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Group B Runners up Phantoms will be taking on Scorekeys in the second Quarter Final tie for the Remix Non Chinese League (NCBL) 2008. The game will be played at 2.30 PM in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong in Cheras.

Phantoms have been in form this season, winning 5 games to start the season, and finishing the group stages with a 6-1 winning record. The only loss for Phantoms were against Group B leaders Swoosh.

Phantoms have re-acquired Zunnasri this season, adding a pure shooter in the lineup alongside Imran. The acquisition proved to be fruitful - opposing teams had a tough time covering two pure shooters. Evergreen PG Rushdi is still commanding the Phantoms offense, and age hasn’t slowed down the PG. Unfortunately Phantoms will have one man missing from the lineup for the rest of the season - Hafizuddin (Budin) as he is pursuing his studies in Canada.

Scorekeys are without the anchors Yasier and Helmi this season, both traded to Swoosh and Stallions respectively. However, team play and experience in PG Kamal, PF/C Wan and C Zaid proved to be priceless for the team. They take the number three seed for Group A with 5 wins and 2 losses. Going into this match, Scorekeys are the underdogs, but they will look to turn the tides on Phantoms.

Their last encounter in the NCBL was last year in the 2007 NCBL Semi Final, in which Phantoms came out winners. Here’s the breakdown of the two teams:

Phantoms

Strength: Experienced team, good chemistry, very stable offense, a force on defense.
Weakness: Aging lineup, prone to scoring droughts, lacks authority in fastbreaks
Summary: If you’re looking for a highlight reel, you’re looking at the wrong team. If you’re looking for flair and silky smooth ball rotation, you’re in for a treat. Phantoms plays traditional offense, and it works to perfection. Simple passes, good ball movement, and jump shots are Phantoms plus points. Coupled with a consistent defense, Phantoms is an elite team despite its aging veterans.

Scorekeys

Strength: Youth talent, good experienced starters, good stamina, an “OK” bench.
Weakness: No go-to-guy, seems lost sometimes on the offense, short on pure shooters, average defense.
Summary: Scorekeys is a great team. However, their heavy reliance on Yasier, Helmi, and Harvinder for the past 2 seasons is costing them this time around. Scorekeys lacks the Go-to-Guy in the team, and occasionally, they look lost offensively. A positive thing about Scorekeys play this season is their inside-out approach. They do have reliable big men, but they are over-used and there’s not that many pure shooters in the team to make the shots consistenly when the attention is on the big men.

My Prediction - Phantoms will continue their superiority over Scorekeys by winning this game. Margin should be around 15 points.

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The first of the Remix Non Chinese Basketball League (NCBL) 2008 Quarter Final tie will kickoff at 10.00 AM, 3 August 2008 in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balaking, Cheras. The matchup - NCBL 2007 Defending Champions Pegasus versus Flames.

While Pegasus are heavily favoured to win this matchup, they might be missing 5 players due to Petronas Team selections. Masri, Saifurizan (Panje), Norsultan (Lolo), Rozaini (Aboy), and Imran (Bo). This loss will leave Pegasus with only one big man in Thaufiq (John).

Flames on the other hand will have their full lineup available. They will be banking on their gargantuan superstar Alex Edwards to quash Pegasus’s hopes of achieving an NCBL three-peat. Below is the team breakdown:

Pegasus

Strength: Shut down Defense, Quick Fast break, good team chemistry, deep bench, low post scoring.
Weakness: Slow start, foul prone big men, may be missing 5 big men for the matchup.

Summary: Coach Sham will be looking to rely on shooting and will be going small if they miss their “Petronas Five”. PG Azizul (Jijun), SG Khairil (Kei) and Aznorizam (Baby), SF Amin and C Thaufiq will be playing the major role of scoring for them.

Should Pegasus have the services of the “Petronas 5″ this weekend, Pegasus should have a more balanced attack by going to their big men, scoring from the low post or feeding the wings or cutters for a shot.

Defense is Pegasus’ trademark, and it should be in full force this game.

Flames

Strength: Good team chemistry, an (almost) unstoppable center, good team hustle, average defense
Weakness: Lack of execution, no pure shooter

Summary: Flames is a veteran team, and their team chemistry is an A-plus. Under the leadership of Fairil (TV Show KL-ites remember?) and Aiman, Flames has been a mainstay in the Non Chinese Basketball tournaments. However, Flames has not won any titles, and they are looking to break the jinx this year.

The addition of Alex Edward in the lineup is inavaluable to the team, and Edward should be the focal point for Flames’ offense. At the same time, the 6′6″ Edward is a big presence in defense, and he should have a few blocks in this game.

My Prediction - It’s going to be biased. Pegasus should win this one. If they don’t have the “Petronas 5″, the scoreline should be less than 5 points. If all or some of “Petronas 5″ is in the game, the margin should be around 10 points.

OK guys, let’s hear your thoughts on the upcoming Quarter Final of the Remix Non Chinese Basketball League (NCBL) 2008 match ups. Who will win their Quarter Final tie and advance to the Semi-Finals.

Submit your votes NOW! The poll is on the sidebar, you can’t miss it!

I will be writing matchup reviews, one per day, starting today (maybe by 8pm), so stay tuned!

Here are the results from the Week 7 of Remix NCBL 2008 action. All games were played on 27 July 2008 in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong.

UBSA, Stallions & Flames makes it to the Quarter Finals

The weekend lived up to its billing as an exciting week where 6 teams fought for a chance to make it to the Quarter Finals. At the end of the day, three teams continue their season with a Quarter Final date next week, 3 August 2008, while the other 3 teams bid a disappointing farewell to the Remix NCBL 2008 season.

In Group A, UBSA man-handled Valliers with a commanding 73-35 win. Fellow competitor for the Quarter Final spot Prinze, needing a win themselves and needing UBSA to lose, lost to second seeded Cocoro 37-42. With that result, UBSA grabs the fourth and the last spot for Group A and joins Pegasus, Cocoro and Scorekeys to the Quarter Finals.

Other results from Group A - ATM may be out of the Quarter Final race, but they didn’t make it an easy day for Scorekeys who has a foot in the Quarter Finals already. ATM fought well before losing out 42-43. Pegasus meanwhile stamped their authority over the young Titans by winning 63-33.

The heat was on for Group B. 4 teams - Stallions, Leykens, Flames, and Cons were chasing the 3rd and 4th spot to make it to the Quarter Finals. On the first game of the day, Stallions made sure they got through by posting a comfortable 64-55 win over minnows KPTM.

The second game heated the competition. Two Quarter Final hopefuls Leykens and Cons squared off in a very uptempo game. However, Cons were too much for the Leykens when they lost 46-67. With the loss, Leykens were out of the contention, and Cons were hoping that Swoosh wins by a walkover over Flames.

Unfortunately, Flames did show up, and although they lost 47-59 to the mighty Swoosh, Flames still go through on their Head-to-Head advantage over Cons. Flames were without star center Alex Edward, but still proved that they are no pushovers. However, with the introduction of Guganeswaran aka Abi in the Swoosh lineup in the second quarter, the game quickly swung in Swoosh’s favour with tons fastbreaks.

Phantoms distributed the playing time between the players, and posted a 44-32 win over Snipers.

Error in Group B Total points, corrections made below
With the results from the 7th and final week of Remix NCBL, Pegasus tops the Group A with 14 points, followed by Cocoro 13 points, Scorekeys 12 points, and UBSA with 11 points. In Group B, Swoosh takes the number one seed with 14 points, Phantoms 13 points, Stallions and Flames with 11 points. Stallions has the number 3 seed based on their Head-to-Head advantage over Flames, while Flames takes the fourth seed for Group B

With the results from the 7th and final week of Remix NCBL, Pegasus tops the Group A with 14 points, followed by Cocoro 13 points, Scorekeys 12 points, and UBSA with 11 points. In Group B, Swoosh takes the number one seed with 14 points, Phantoms 13 points for the number two seed, Stallions takes third seed with 11 points. The fourth seed of Group B is taken by Flames, who has the same points as Cons (10 points). Flames has a better head-to-head record (win over Cons 54-48 on 22 June 2008), thus advances to the Quarter Finals.

The Quarter Final stage will be played next week (3rd August), a week earlier than scheduled due to delays made to the Petronas Cup. The games will start at 10.00 AM in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK in Balakong, Cheras. Tickets are at RM50 each Admission is Free!

*Note: Post has been updated on 31 July 2008 due to an incorrect information made regarding Group B standings. Flames has 10 points, not 11 points as mentioned earlier. Thank you Mislan for pointing it out! *

Here we go, the final week of the Remix NCBL 2008 group stages. With two Quarter Final spots up for grabs, it’s going to be one HELL of a weekend for Group B.

Reviews for Week 7 Group B games ladies and gentlemen, to be played on 20 July 2008 in Court B:

10.00 AM - KPTM vs. Stallions

C’mon, isn’t it obvious enough? With a 3 MABA trainees, 6 talented Abg Kerol-trained J3 youngsters, and the undisputed “Point Guard Agung” Paie in the lineup, Stallions will overrun KPTM. While KPTM has had a pretty good campaign, notching up a surprise win against last year’s semi-finalist Flames, and scoring quite a handful every game (35ppg [points per game] isn’t that bad compared to last year’s), Stallions is too much for them to handle.

My Prediction - Barring an Act of God or 4 players showing up before the game, Stallions will win this game by 12 points or more.

11.30 AM - Leykens vs. Cons * GAME OF THE WEEK*

Leykens need a win. Ditto for Cons. Leykens have the youths, Cons have the experience. Cons have superstar Sunil, Leykens have Saku (the jester, lol). This is going to be the game to watch.

Leykens should have their full lineup for this game, and they are very motivated to grab the win and the trip to the Quarter Finals. After an inspiring game vs. Stallions last week, Leykens will have all cylinders fired up this weekend.

Cons on the other hand will want to keep their Quarter Final hopes alive this weekend. If they win this weekend, and Swoosh and Stallions lose, they are in the Quarter Finals. They have the firepower in Sunil and Raja, they have a stable PG in Yusman, a versatile Som, and a deep bench. If they can put all personnel together on the same page, this game should be in Cons’ favour.

Cons will need to contain Leykens’ transition game, while Leykens will need to play pressure defense to not only create turnovers and forced shots, but also to tire the aging lineup of Cons. Even so, Cons’ young bench is a formidable lot, but at least it’s better than facing the wrath of Raja’s shooting.

All in all, this will be a very interesting game, and we should see at least 5 lead changes in this game.

My Prediction - Leykens will win by a small margin.

1.00 PM - Snipers vs Phantoms

Phantoms are cemented to the second spot in Group B, but they won’t be holding anything back from this game. Snipers’ chances of making the Quarter Final is all but over, but the lads will not be playing half-heartedly in this game.

It will be a good exposure for the Snipers in this game against one of the best team in the league, and their firepower will be put to test when they face a defensive minded team.

Phantoms on the other hand would want a morale boosting victory after a hard fought loss in the semi-finals of the Kejohanan Bola Keranjang Bukan Cina ke-14 (previously MB Cup). They should have it this week against Snipers. This could also be a game for them to test out new strategies to prepare them for the Quarter Finals.

Anywho, I think most of you would agree with me if Phantoms wins this one.

My Prediction - Phantoms win by 15 points

2.30 PM - Swoosh vs. Flames

Swoosh vs Flames will be a good game to watch on top of the Leykens vs Cons game. These two teams have been around since the new millennium (Swoosh since the previous millennium, sounds so historic doesn’t it lol), and their encounters have always been in Swoosh’s favour.

They will battle it out again this weekend, Flames with hopes to make it to the Quarter Finals, and Swoosh to continue their undefeated year. They won the Kejohanan Bola Keranjang Bukan Cina ke-14 without a single defeat, and if they do win this game and win it all in the Remix NCBL, a new record will be set. A Double victory with a perfect win record (ala Patriots “Perfection” before they lost the Superbowl).

In my opinion, Swoosh will win this game regardless of how hungry Flames are (barring a truant Swoosh team, which won’t happen as long as Syed Al-Junid and Salman in the helm). They have a very talented squad, the best in many years IMHO, and they are well coordinated in this tournament. This game won’t be any different. Ramesh will be raining threes all game long, newly crowned MVP Yasier will be slashing and shooting at will, and Razif will run his trademark full court press stance. If Abi is around, then we’ll add his sizzling cut-and-dish to the platter.

My Prediction - Swoosh win by at least 10 points.

Here we go, the final week of the Remix NCBL 2008 group stages. For some teams, it’s a week to try out some stunts… err strategies I mean. For some teams, they’re finishing up the remainder of the season. And for a few teams, drumroll please, this week is a win-or-season’s-over game.

Reviews for Week 7 Group A games ladies and gentlemen, played on 20 July 2008 in Court A:

10.00 AM UBSA vs. Valliers

UBSA find themselves in a very comfortable position to head to the Quarter Finals when they face Valliers this week. They have the tie-breaker advantage over Prinze, who is competing for the final Quarter Final spot, and they are facing an under-performing Valliers.

While Valliers boast a good lineup, and a vicious Twin Towers to boot, somehow they are not winning as they should, at least against the lightweights of the group.

UBSA has shown a good mix of run-and-gun offense and a glimpse of shutdown defense (against Pegasus especially in the first half), and this game should be a walk in the park for them. I know this may sound boastful, but we’ll be seeing UBSA against Swoosh on August 3rd

My Prediction - UBSA win by at least 15 points.

11.30 AM Cocoro vs. Prinze

Prinze need to win, or their season ends this weekend. And to do so, they face the a very imposing road block in the form of Cocoro.

Prinze has been a good surprise this season. Their players are all fresh & green teens, and they’ve made it this far. They are expected to be a force in the future.

However, it’s sad to say that this week will be their last in the tournament. Cocoro is simply too experienced, talented, and organised for them. Having been together since the Non-Chinese KL Open (Taman City days - remember?), their team chemistry is perhaps the best among all teams (minus Pegasus and Phantoms). History aside, Cocoro has been performing well this tournament, losing only once (to Pegasus), and it shouldn’t be any different in this game.

My Prediction - Cocoro wins by 10 points.

1.00 PM Titans vs. Pegasus

Titans will be wrapping up their tournament with a game against Pegasus this week. It has been a good tournament for the youngsters, and we should see more of them in years to come.

Pegasus should be fielding their second team in this game to let the ones glued on the bench all season to play (that’s me! Yay!!).

My Prediction - unless if Pegasus fields #1 the whole game, Pegasus will win by 10 points.

2.30 PM ATM vs. Scorekeys

Scorekeys, like Pegasus, will be trying out new strategies, or strengthen their chemistry in this game. They are glued on the third spot in the standings, so win or lose, they are going through against Phantoms in the Quarter Finals.

ATM will be wrapping up their Remix NCBL campaign this weekend. Personally, I think ATM has had a dismal campaign, winning only once. I think they should have had more wins in the tournament, and I did root for them to be a contender to advance to the Quarter Finals (competing with UBSA). But oh well, maybe next season

My Prediction - Scorekeys win by 15 points.

No game of the week for Group A? Hmm.. Good question. I’d say it’s the game where Cocoro and Prinze battle it out. Prinze need to win, and I’m sure they’d be fired up on all cylinders and Cocoro should be cautious with this game. Else they would be in for a surprise.

Here are the results from the Week 6 of Remix NCBL 2008 action. All games were played on 20 July 2008 in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong.

Story of the Week - Swoosh unleashes the “Secret Weapon”, takes 1st seed for Group B

It’s Week 6 of the Remix NCBL 2008, and what an exciting week it was. While 4 teams have booked their Quarter Final spot, namely Pegasus and Cocoro for Group A and Swoosh and Phantoms for Group B, 7 other teams were battling it out to secure the remaining 2 spots per group for the Quarter Finals.

There were surprises, there were teams living up to their standards, then there was Abi.

In a bid to win the the Double (Remix Non Chinese Basketball League title and Selangor MB Cup title), Swoosh introduced their “Secret Weapon” Guganeswaran aka Abi in a very tense yet entertaining ball game versus the First Runner Up of NCBL 2007, Phantoms.

Swoosh won the game 77-69, but the final score line does not reflect the small margins of the game in which any errors were virtually fatal to both teams.

Commented Swoosh’s SF Yasier:

Rushdi, Mislan & Syed (Phantoms) tak turun. Kalo diorang turun mungkin Phantoms lebih hebat. Swoosh pula baru first game dengan Abi. Chemistry Blom ade. Abi pula tak warm up langsung. So both team have the potential to play better.

Translated: Rushdi, Mislan & Syed (Phantoms) were not in the lineup. If they were, Phantoms would be a better team. As for Swoosh, it’s their first game with Abi. Team chemistry is still premature, and Abi did not get the chance to warm up. So both teams have the potential to play better.

Boy, imagined how it will be when the chemistry is there.. and Abi gets a good warmup.

The victory has confirmed the first seed for Swoosh (for Group B) for the Quarter Finals, while Phantoms have booked the second seed.

Another surprise in Group B, the young Leykens defeated the talent-laden Stallions 54-32 to throw the door to the Quarter Final wide open. Frustated with their narrow defeat last week in the hands of Flames, a determined Leykens squad threw everything they had and emerged victorious. The win has lifted their chances to qualify to the Quarter Finals.

The other 2 teams in the Quarter Final mix posted wins to keep their Quarter Final hopes alive. Flames won 43-40 against the Snipers while Cons notched a win against bottom-table KPTM 59-52.

Meanwhile, in Group A, Pegasus has secured their number one seed by defeating ATM 49-35, and Cocoro made sure Seed No. 2 is theirs while cruising to a 50-37 win over Valliers. Scorekeys cemented their third seed in the group by posting a 53-46 victory over Titans.

With those results, Valliers, Titans and ATM are out of the Quarter Final hunt.

The fight for the final Quarter Final spot in Group A gets better when UBSA beats Prinze 48-45 in a very competitive game. While the UBSA and Prinze have the same points in the Standings (9points after 6 games), UBSA has the 4th spot thanks to the 2-way tie breaker ruling (winner of the head-to-head game takes the higher spot).

UBSA will face Valliers in the group finale next week, while Prinze is going up against Cocoro. For UBSA, a victory will see them through to the Quarter Finals. If they lose and Prinze wins against Cocoro, Prinze will take the final Group A Quarter final spot.

With that, expect a very interesting Week 7

It’s week 6 of the Remix Non Chinese Basketball League (NCBL) 2008! This game, and next week’s will determine which team will continue their pursuit of lifting the Remix NCBL trophy.

Here are the fixtures & prediction for Week 6 (20 July 2008) games for Group B. Matches will be played in Court A, Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong, Selangor.

10.00 AM - Snipers vs Flames

Flames are coming off an inspiring victory last week, and they look to continue their hunt for the Quarter Final berth in this matchup. Currently fourth in Group B standings, this week’s victory will confirm their Quarter Final berth.

Snipers on the other hand has an outsider’s chance to squeeze into the final 8. They will need to win both this week and next week’s game, and hope that Leykens & Cons lose out their final 2 games.

Powered by speed and youth, Snipers do have the chances to overthrow Flames. However, Flames’ experience will prove to be the difference in this game. As long as they have the full lineup, Flames will win this game. Their big center, Edward will be the difference in this match.

If the Snipers can use their speed to their advantage, running full court press and denying passing lanes, they should take home the W.

But until then, it’s Flames’ by 5 points.

My Prediction - Flames win by 5 points.

11.30 AM - Stallions vs Leykens

Do or die for the Lykens.

Lykens virtually crushed their own chances of going through to the Quarter Finals when they lost a nail biter last week against Flames, and they will find their going tougher this weekend when they take on the Stallions.

Lykens should have more players on the bench this week. Captain Mior “Sakuragi” reported that a lot of their players were injured or outstation last weekend, thus digging their own hole when they have only 7 players for the game.

Stallions on the other hand is full of confidence. They have made a good campaign out of this tournament, their first tournament after a long hiatus. With a combination of experienced veterans and bright youths, Stallions are a team to beat this season. With HIlmi manning their offense, Stallions are a formidable team, and it looks like this team will be too formidable for the Lykens this weekend.

My Prediction - Stallions win by 10 points.

1.00 PM - Cons vs KPTM

Cons have a slim chance to make it to the Quarter Finals. Facing KPTM this weekend will widen their chances.

After an enlightening display last weekend against Swoosh, Cons have shown that they can stand on their own without superstar Sunil. I may be going full stretch with this statement, but I think Cons play better without Sunil. Each team member cooperates and helps out each other to run the offense, and it was clearly shown last week.

KPTM’s will not stand a chance against Cons in this game. Cons are “too hungry” to lose this one, and to put it in layman’s term, Cons is the better team.

My Prediction - Cons win by at least 15 points.

2.30 PM - Phantoms vs. Swoosh *GAME OF THE WEEK*

A game worthy of a Final.

A decade worth of rivalry, Phantoms and Swoosh have a very good lineup this year with the potential to win the Double this year. Let’s break down the team one-by-one:

Phantoms
They have a strong consistent defense, and with Zunnasri joining the team this year, their offense is even scarier. They now have 2 “Super-Shooters” in Zun and Imran. PG Rushdi is also a big asset to the Phantoms, setting up the offense and drawing guards into foul trouble. Backup PG is Zul, just as good and experienced Versatile swingmen Syed and Budin are also big contributors to the team. They can score, crash the boards, and make your offense miserable. Standing in the center spot for them are experienced Azwan and Fariesz.

In my opinion, the weakest link in the Phantoms lineup are their centers. While experienced and consistent, Phantoms’ center lacks the mobility to be the factor. I think Swoosh may want to attack there. Another weakness that I see in the Phantoms is their scoring if Zun and Imran are off. Swoosh could man the 2 shooters, and the Phantoms will find themselves in trouble to score.

Swoosh
If Zunnasri were added for extra firepower for the Phantoms, Swoosh drafted the best shooters/scorer around in Yasier and Ramesh. The result, a scoring machine with an unlimited resource.

Want proof? In the first 3 games, Swoosh scored at least 87 points in each contest. That is something that you don’t hear very often in the Non Chinese basketball scene or even the Malaysian basketball scene. That is how good this offense is. Unfortunately, Swoosh do rely on Yasier and Ramesh to do their scoring, up to a point that the rest of the team only gets sublime shooting attempts and made baskets. Evident in the game last week against Cons, Swoosh are vulnerable if the two don’t score. The scoreline last week, Swoosh 67 - Cons 64. While the Phantoms have the same problem if their 2 shooters (Zun and Imran) are not scoring, in Swoosh’s case, it’s a lot worse.

Another weak point of Swoosh is their defense. While their defensive schemes are an envy, individually Swoosh’s players are not defense-minded. It is easy to crack down their defense, and their first game against Snipers is a testament to this (Snipers scored 55 points).

Overall, both teams have their strengths and weaknesses. Another factor in this weekend’s game is their game commitments. The question of this weekend - will both teams be at their full strength? Phantoms and Swoosh are both in the MB Cup Quarter Finals, in which the games will be played on the same Sunday starting at 4.00 PM. While this Remix NCBL is an important game for both of them, the MB Cup is just as important.

All in all, this is a game to be watched this Sunday.

My Prediction - Phantoms win by the slightest margin.

It’s week 6 of the Remix Non Chinese Basketball League (NCBL) 2008! This game, and next week’s will determine which team will continue their pursuit of lifting the Remix NCBL trophy.

Here are the fixtures & prediction for Week 6 (20 July 2008) games for Group A. Matches will be played in Court B, Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong, Selangor.

10.00 AM - Titans vs Scorekeys

Scorekeys should have no problems overrunning their opponent in this game. Although the Titans are brimming with confidence after their first victory in the tournament, Scorekeys will prove a handful for them.

With quality leadership in Wan Kamal and the experience and talents from the rest of the lineup, Scorekeys should win by at least 15 points (and I’m being conservative here).

My Prediction - Scorekeys win by 15 points, and a good game experience for the Titans.

11.30 AM - Valliers vs Cocoro

Valliers are desperate for a berth in the Quarter Finals, and they need to win the last 2 games to have a wild card chance of making it through (they will need Prinze & UBSA to lose the last 2 games).

This week, Cocoro stands in their way. Although it looks like an easy win for Cocoro in this match, Cocoro will be conserving their strength for a much bigger game this Sunday afternoon - the MB Cup Quarter-Finals which starts at 4.00PM.

While Cocoro may not be lining up their starting 5 for this game, I will predict that the starting 5 will play sparingly to ensure a Cocoro victory and cementing the number 2 seed in Group A for the Remix NCBL Quarter Finals.

My Prediction - Cocoro win by around 10 points.

1.00 PM - Prinze vs UBSA *GAME OF THE WEEK*

This game will determine the final Quarter-Final spot for Group A.

Prinze is sitting pretty at the 4th spot, and UBSA is trailing them by only one point in the standings. A victory for Prinze will cement their spot at 4th spot, while UBSA will need to win this game and the next (against Valliers in Week 7, 27 July 2008). Even if Prinze lose in Week 7 against Cocoro and UBSA wins this game and the Week 7 game, Prinze will still go through based on tie-breaker rule.

Prinze has had a good run in the tournament, and surprising everyone in the process. They have posted victories when they should, and their persistence is giving them a chance to book their first elimination round in the NCBL tournament history, but I think they will fall short against UBSA.

While UBSA is losing an influential leader & player Farid “Orang Tua”, the younger guns of UBSA should be able to carry the load. With Arif “Naruto” as fast as ever, and strong support from their perimeter shooters and consistent front court, UBSA will win this game.

My Prediction - UBSA will win by around 10 points, and make it to the Quarter FInals

2.30 PM - Pegasus vs ATM

There were talks of the Pegasus’s downfall this season before the tournament started. The reason for the rumours - Pegasus lost to ATM in their pre-season warmup game.

While Pegasus captain Azizul “Jijun” quashed the rumours, citing that Pegasus were shorthanded in terms of “manpower” when they had only 6 players in the game, credit still goes to ATM for playing their hearts out for the game.

ATM has had a dismal campaign in their first NCBL tournament, and they will be going all out to repeat their victory against Pegasus. Pegasus meanwhile will make sure that they win this game to keep themselves glued to the no 1 spot in Group A standings.

Pegasus will also be welcoming back their monster center Thaufiq “John” after a 2 game absence.

All in all, Pegasus should have no problem in winning this game, unless if they line up 6 players for the game.

My Prediction - Pegasus wins by 15 points.

Here are the results from the Week 5 of Remix Non-Chinese Basketball League (NCBL) 2008 action. All games were played on 13 July 2008 in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong.