SABL 2010 Champions!

Monday, 15 March 2010

Finals Recaps: Congratulations to the HUMANS for winning the West championship and to 24/7 for winning the East championship. Both teams showed exemplary teamwork and sportsmanship on their road to the top. What separated these two teams in the playoffs from their counterparts was an extremely high commitment to defense. Not only were opponents smothered in the paint, but they were forced into countless turnovers and rushed shots. Defense wins championships, as they say. The HUMANS rushed out to a quick 10-point lead against the Hitmen with a long-range barrage of threes. Hitmen regrouped after a time-out and cut into a HUMANS’ 20-point lead shortly before the half, whittling it down to 7. That was the Hitmen’s best stretch of basketball as they hit a few threes and found cutters on the way to the basket for easy layups. The crowd was sensing a shift in momentum to the Hitmen side, but that was short-lived when Abdullah hit a pair of three’s to push the HUMANS lead back up. A few costly turnovers later by the Hitmen put the game out of reach. HUMANS went on to a comfortable win with all their players getting involved in the scoring. Although many HUMANS’ players came up big in the win, it was Abdullah’s performance that put the stamp on the win, which is why he gets West Finals MVP honors. In the East Finals, 24/7 was the clear aggressor for most of the game. They put constant pressure on the ball and rushed the passing lanes which rattled the normally composed Styl team into 25 turnovers, which is more than twice their season average. To make matters worse, Styl’s offense sputtered for long portions of the game, especially to start the second half. It was a game of missed opportunities for Styl. Not only were they forced to play 24/7’s fast-paced style, they were simply unable to keep 24/7 off the ‘boards on a consistent basis. The majority of 24/7’s points came off put-backs and fast-breaks. Despite Styl’s game long struggles, they somehow managed to cut the 20-point deficit to just 3 with two minutes left. Styl missed four contested layups on one possession, which pretty much sealed the deal as they were forced to foul the rest of the way. There were many great performances by 24/7 players, but Yassine and Mahdi share MVP honors for the win. As a consolation prize, the HUMANS and 24/7 get to go head-to-head in a West vs. East exhibition match for bragging rights @ 1:30 PM RFK. Their trophies will be presented after the game. At 3:00 PM, we’ll have the West vs. East All-Star game. The East squad will include the selected all-stars from the East teams plus Strong Island and the four non-playoff teams out of the West. Saad will coach the West, while Emosh will coach the East. All-Stars selected from the championship teams will be the reserves and should only play if either team is short players. At 4:30 PM, we’ll have the 3-point shoot-out. One player from each team can participate by showing up. League MVP’s, All-Star Selections, and All-Defense Teams will be announced shortly.

 

The Final Countdown!

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

 

League Playoff Results

Monday, 08 March 2010

Analysis: In the east, 24/7 jumped out to a 10-point lead against the favorite Styl. 24/7 definitely caught Styl off guard and it was the first time Styl found themselves on their heels and looking nervous all season long. Styl is hoping they can slow the tempo and claw back into it for game two as they can't let 24/7 run away with it again like they did the first game. It will be interesting to see the adjustments both teams make! As they have done during the regular season, Rukus ran SWAT out of the gym by pushing the tempo and picking their defense apart. SWAT's scoring wasn't enough to keep them in the game. SWAT unraveled by half-time. The high Rukus had from the 20-point blow out was short-lived, however, as they had to play Hitmen after a short break. Despite an early lead by Rukus, Hitmen battled back and their fresh legs helped them keep Rukus at bay. Rukus walked off devastated as Hitmen now prepares for a finals match-up against the HUMANS. Hitmen has been the Cinderella team so far, but can the magic last one more week? Hitmen will have to do the unthinkable and beat HUMANS twice in one day to reach 2-time champion status. One game at a time, fellas...

 

Updated '10 Playoff Brackets

Tuesday, 02 March 2010

 

League Playoff Results

Monday, 01 March 2010

East Analysis: Adrenaline got knocked out of the East's final four by Styl in a game that was pretty close. It seems Adrenaline played with more cohesion this time around and nearly matched Styl's point total because, remember, Adrenaline started the game down 28 points from last week. In the other bracket, 24/7 held off a determined Strong Island team to win 83-82, despite being up 14 points to start the game. The finals is now set between 24/7 and Styl. May the best team win! West Analysis: In the first game, the two remaining undefeated teams battled it out in a game that was a defensive showdown. The HUMANS prevailed by nearly twenty points over the underdog Hitmen. The Strong Island vs. SWAT game was one for the ages and the first triple overtime game in SABL's history. Neither team could close the other out until SWAT came up with big defensive stops at the end of the third OT. In the final game, Rukus' offensive firepower was just too much for the Titans to keep up with despite Thomas Job's great performance. HUMANS get a bye week and advance to the finals, and they will receive practice time during an open gym slot. Rukus will play SWAT this coming Sunday with the winner having to play Hitmen after a short break on the same day. The winner of that will have to defeat HUMANS twice the following week to win the championship. There's one other practice slot available for any of the remaining playoff teams, so please email Ahmad G. if your team is interested.