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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.