| Hit Men Win the SABL Crown |
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| 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 |
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