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Congrats to the 2008 SABL Champions, The Basketballers!

Mad props to Omair, Sajeel, Nadeem, Talha, Usman, Nabeel, Naveed, Zeeshan, Atif, and Amir.

The Softballers defeated The Titans 67-55 to win the 2008 SABL Championship. However, the game was filled with its own drama. The first half went back and forth most of the way. The Ballers’ started off in an offensive drought with many missed layups and overall poor shooting. The Ballers called timeout midway through the first half to reset the defense and bring some life back into the team:

Later in the first half, SG Omair Siddiqui, who was continually driving past the titans defense only to get fouled, get to the basket, or feed his teammates for open shots, was controversially ejected from the game. In what can only be described as an atrocity to the game of basketball, Omair was rejected from the finals after a titans player shoved him after fouling Omair! Omair supposedly provoked the shove - which is nothing but pure BS… Its obvious that if the titans player never shoved omair - nothing wouldve been made of the situation.… Nonetheless justice prevailed. At the end of the first half, the Ballers lead was cut down to five points. Amidst the ridiculous ejection of their best player thus far, the Ballers remained confident and vowed to play tough defense and bring home the gold (well not real gold):

The Ballers stepped up in the second half - played great defense (they mustve gotten at least 15 total team steals). The Ballers were primarily led by PG Sajeel, who stepped up his game, especially in Omair’s absence. He finished the game with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals en route to leading the Ballers to victory and not to mention winning the Finals MVP award. After a final five minutes of “hack-a-baller defense” - the Ballers made the game a lot closer than it should’ve been by missing many free throws - but nonetheless their defense locked down the Titans - who were unable to make a comeback. In quite a timely ending, G Amir Sahib (who earlier got T-ed up for stepping onto the court while on the sidelines - costing the Ballers a turnover and 2 free points) sealed the deal with a wide open layup after catching a cross court inbounds pass with 8 seconds remaining. That was the final nail on the titans’ coffin. The referees then allowed the clock to run off… and the rest was history.

Your 2008 SABL Champions: THE BASKETBALLERS!

Alhamdulillah. What a blessing it is for the team in orange. They worked hard all season, and were by no means considered the favorites to win it all. Yet they played hard and even amidst BS calls and the ejection of their best player that night, victory was destined for the Ballers! Usman finished off the night with an appreciative dua and praise to God for the victory and a great season!