Arif vs Obaid in the 2007 SABL Three Point finals

Tuesday, 03 April 2007

 

Hit Men Win the SABL Crown

Sunday, 01 April 2007

Flushing, New York (Freshly Press). - The finals came down to two teams that knew how to win close games. Hitmen, the #1 seed were the favorites coming into the game, against the Basketballers, who were involved in one of the most exciting matches I've ever seen last week in their win over the Warriors. Many experts predicted Hitmen to blow out the 'Ballers... alright, well only only two people thought that would happen. Nevertheless, tonight was anything but a blow out as two competitive teams, with two competitive crowds, went at each other for the first ever SABL championship. The game started off with the 'Ballers and Hitmen exchanging leads. One team would take a 5 or 6 point lead, then the other would quickly come back to tie. Hitmen at one point had a 12 point lead in the first half, but saw it dissolve quickly as the 'Ballers went to an efficient inside-outside game that resulted in uncontested layups and open jumpers. Nabeel and Omair had the outside touch, and Nadeem was finding mid ranged shots all day. Zeeshan was showing his defensive presence once again, along with bringing the energy the 'Ballers thrive on. Even the bench, who had been very quiet all season, decided to show up today as Atif found his way open on a few occasions under the rim. However, as well as the 'Ballers played, tonight belonged to Hitmen. The most well-balanced team in the league did what they do best; ball movement, offensive rebounds, and getting to the charity line. Zeeshan, the heartbeat of the 'Ballers, seemed flat lined as Lamba had a field day on the offensive glass. Zain didn't have his best game, but managed the pace well enough to get his teammates involved, especially Shawn, who broke the 'Ballers 2-3 defense almost every single time he touched the ball. The score was back and forth up until the 3 minute marker of the 2nd half when co-captain Ammad Sheikh, hit a momentum changing 3-pointer that drove the crowd wild, and even received a few mock “M-V-P” chants. It was Ammad's only shot of the game, and his biggest. “I didn't realize it at the time but the way everyone went nuts when it went in, I realized that this shot was pretty big”, said Ammad in a post-game interview. After exchanging a few more baskets, the 'Ballers had a chance to tie the game at 74 with 30 seconds left in the game. Nadeem, who last week hit a buzzer beater to send the game into double OT, took a contested 3-pointer and missed. However, Zeeshan was there to tap the ball right to Talha for an open 3-pointer, but Talha failed to convert and that sealed it for the 'Ballers as Hitmen made their free throws to put the nails in the coffin. Final Score: Hitmen 76 Ballers 72 Game Notes: Basketballers Naveed Ahmed 2 Rebounds 2 Steals Talha Ghumman 9 Points 7 Rebounds Nadeem Khan 19 Points 4 Assists 13 Rebounds Nabil Haque 18 Points 3 Assists 4 Rebounds Amir Omair Siddique 15 Points 4 Assists 4 Rebounds Atif Khan 4 Points Zeeshan Shaikh 4 Points 18 Rebounds 4 Blocks Hit Men Arby Sud 4 Points 5 Rebounds Simran Lamba 16 Points 3 Assists 15 Rebounds Prince Singh 2 Points 2 Assists 9 Rebounds Zain Nadeem 24 Points 3 Assists 4 Rebounds Shawn Ramani 16 Points 3 Assists 4 Rebuonds 3 Steals 1 Block Harpreet Chadha 5 Points 2 Assists 10 Rebounds Ammad Sheikh 3 Points Danish Nadeem 4 Points 2 Steals Finals MVP: Shawn Ramani

 

All Stars Are Announced

Friday, 30 March 2007

 

And then there were 2

Sunday, 25 March 2007

Hit Men 86 Titans 82 Zain Nadeem with 23 points Shawn Ramani with 23 points The dynamic duo of the Hit Men led the way with 23 a piece as the Hit Men overcame an early defecit to put away the Titans. The Titans had a late flurry with 3 consecutive three pointers by Ramin (39 points) and Pawan (17 points). The pivotal moment in the game when the Hit Men captain Prince changed the Hit Men defense from Man to Man to Zone. Titans were forced to the perimiter and their shot stopped falling, every missed shot resulted in another rebound for Simran Lamba (17 points). This allowed the Hit Men to take a lead that ultimately proved to be insurmountable. Basketballers 84 Warriors 83 Omair Siddiqui 23 Nadeem Khan 21 In perhaps the best game in the young history of the SABL it took 2 over times to come to the conclusion. This game found the Warriors with a large contingent of rabid fans some wearing t shirts bearing the Warriors on the front and #4 Andrew on the back. On the flip side you had the Basketballers bench led by Amir the loudest bench in the league. The stage was set with the Ballers taking a large 12 point lead, but after the Warriors began to press the Ballers on every possession they began to turn it over and when the run ended the Warriors were up by 4. The game went back and forth and with just a few seconds left in regulations and the ballers up by 4. The Warriors Abdullah (27 points) stole the ball and went the distance. On the very next possession the Warriors stole inbounds and Nasir (5 points) hit the game tying lay up. In the first over time the Warriors pulled away and the game seemed to be over. When Nadeem took a shot with 2 seconds left and was fouled behind the arc. After making the first 2. The Ballers chose to miss the last shot on purpose. Nadeem missed the ball and the ballers rebounded the ball and tapped in a prayer that missed and Nadeem got another Baller offensive rebound and shot a prayer that went in right after the buzzer sounded. And in Triple over time with the game tied Nabeel Haque (7points) got fouled on a base line drive with .006 on the clock and hit the first and intentionally missed the second to seal the Ballers victory. This game was one of the classiest and most competitive games in the history of SABL and it ended like it began with both teams shaking hands and walking off the court. This was anyones game and it just happened to be the day of the Ballers.

 

Welcome to the playoffs

Wednesday, 14 March 2007