Choice Weekend Selections

Tuesday, 17 March 2009

The final weekend of regular season games is upon us and seven teams have clinched their playoff birth with only the 4th seed in the West still up in the air with Hitmen (9-8) and MKA (8-9) both vying for that spot. In the East, the #1 seed is up for grabs as Panthers (11-6) and SWAT (11-6) share identical records, though Panthers currently hold the tie-breaker. The first and second selections have come in and Dynasty are on the clock to submit their selection by 3:00 PM today or their turn will be skipped. HUMANS vs. Basketballers @ 8:30 PM Panthers vs. SWAT @ 7:00 PM Dynasty vs. MKA-NY @ 12:00 PM HitMen vs. Desert Eagles @ 1:30 PM Titans vs. Strong Island @ 10:30 AM Ravens vs. Assassins @ 3:00 PM

 

March 15th Recap

Tuesday, 17 March 2009

Dynasty v Titans #3 v #3 led off the morning and Titans actually had their 1/2 punch of Tom and Lejoe to matchup with Tim and Sejdo. As anticipated though, Titans still had a short roster of 6 having to fend with a deeper Dynasty team. Early on Titans stayed stride for stride with Dynasty and there was even a Darius John sighting on the inside with some strong moves against Tim Crane. All 4 stars produced as we have become used to, but Dynasty got great production from role players Sonu(10) and Oliver allowing them to pull away in the last 10 minutes to lock the game. Another Dynasty game where Dynasty and their opponent break the 100 point barrier. Desert Eagles v Assassins Maybe the Assassins captains didn't get the memo and felt the season was not over as only 2 players showed up and couldn't get in touch with anyone else on the team. Desert Eagles get their first win and participated in some good pickup games against the 2 Assassins and other league players willing to participate. There is a chance these two meet again next week so lets see if Desert Eagles get another shot at winning one on the court. Hitmen vs Strong Island Strong Island seeming to be back on a skid came in with only 5 players to a game that would seal a playoff birth with a win. They were missing Neil, Lamba, and Shaun while team Hitmen, needing to ensure they stay one game ahead of MKA for the 4th playoff spot, came in with all hands on deck. There was a Raman "Bollywood" Kohli sighting in this game and he did everything he could to keep SI in the game but with only 5 players it simply wasn't enough to contain the Hitmen firepower. Sinu has established himself as the #3 threat behind Triggy and Maaz as the Hitmen seem to be hitting stride at the right time. They control their destiny. Next week, they win and they are in. HUMANS v Panthers This was the #1 vs #1 game and on the message boards at least, Panthers were given a slight edge due to their more consistent play while HUMANS entered struggling on the offensive end. Either way, this had the potential to be a statement game for one of these two top teams. Early on it was a story of good defense combined with a lot of foul calls that prevented either team from hitting their stride. Late in the first half though, Mohamed was able to penetrate the Panthers defense, finish at the basket and/or draw fouls to capture all the momentum in the HUMANS favor and close out the half with a 20+ point lead. As the second half started though, Panthers made a run and several minutes in, they cut the lead down to 13 with the help of some timely shots from Jagdeep. Panthers continued to execute well but were caught on an off night where only Jagdeep was able to find his range from 3 point land. 13 points was the closest they would get as the usual hot hands of Jasjit and Ditar couldn't find the bottom of the net at their typically blistering pace and that allowed the HUMANS, with another great half from Mohamed, to pull away again and maintain a 22 point win. MKA v Ravens With SI losing earlier in the day, this was the chance Ravens needed to keep their playoff hopes alive. But they were to face an MKA team themselves poised to stay on the Hitmen's heals looking for that last playoff spot. The playoff atmosphere was on but sadly, due to a very quick start, or rather slow start by the Ravens, the potential for a great game never materialized. In the first 7 minutes, MKA made most of their open looks while Ravens struggled to square up to the basket on open looks and shot a very low percentage leading to a 23-6 lead for MKA. Ravens seemed to be lacking composure and energy which probably had a lot to do with the fact that they were missing Joe and Justus. Khurram as usual found his shooters when they were open for another 7+ assist night and Rahul, although started slow, really got going midway through the game and put up another 30+ point performance. A good late run in the season for Ravens keeping their hopes alive but sadly their dream of making it in the final 4 ended this past Sunday. SWAT v Basketballers. The 1st half was pretty ugly with both teams missing quite a few open opportunities and not many fast breaks going on. The 'Ballers did a good job of containing the SWAT front line in that 1st half and managed to get an 11 point lead early in the 2nd looking to be well on their way to a win against SWAT who couldn't find much energy on offense. But SWAT did have the best scorer on the floor who found his stroke just when his team needed it the most. Tarek rained down 4 LONG threes in a row and followed up with a rebound and putback that erased the Baller lead in a matter of minutes. SWAT got their groove back, tightened up the defense and Steve Thomas provided the most energy continuing to get offense rebounds and putbacks which broke the Baller's backs. Arif got involved in the scoring from long range and SWAT managed to go up by 8 with two minutes left. A barrage of late three's by 'Ballers kept them alive (4 three's in a row!) but SWAT was able to knock down their free throws and hold on with poise.

 

Recap of 3/8 Games

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

Dynasty vs. Desert Eagles Game one featured the winless but gutsy Deagles team facing a red-hot Dynasty led by Tim and Sejdo. Deagles suited up only 5 players and were missing their primary scorer in Zeeshan but put in another very respectable effort. The lack of depth was too much though as most any player trying to guard Tim ended up in quick foul trouble to the point where Tim began playing the game half speed. The game did see a 20+ point gap but Desert Eagles faught back late to cut the game close to 10 points. Another huge game for Tim (stats pending) MKA-NY vs. Basketballers The second game at flushing was a cricial one for MKA as they faced a Basketballer team coming off their first loss in 5 games looking to get back on the winning track. For MKA it was a chance to draw even with a Hitmen team (ready to face the HUMANS immediately after this game) for the 4th spot in the West. As the game started neither team was lighting it up from the outside and thus the battle insued inside with Varun banging for 14 first half points and Kashif battling for 12 first half points on the inside. It was a close game at that point with MKA holding on to a 4 point lead. As the 2nd half started, Ballers crumbled a bit. They gave up a few easy baskets, got upest about some calls and it lead to a technical foul which netted MKA a 10 point cusion. Ballers as usual were not to be denied as they found fire in the hands of Nabeel, who along with the other guards Sajeel and Suleman rained 3s to cut the gap and eventually take the lead. In the final minutes Ballers executed very well while MKA, lacking depth, seemed to run a bit out of gas. Omair Siddiqui did suffer a pretty serious injury and we wish him a speedy recovery. Hitmen vs. HUMANS Game 3 pitted a Hitmen team looking to put a gap between them and MKA but they had to face the #1 team in the league to do so. From start to finish Hitmen were game and brought an absolute playoff style atmosphere. Triggy again led the way distrubuting the ball and also exploiting being given the chance to shoot from the outside by having a huge first half with Muneeb doing his part to keep pace. The Hitmen held onto a 38-36 lead going into half time. In the second half it was more of Triggy and Muneeb but HUMANS also slowed it down to exploit the size mismatches inside and that prevented Hitmen from capturing all of the momentum which was certainly swinging in their favor. The game remained very tight going into the final minutes and despite missed free throws from the Hitmen side, the HUMANS were also not scoring which gave Hitmen multiple chances to ice the game. On two close calls the Hitmen committed crucial turnovers instead of securing the ball including the second one with 11 seconds to go and them up by 1. The HUMANS got one final shot. Karman drove to the basket putting up a shot in traffic which seemed to roll around for 3 minutes on the rim but came off leading to a putback attempt by Fahad which again rolled around for seemingly another minute but came off and then another tip by Mahdi which again seemed to sit on the back iorn for 3 minutes until it finally rolled in. That had to be the longest 8 seconds of the season for both teams but HUMANS got the final roll to escape with a win. Titans vs. Panthers The capper at Jamaica featured a Titans teams suiting up only 5 guys against the usual depth of Panthers. Titans however were not taking this game lightly and gcame out strong. Despite Tom Job not being on fire in the first half (much to do with the trouble Jasjit's lenght gave him) his teamates stepped up around him including timely 3s by Jason and a big game on the boards from Matt. Panthers had their standard Ditar to Jasjit combo in full effect yet again and got a solid all around effort from Jagdeep who was close to a tripple double. The game was very competitive going into the 2nd half and Tom Job began to drop a few more threes to keep pace but in the end the Titans simply didn't have the legs to make their jumpers or run with Jasjit up and down the court who dropped yet another 40 point game. Panthers lock up the #1 seed and are primed to face the HUMANS in matchup weekend in the 1 vs 1 game. Ravens vs Strong Island Ravens came in to this game losers of their last game vs SWAT. Strong Island was coming off a huge win against the Titans last week. This game showed what Strong Island has become. Strong Island started the game with only 5 players. The Ravens had a full and deep squad and were led by Ajesh who was setting up his teammates for a season high 11 assists. Strong Island had Richard Reyes in foul trouble but no one to sub in for him. The Ravens were now up by as much as 13 points, when Shaun Ramani entered the game with 12 minutes to go in the 2nd half. Shaun's heroics weren't enough as his 7 points and 3 steals in just 12 minutes could have been the difference if he had arrived earlier. Strong Island once the SABL's most feared team now is looking like an appetizing potential first round match up for many of the top teams. The Ravens seemed to put it together too little too late, as yesterdays Ravens potentially looked like a first round nightmare for another team as they went on to beat Strong Island by 20+ points. Assassins vs SWAT First time these teams met up the Assassins looked like they were turning their season around. They took a SWAT team that looked overrated and an Assassins team that looked as if it would have a punchers chance each night. The Assassins were coming off of a game against the Panthers when they showed a lot of heart and fire. So with the rematch against SWAT the Assassins reverted to old form and arrived late to the game. SWAT started out with a 11-1 lead. The Assassins with only 4 players then found themselves down 16-9. So had the Assassins actually arrived on time they would have been up. With some key time outs by both teams it allowed the Assassins to suit up their 5th player with just 1 minute left. By the end of the first half the Assassins had most of their players. But it was too little too late as SWAT went to town. Stanley down load, Arif shooting threes, and Tarek on the give and go's. This looked like a tune up for the playoffs for SWAT as they were over passing at times, where each player touched the ball not once but maybe even twice on each possession. Some late threes by Quame and Vince allowed the Assassins to get pumped up, but the entire game they were playing more for clock stoppage then the actual game. Another game at Flushing was a 20+ point differential.

 

East vs. West Match-ups

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

The last two regular season weeks of the season are upon us with plenty of playoff seeding implications. First up is "East vs. West" which pits the corresponding seeds of each division against their counterparts on the other side. As a perk to the seed with the better record (or that holds the tie-breaker between the two teams) they will get to choose their preferred time slot starting with the highest seed, the HUMANS. The league will contact each captain in order to determine the schedule. Breakdown: HUMANS* (#1 West - 14-2) vs. Panthers (#1 East - 11-5) @ 3:00 PM Basketballers* (#2 West - 10-6) vs. SWAT (#2 East - 10-6) @ 8:30 PM Dynasty* (#3 West - 10-6) vs. Titans (#3 East - 9-7) @ 10:30 PM Hit-Men* (#4 West - 8-8) vs. Strong Island (#4 East - 8-8) @ 1:30 PM MKA-NY* (#5 West - 7-9) vs. Ravens (#5 East - 6-10) @ 7:00 PM Desert Eagles (#6 West - 0-16) vs. *Assassins (#6 East - 3-13) @ 12:00 PM *denotes tie-break holder or higher seed

 

Recap of 3/1 Games

Tuesday, 03 March 2009

Titans v Strong Island It was a battle of two short-handed teams as each only had 6 players suited. The Titans' Thomas Job showed why he's the best shooter in the league as he had a 50+ point performance. However, Strong Island with its balance attack (all 6 scored in double figures and 3 players with double-doubles including a 20-20 game by Richie Reyes) propelled SI to an early double-digit lead and the victory. Dynasty v MKA-NY This was a close game in the first half with Dynasty running up and down the court and MKA countering with solid ball movement and a fierce outside attack in the half court. The two man punch of Dynasty in Tim and Sedjo combine for 77 of the teams 96 points. Tim Crane alone dropped 43 points and 29 rebounds! Sejdo also had a tremendous performance with 34 points and 14 rebounds. MKA's Farhan Ahmad knocked down 7 three-pointers in defeat. HUMANS v Basketballers HUMANS held the Basketballers to just 19 first half points and maintained a 7-10 point lead for most of the 2nd half until late in the game when Basketballers went on one of their patented runs. It was a one possession game in the last couple of possessions with HUMANS holding on to a 55-52 win. Sajeel exploded for 21 points and 3 steals. Muneeb scored 19 points and grabbed 14 boards. SWAT v Ravens This was a do or die game for the Ravens in keeping their playoff hopes alive, and they came out swinging. After SWAT took an early 10-point lead with an effective press, the Ravens settled in and made SWAT pay with a barrage of 3's led in the first half by Tom John. Ravens managed to scratch out a 5-point lead in the 1st half before SWAT closed the gap by half-time. In the 2nd half, SWAT tightened up their "D" and managed to keep the Ravens shooters in check on their way to a 13-point lead. SWAT's front court did a tremendous job of battling the beefy Ravens front line with Tarek dropping 20 points and 16 rebounds . Sijo and Steven provided lots of energy off the bench. 83-68, SWAT. Panthers v Assassins The result was almost a foregone conclusion. Panthers started and played most of the game with a mix of their first and second teams. Both sides had fun up and down the court but the short-handed Assassins, missing Quane and Tim Ahmed, were no match for the depth of the Panthers. Stats not yet available, but rest assured, it was a blow out. Hitmen v Desert Eagles Yet again the Deagles came out strong, this time against the offensive minded Hitmen, even taking a 25-15 lead midway through the first half. That's when Triggy decided his team wasn't going to be that team and brought his team back almost single-handily. The game stayed relatively close from that point on with the 3-point shooting of Zeeshan, Harvey, Hani and Walid keeping Deagles within striking distance. Triggy and Maz were not to be denied though, pulling out the game comfortably towards the end.