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Source: Southasianbasketball.com

Clash of the Titans
by Rick Buford

On Friday April 18, 2008, the two remaining survivors of an exciting SABL season will face off for the right to be called “Season II Champions”. The match-up comes as no surprise to early-season analysts who had the Basketballers perched atop the power rankings to start things off with the Titans right below them.

What may raise a few eyebrows, however, is how these two teams were able to pick themselves up and wake up from their late season malaise in time for playoff runs. Both squads were all but counted out after suffering repeated defeats at the hands of rival contenders like the Triple Threat, HUMANS, and Spartans. The heart of a champion, as they say, should never be underestimated.

The ‘Ballers are all too familiar with the bright lights and pressures of finals action, as they come off an ‘06/’07 SABL campaign finishing in 2nd after being handed a close loss in the finals against the Hit-men. Speaking to members of the team after the loss, you could just feel the disappointment’s in their words as they tried to remain modest. The bitter sting of those kinds of losses is sometimes the only motivation needed to get back there again and make things right.

Unsatisfied and coming away without Hardware, Nadeem and the ‘Ballers didn’t rest on their laurels during the off-season. They made room for their “glue” guy, Usman Ghumman, who hasn’t disappointed with his seemingly unlimited amount of energy. Usman has also brought additional leadership, defense, and rebounding to a team that was hardly lacking in those areas. The other key addition has been SG Sajeel, whose ability to score in a hurry and cover the perimeter has provided the ‘Ballers with even more depth.

Nadeem seems to have snapped out of his 2nd half “funk” and his shots are finally starting to drop again. Talha’s inconsistency in the paint has been worrisome, but it’s interesting to note that the ‘Ballers are near-unbeatable when plastic-man sniffs double-double territory. Team defense, rebounding, and unselfish play has bought the ‘Ballers another trip to the finals, but offensive droughts and a lack of true size down-low against dominant big men could send them home empty handed yet again.

Enter Stanley, the mightiest Titan of them all. Stanley has been one of the most dominant forces in the paint all season long and is a big reason Titans finished the season in 2nd place and find themselves one win away from the cup. Credit Pawan for recognizing the signing Stanley in the off-season to address the team’s biggest need from last season: Size. He didn’t stop there, though, as Titans’ also added the muscle of Juby, Semal, and Tomy to transform what was once a perimeter-oriented guard-heavy team into arguably the biggest team in the SABL.

In the back-court, Pawan and Jason have proven to be 3-point specialists and Sepan is as scrappy as they come, but the real motor on the perimeter has been Raman “Hollywood” Kohli. He gets to the line with consistency and finds ways to finish around the rim on his numerous forays into the paint every game.

Like the ‘Ballers, the Titans are a strong rebounding team and they force opponents into a league-leading number of turnovers. The Titans are usually the aggressors, but have been noticeably passive in all their losses this season. They’ve had trouble with speedy guards and high-pressured defenses on several occasions.

This much is clear: both teams want it though only one team can get it. ‘Baller nation will be out in full force once again and the home-court atmosphere that results could tip the scales in their favor. On the other hand, dating back from last season’s playoffs, Pawan has proven to be a master strategist in big games, almost always finding a way to get his guys to overachieve. He may have been away on his honeymoon for the past two weeks, but don’t be surprised if he found some time on the beach to devise a ‘Baller-beating game-plan.

See you in Bayside.