizes this division is much harder than 30+ and D3. Their team will have to work hard to make the playoff this season.
Indopreet aka Indo is bringing back Goon Squad but has added some new talent and size to his team. Gagan and Lailly will be joining them this season to give goon squad the much-needed size they been looking for. Even though this may not be enough to make playoff this season but don't sleep on this team.
Harjit is moving the Wolverines to the next level, even though his team failed to win the chip in D3. He has added some new talent with Zain and Sim, but we do not foresee this team making the playoffs.
Manu is bringing back Athelites pretty much the same group no major talent improvements although he did add Shaun who was MVP of D3 on Tuesday nights. They are going to struggle to make the playoffs again this season.
Division 3
Imaan had a great team last season but do to injuries and attendance they failed to make the playoffs once again. Shafiq has swapped out Ish for Kashif in hopes that he can bring more consistency to the team at least in attendance. Other than that the team is exactly the same.
Wolverines are also making a Division 3 team but it will not be as good as last season team or their D2 team, they are bringing in several younger players and helping them grow. This team is still a work in progress as they still have not finalized their roster. We do not foresee them making the playoffs.
Adrenaline is coming back after a season off but they are coming back without their superstar Danyal Cheema and bringing in Inthesar Noor instead. They still have their core guys but expect to see some new faces as well. We expect to see them in the playoffs this season.
Prince is bringing back team Force he has a great group of guys but even with his large 10 man roster he still sometimes has attendance issues, which was the main reason they did not make the playoffs last time. This will change this season as we expect to see them in the playoffs this season.
ICLI Lions is not a new team but they have changed a lot of faces and it will not be lead by Omar Salam. Harris Din has recruited Kashif Zeb for his scoring ability and brought back a lot of familiar faces. This team is going to be in the middle of the pack and finish the season 5-5.
Penguins were the biggest surprise when we thought they were not going to make the playoffs they surprised us by winning the championship when we thought they will get deep into the playoffs they finished in 8th place. But do not underestimate them like we have in the past they are bringing everyone back and hungry for another chip.
Lazy Snails last season champs they did not look like much other than having the ring collector Saffi on the team. He realized early he cannot just win the games for the team, that he would have to make his players better if they wanted to go far. So they had a rough start but once they started to develop some chemistry they never looked back.
Ravens who Finished last in D2 has decided to try their luck in D3. They have chemistry but were overwhelmed by D2 talent we expect them to go deal into the playoffs this season.
