Eastern Conference Power Rankings

1.  24/7 (3-0): This team is plain scary. We are tempted to say that Yassine is the early MVP of the East, but he might not even be the best player on his team! One thing is for sure, Yassine has been playing like one so far. But he is only one fish in a large pond. 24/7 boasts a plethora of talent, which includes Yassine, new-comer Mohamed Elfatihi, Jeff Snipoglesby, and 2010-’11 SABL East MVP Jonathan Roman who has quietly been cruising along. Any one of these guys can dominate a variety of positions on any different night. Last season 24/7 had a great start, but had some mid-season blues before dominating the end of the season and playoffs. Will they have a similar slump this season? Will it matter? At the risk of being too early to say, a three-peak is all but certain.

 2. Outlaws (3-0): These SABL newcomers have been proving their doubters wrong week-after-week. With their youth, hustle, talent and depth, they can shoot lights-out on any given Sunday, and are led by Nikil Kumar and Tobin Varghese. Get this – the Outlaws are averaging an SABL-high 73.7 ppg – that’s 9 most points than even the run-and-gun offense of 24/7. A week 4 match-up against the Red Jags should size up exactly how good this team is and how much of a serious contender they are to 24/7.

3. Red Jaguars (2-1): These seasoned vets of SABL had been exceeding expectations until a disheartening loss to 24/7. Especially after a close playoff loss to 24/7 last year, the SABL community was buzzing this as the game of the week. But the RJs showed some vulnerable moments, with new-comer Ceon Stewart losing his cool, which affected his play. Expect Dennis and co. to rebound quickly from the loss to 24/7 with another highly-touted game of the week against the undefeated Outlaws. The Jags roster is deep and their attendance issues seem to be resolved.

4. Primetime (1-2): Primetime boasts great individual talent like a solid big-man in Stanley Thomas. No team can clog up the paint like PT does. They also showcase a supporting cast of Niraj and Salman. However as a team they have been suffering from a lack of teamwork and chemistry, especially late in games. Look for Stanley to be the glue guy as this team starts to mature and solidify in the SABL East.

5. A-Team (1-2): The only reason we have not put this team in the bottom two spots is based on reputation. The 2010/’11 runner-ups have lost 2 straight games WITH their MVP Joshua Frazier on hand. Teams are figuring out how to double-team him and overcome the supporting cast. One thing is for sure, this team needs someone to consistently be a Robin for their Batman. They are dying for someone to fill the shoes of Mingo from last year. Who will rise to the challenge?

6. Wolverines (1-2): Alain, Shergeel, Jasjot, Arvin and company come to play hard every week, but they have been suffering from a lack of attendance. With the Wolverines averaging only 6 players, fatigue is definitely an issue. Alain Wehder is displaying an MVP-caliber season, but unless this team gets some wins, he will likely not receive any recognition. In addition, this team struggles at consistently stopping their opponents from scoring. Will they find some added chemistry against a winless Desert Eagles team this year? It should be a good matchup.

7. Force (1-2): The Force has entered the top half of the East with new-comer Joe Fitt having a huge SABL debut of 15 points, 18 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Add him to a line-up of SABL All-Star veterans, including Alex, Biju, and Jones and this is a scary team. Alex has been having an MVP caliber season so far, averaging nearly 20 points and 2 threes per game. Expect big things from a newly revamped Force team.

8. Desert Eagles (0-3): Enter Walid back into the mix and the DEs have a solid 1-2 punch with Walid and Harvey. However the DEs are really missing PG Andy’s energy, hustle, and leadership from last year. The supporting cast must step up. Attendance issues, a relatively slow start by Harvey by his All-Star standards, and the lack of a consistent supporting cast has led to a winning campaign so far. However Adam and his army have a history of picking it up in the 2nd half of the season. Will their winless campaign change on Sunday with a win against the struggling Wolverines?

Eastern Conference Week 4 Predictions

Wolverines vs Desert Eagles

The Wolverines have been fun to watch in their debut season, but they suffer from a thin 6 man roster that shows up every week. The Desert Eagles can relate – Week 1 they forfeited due to lack of players and Week 2 they had a 5 man roster. But it seems that captain Adam Elfiky got the message to his team, as they showed up with 8 players last game including perennial All-Star Walid. Alain Wehder himself is making an All-Star impression and his supporting cast is playing hard but at the end of games they look tired. Look for this one to be a battle of attendance. If the DEs show up with more than 7 players, look for them to edge the Wolverines 53 – 50.

Primetime vs A-Team

Primetime is coming off a huge win against the Wolverines last game with an MVP-like performance by Khurram Shahzad. With full attendance, this very well might be a top 4 team in the East with the limiting factor being their team chemistry (no pun intended). Only time will tell. The A-Team has been the talk of the league this season, but for the wrong reasons. The 2010-‘11 SABL East runner-ups have gotten off to a surprisingly slow start, even with Josh Frazier. Their only win was from a week 1 forfeit courtesy of the Desert Eagles. With that being said, we expect them to pick it up sooner-or-later. A win this week would put them on the right track. A-Team wins 60-58.

Force vs. 24/7

The 2010-‘11 SABL East champs have been rolling through the East this year with blowout-win after blowout-win. Their routing of the Red Jags last game was perhaps the most convincing reason why they are untouchable. But don’t court the Force out just yet. Last game they debuted big-man Joe Fitt who dominated the paint and the boards. With a legitimate big-man in the mix, this team is looking scary. Alex Samain has been on a scoring rampage this year. 24/7 creates matchup problems for any team with multiple swingmen that love to run. The Force must contain them in order to win. This is a task easier said than done. 24/7 over Force 70-61.

Red Jaguars vs Outlaws

This is undoubtedly the match-up of the week as it determines who is the biggest threat to dethrone 24/7. The Red Jaguars proved futile in this effort last week, as they were manhandled by 24/7. All-star candidate Ceon Stewart was flustered and could not contain his cool. The Outlaws boast that they are the only 3-0 team in the East besides 24/7. They offer a talented, youthful team filled with multiple shooters and endless hustle. This game also features the battle of the Lukose brothers (Siju vs Biju) on opposite teams. This should be an interesting one that can go either way, with the Red Jags winning this one 58-56.

Western Conference Week 4 Predictions

East

PrimeTime vs. Wolverines
PT was still looking for their first ever SABL win and were hoping to get it agains the streaking Wolverines that were coming off of an impressive win of their own against A-Team last week.  The game was a battle from tip off as both teams were showing excellent team ball.  Second half was a different story as Khurram and co. took over the paint and got a few key baskets off of some timely turnovers from the Wolverines.  The team we thought would win it all this year in the East was able to get their first win today.  Perhaps a foot in the right direction. Watch out.  PT over Wolverines 62 - 53

24/7 vs. Red Jags
Arguable the most talked about game this week, and the game of the week voted by everyone on the message board.  This was going to be a true test for defending champs 24/7 and it did not dissapoint.  Although this great game was tarnished by some foul play on both sides, the heat was quickly cooled off and 24/7 came out victorious.  Yassine was unstoppable in the second half and was able to take Ceon off the dribble and to the basket on numerous occasions.  Some say he single handly won the game for 24/7.  These guys look great right now and primed for a 3 peat.  Best part about it is....Jon R. is very quiet this season.  Wait till he wakes up.  24/7 over RJ in a big win 65 - 47.

Desert Eagles vs. Force
One of these teams would be joining moving up and leave the other as the only winless team in SABL East.  2 very evenly matched teams made for a fantastic and very entertaining game as Force was able to notch their first win of the year and knock off DE.  On the bright side, this game could have gone either way and DE has brought back Walid who made a big impact on the team. Once they get their wheels in motion, expect DE to start surprising some people.  But for now, they suffer another loss.  Force wins 64 - 58.

A-Team vs. Outlaws
The final game of the night was very close game for those who stayed and watched.  Josh Frazier is simply a beast from A-Team.  He carried the load in this game as he was fed the ball Shaq style was unable to be stopped.  Outlaws on the other hand, made a few adjustments in the second half and decided to use their size as well to match up with Josh.  Double teaming him in the paint and causing some timely turnovers and bad shots let to them creeping away in the second half.  Outlaws are no joke and after this big win against A-Team, they find themselves along with 24/7 as the only undefeated teams in the East.  Cant wait to see the matchup against 24/7 in weeks to come...going to be a good one.  Outlaws over A-Team 77 - 73.