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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.