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Wednesday, 08 April 2009 |
Titans vs Strong Island
Titans began this game on a nice run and Strong Island had 8 team fouls in 3 and a half minutes. With Strong Island sending Shahin who picked up 2 quick fouls to the bench the Titans took a large lead. Strong Island was not to be denied as Captain Neil bullied his way down low and began to abuse the Titans. Shaun and Richard began to grab every loose ball and the Titans who had led the entire game now were actually down. The Titans themselves found Lejoe with 4 first half fouls and Rex with 4 fouls, and Thomas Job with 3 fouls. But the hole that the Strong Island team had dug for themselves early one was too much for them to overcome as they also had many players in foul trouble. Shahin fouled out, Shaun fouled out, and Richard Reyes fouled out. That left Strong Island with only 4 players to play against the 5 Titans on the court. The Titans played a good game of keep away frustrating the Strong Island team that was set in a 4 man zone defense. With Strong Island in foul trouble and unable to foul, the Titans kept on passing the ball around daring the Strong Island team to make this a free throw shooting contest. Strong Island Captain Neil ultimately acquiesced to his teams demands and gave up, ending this Cinderella run that Strong Island had in the playoffs. |
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Monday, 06 April 2009 |
HUMANS took on Dynasty. This game started out with the HUMANS taking a commanding lead. Dynasty didn’t look in synch with out point guard Oliver. Sejdo was running point for the team which wasn’t allowing him to slash to the basket. He was looking to create instead of finish. Tim was trying his best but with out Sejdo slashing to the basket the front line of the HUMANS was focused on pushing out of the paint. HUMANS took a 12 point lead and this game was in danger of becoming a route. Khurram was a monster down low with rebounds, blocked shots and a lot of baskets in traffic. He was able to push out Tim Crane from his comfort zone. Like super man Oliver shows up, Dynasty get pumped up and excited but they are down almost 15 points. Oliver comes in and immediately tosses assist after assist to Tim and Sejdo and Dynasty roars back to not only cut the lead but to take back the lead.
The game seesawed back and forth and Sejdo and Tim were able to get to the line 23 times collectively thanks to great dishing by Oliver. The HUMANS looked like they were about to fold when Mohammed made the first SABL 4 point play in SABL history. He was fouled by Oliver as he hit the shot. He completed the 4 point play and on a subsequent miss by Dynasty hit another three to ice the game, this 7 point turnaround proved to be the difference as Dynasty wasn’t able to take the lead after that point and all of the momentum seemed to immediately shift towards the HUMANS.
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Wednesday, 01 April 2009 |
10:30am
HUMANS vs Dynasty
12:00pm
Strong Island vs Titans
Followed by the All Star Events !!!
1:30 PM
Shooting Stars
3-5 players are asked to participate in this event. It will involve making a layup, a free throw, a corner 3, a wing 3 and a half court shot under 2 minutes. The team with the best time wins a trophy!
2:30 PM
3 Point contest participants:
Defending Champ: Arif Hussain
Desert Eagles: Zeeshan Hazara
Assassins: Kashif Zeb
Ravens:
MKA: Farhan Ahmad
Strong Island: Francisco De La Cuesta
Titans: Thomas Job
Hitmen:
Basketballers:
SWAT: Tarek Yasin
Dynasty: Angel Hernandez
Panthers:
HUMANS: Osama Ahmed
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to put you on the list. |
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Wednesday, 01 April 2009 |
SWAT vs Strong Island
At game time Strong Island was ready to go while SWAT still had some players coming in and getting ready and others that showed up after the game started. SWAT who ended up missing Stanley and Steven this game didn’t seem in synch from the get go. Strong Island took a 8-10 point lead early on with Neil posting up and Shaun hitting some mid range jump shots. SWAT never really got in to a flow offensively as aside from a few post ups by Kunal and Davis down low nothing seemed to be working. Strong Island was also aided by a career game by Shahin who was easily the best player on the floor. He hit his free throws, threes in bunches, and had the crowd going ooh and aah with his lay ups. Every time SWAT made a mini run Shahin with some crazy drives to the basket was able to provide the dagger.
Dynasty vs Basketballers
Dynasty started this game with Angel scoring the first 14 points for Dynasty. Tim grabbed a lot of rebounds but was not able to block any shots. Sajeel of the Basketballers had floater after floater go in over Tim. The second half Sejdo heated up and got Dynasty on a roll. They were up by 15. The Basketballers lost Usman early on to 5 fouls. But Basketballers as they have always done fought back and took the lead. Sejdo went to work with slashes to the basket. Tim was grabbing rebound after rebound. The backcourt of Sajeel and Nabeel though were forcing turnovers and timely threes by Talha and Nabeel got Baller Nation in a frenzy. Usman was doing the baller dance on the sidelines, and it looked like one of many famous Basketballer comeback victories. But Tim Crane was not to be denied he hit his free throws and the game was tied with seconds left. The Basketballers turned the ball over but stole the ball from Dynasty, but Dynasty stole it back, and then the Basketballers stole it back, but Dynasty stole it again! Dynasty tried to get a shot off at the buzzer but we were going to overtime. In overtime Varun fouled out and from there Tim and Sejdo were able to punish the Basketballers inside. Dynasty in their first playoff game in SABL history were able to hold on and move on to the final four.
Titans vs Panthers
Rumors had swirled this match up. Will the Panthers have Jasjit and Ditar? Some insiders were making assurances that they would be there whereas others were whispering that it's possible that they wouldn't be at the game. Once the clock hit 1:30 it was clear that the Panthers would be playing with out two of their leading scorers. The Panthers fell behind early as Lejoe was able to score at will and draw fouls against the Panthers. This game looked like it was going to be a rout. Something happened to the Panthers they got the ball to one of the most unlikely heroes of the day Jagdeep. Jagdeep the diminutive point guard found himself open from the corners repeatedly and began to hit three after three after three. Every three he hit seemed to energize the Panthers even more. Soon Gurpreet began to steal the ball Amarjit began to grab every rebound and block some shots and the Panthers looked like they were going to pull this out. Lejoe picked up his 4th foul and was on the bench and so was Rex. Harjit was slashing to the paint and getting in his bank shots, but a few missed layups by assorted Panthers in crunch time was their undoing. It was apparent that the lack of a go to scorer in the last few minutes undid an otherwise phenomenal rookie season for the Panthers. The Titans Matthew Alexander had some huge rebounds in the end and was able to negate the size that the Panthers brought in to this game.
HUMANS vs HitMen
In this David vs Goliath match up the undermanned HitMen took on the entire HUMANS squad. Triggy and Maz match up vs Mohammed and Muneeb but it was the play of Mahdi grabbing 18 rebounds and Saad who had some big and 1's. The HitMen couldn't get Sinu going and he sprained his ankle midway. He did get double digit rebounds, but the HitMen just didn't have the firepower to match up against the HUMANS who just wore them out. Muneeb looked like he was on cruise control and still managed 39 points. |
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Friday, 27 March 2009 |
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ITS PLAYOFF TIME BABY!!!!!
Coming into this year, SWAT had a lot of questions marks. With almost their whole team leaving or not playing at all, Solyman had to find some talent to fill his roster and he certainly did by adding Tarek Yasin, Ahmad, Arif and Sijo to name a few. To solidify their inside presence, Stanley and his brother Steve were added mid season to give them the toughness and tenacity they were lacking. With all the different players and different strengths, Solyman has had to juggle the lineups to find players who played well together, prompting the creation of complete line changes. When SWAT is fully armed and loaded they are a deep team with big men that can wreck havoc inside. These teams have played each other twice with the new SWAT team facing Strong Island and losing 65-77, but in that game Tarek went off for 35pts and 20 rebounds. The second time they played, both teams were virtually at full strength with most of the stars playing in that game. It was a close game that came down to the end, but SWAT was able to pull it out by pounding the ball inside with Stanley and Tarek. SWAT has been known to deploy a press which lead to easy points but Solyman has backed off of that in the recent weeks. Will Solyman try to challenge the ball handing and decision making of the SI guards by employing his press? SWAT has had poor attendance which has hurt their chemistry and they haven’t help the situation with continued poor attendance leading into the playoffs. Does SWAT have the talent to win a title, I don’t see why not, but do they have the chemistry and cohesiveness to win a title, that remains to be seen.
SWAT's Keys to Victory:
1. Establish the inside game with Stanley and Tarek
2. Stay out of foul trouble
3. Control the glass
Strong Island’s season is a tale of 3 parts. Early on, Strong Island looked like an early favorite to contend for a title by smoking their competition and starting off with a 6-0 record. With some inconsistent play and Neil getting injured, they dropped their next 7 games, going to 6-7 and fading fast. Back from injury came Simran (who is hurt again) but more importantly Shaun Ramani who has provided a spark, swagger and toughness to this team that they were severely lacking. It came just in time as Mark announced that he could not play for the rest of the season(serving our country). With Richard Reyes doing his thing on the glass and scoring, and with Franciso’s shooting, Shaun’s defensive intensity SI was able to win 3 out of their last 5 games. They also have barely played with a full squad this whole season so it will be interesting to see how they all play together. Franciso, Richard, Neil and Raman have been staples all season and they have been getting contributions from other players such as Shahin. In this game, they will need to be able to crack the defense of SWAT and try to get Tarek and Stanley in foul trouble to give them an easier time on the defensive end. Strong Island certainly has the players to win this game as well as future rounds but these teams are very evenly matched so it’s going to come down to the nitty gritty plays which may determine this game.
Strong Island's Keys to Victory:
1. Ball Movement – get Richard, Shaun, Neil, Shahin enough shots
2. Get SWAT in foul trouble,
3. Don’t settle for the three point shot
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Friday, 27 March 2009 |
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VS.
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ITS PLAYOFF TIME BABY!!!!!
The HUMANS which was overhauled during the off-season has been infused with a massive amount of talent which has resulted in the deepest and most versatile team in the league. Farhan has done a great job of preaching defense as they are by far the best defensive team in the league with excellent team defensive as well as leading the league in blocks and steals. The primary scorers are Muneeb and Mohammed(aka The Scientist) who have the ability to break anyone off the dribble, finish plays for themselves or set up their teammates. With the HUMANS incredible depth and versatility, they are able to adjust defenses and exploit certain match ups on offense as well. However, the HUMANS are prone to have a drop off when Muneeb and/or Mohammed sub out. They have lapses of bad turnovers and stagnant offense which has gotten them into trouble at times during the year. Also, the HUMANS are not known as a team that shots a lot of 3’s, which could potentially be a problem if they find themselves behind or can’t hit open shots after breaking down a zone. With such a deep team, Muneeb has not been asked to carry the team on his back like last season, but everyone is aware (especially ppl from SABL season 2) that he is as clutch as they come and can deliver in crunch time if need be.
The last time the HUMANS played Hitmen, it came down to the very end as the HUMANS won on a tip in by Mehdi with seconds left on the clock. The HUMANS have to keep Triggy contained who went off on them in the second half. They also must not allow Maaz to get hot as he dropped 50 points this season during a game. The HUMANS have a clear advantage inside which they must exploit on the glass as well as on the offensive end. They say “defense wins championships”, now is the time for the HUMANS to prove that montra correct.
HUMANS' Keys to Victory:
1) Make sure Triggy doesn’t take over the game for Hitmen
2) Exploit the size advantage and dominate the paint
3) Limit the silly turnovers and stagnant offensive possessions
The Hitmen came into this year with its star players of last year moving to different teams or not playing this year. In came Triggy, who from week 1, has shown to be one of the best players in the league. Although he is small in stature, he is a tough as they come, and wills his team to victory. With the midseason acquision of Maaz, Triggy was able to do more as the pressure wasn’t solely on him. Sonu rounds out the big 3 on this team with his good toughness on the interior against bigger opponents and his ability to hit some big 3’s has helped his team eminsely. Although the Hitmen are devoid of a plethora of bigmen, Prince and Sinu have done an adimirable job of holding the interior down. They are almost dead last in rebounding, but they got scrappers and hustle players whom have provided the Hitmen with the spark and energy they need. Hitmen have shown the potential to light it up from the field with Triggy pulling up and draining 3’s or Maaz and Sinu draining 3’s as well. In this game the Hitmen must come out with a lot of energy and not be intimidated by the Humans, which they did a good job of last time they played them despite losing at the very end. Hitmen need Triggy to get “Triggy with it(patent pending)” and take over by scoring and setting up his teammates and getting the HUMANS in foul trouble. The Hitmen have a tall task here, but if they get hot from the field and don’t get dominated inside, they got a shot at pulling this one out.
Hitmen's Keys to Victory
1) Let Triggy do his thing, and get his other two primary scorers the ball in places where they can do damage
2) Try to contain the bigmen of HUMANS and not let them go off inside
3) Capitalize on bad/silly turnovers of the HUMANS and turn them into points
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