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A tune to get you in the mood for the Finals

Nine weeks, nine Sundays have gone by, and it all comes down to this weekend.

One team will make history by completing a “Perfection”, winning a Double with a 100% winning record if they emerge the winner.

The other team will achieve the “Three-Peat” and further establish themselves as “The Dynasty” if they come through as the victors.

Perfection vs Three-Peat Dynasty

Swoosh vs Pegasus

The Remix Non Chinese Basketball League 2008 (Remix NCBL 08) reaches its climax this Sunday, 17 August 2008 with the Final. The Final will pit two of the league’s undefeated teams Swoosh and Pegasus.

Swoosh reached the Finals by steamrolling through the group stages with 7 wins, beating each team by an average of 26 points. Swoosh destroyed UBSA 78-48 in the Quarter Finals, and buried Cocoro 59-49 in the Semis. If there was any one team that deserved to be in the Finals from the start, it’s Swoosh.

Pegasus is as impressive, winning all 7 games in the group stages. They doused the Flames in a close Quarter Final game 57-54, and grind out a 53-52 win over Phantoms in overtime to reach the Finals.

Swoosh and Pegasus have squared off several times in the past, most notably the 2005 MB Cup Final and the 2007 MB Cup Final. They have met a total of 5 times, with Pegasus having the upper hand. Pegasus has won 3 games, all in 2007 (MB Cup group stage, MB Cup Final, and NCBL 2007 group stage). Swoosh won the other two meetings in 2005 (MB Cup group stage and MB Cup Final).

While Pegasus are the reigning Double Champion (winning both NCBL and MB Cup last year), their form this season has been a big question mark. While they did ease out of the group stage with 100% winning record, some have pointed out that their Group A were much easier compared to Swoosh’s Group B. To spice up their drop in form this season, Pegasus were on the brink of elimination in both the Quarter Final game and the Semi Final game. Pegasus lost a comfortable 12 point lead against the Flames in the 4th quarter and won virtually on an excellent free throw shooting. Against the Phantoms in the Semis, almost the same story, only worse. While “The Champion” form was at large in the first quarter, the ensuing 3 quarters made Pegasus look like an underdog. Free throws were their downfall in this one, missing 10 shots from the charity stripe. But ex-National Masri converted the free throw that mattered the most, and Pegasus made it to the Finals.

Swoosh meanwhile had a luxurious cruise throughout the tournament. It is not because of the easy competition, but they showed their formidable form, worthy of a comparison to the early 2000 Swoosh squad that won the KL Non Chinese Basketball and the MB Cup with ease.

On paper, it looks as if Swoosh should be practicing on their trophy-lifting ceremony for this weekend. But as always, the ball is always round (unless if you play badminton, rugby or American Football). Could there be a surprise this weekend? Let’s see the team breakdowns:

The Breakdown

Swoosh

Strength: Shoot-happy offense, good defense, and superstar Point Guard.
Weakness: Defense (but SF Yasier is confident of his defense’s improvement). The bench
Offense: Top Screen, Inside out, bunch of plays for outside shooting.
Defense: Full court 1-2-2, Quarter court 2-1-2
Probable Lineup: Guganeswaran (Abi), Yasier, Ramesh, Amarjit, Shan, Zhahir, Apai, Razif, Shahir, Syed Al-Junid, Edinolfi, Fendy.

The acquisition of pure shooters Yasier and Ramesh into the team is not only paying dividends for Swoosh, it’s going to win them the Championship. Add Guganeswaran aka Abi in the mix, Swoosh is a mighty force. They have won the Kejohanan Bola Keranjang Bukan Cina ke-14 (formerly MB Cup) this year, and and the Remix NCBL trophy will complete a perfect season for them, a Double trophy with a perfect winning record.

Offense is not a problem for Swoosh. Yasier and Ramesh is a threat both outside and medium range. Amarjit, back from an injury,  is a monster down low, and Shan is a very reliable rebounder with a good vertical. And of course, Abi can cut, shoot and crash the board on offense, and is a good one-on-one defender.

To complement the starters, Fendy and Razif are excellent shooters as well, and Shahir is a reliable backup to Shan. While Zhahir, Edinolfi and Apai may not be mobile or provide a gargantuan presence like Amarjit, they do a good job rebounding and setting screens for Yasier to shoot or cut.

If you have been following this blog, you may have caught me several times mentioning that Swoosh’s defense is average compared to the likes of Phantoms and Pegasus.

However, Swoosh’s defense has been improving throughout the tournament, and their full court defense does look scary at times.

The key to Swoosh winning this game is simple – make the shots inside and out (and they’ve done a good job so far), and deny the entry passes to Pegasus’s big men. While they may not be able to stop Pegasus overall offense, they can definitely outscore Pegasus, especially if Yasier, Ramesh and Abi can keep the 3 point rain going.

One thing they shouldn’t do at all cost – Amarjit should not get into foul trouble, and Shan, Zhahir and Apai should help out Amarjit on the boards so that Amarjit can have his breaks and be productive throughout the game.

Swoosh’s weakness – while they may have a good bench, their bench is not as deep as Pegasus. While their starters are out, Swoosh may be vulnerable to lose out on offense and defense.

Pegasus

Strength: Mobile big men, shutdown defense, deep bench, team chemistry
Weakness: Inconsistent form, both offense and defense. Lacks pure shooters
Offense: Inside-out, fastbreak, low-post. Free flow offense.
Defense: Full court man-to-man, full court 1-2-2, Quarter court 3-2.
Probable Lineup: Jijun, Amin, Aboy, Lolo, Bo, Masri, Panje, John, Aznor, Kei, Shahril, Le’an.

Pegasus has lost the service of the legendary shooter/swingman Arif Yusof (retired after winning the Double, how cool is that), and added another big man John in the lineup. They have maintained the players from the previous year.

Pegasus has not shown their “true-self” this season, looking like a subpar team at times. The free flow offense is not as free flow as it was, the fast break is not as fast, and the defense, well, let’s just say average.

While critics have been blasting Pegasus since the Quarter Finals, somehow or rather they have made it to the Finals, beating all the odds. Pegasus has been known for performing according to the opposing team’s play, basically if the opposition is a strong team they’ll play strong, if the opposition is weak, they play just as weak. All in all, they still manage to grab the W.

Pegasus will be missing Izzat in the Finals (torn ligament), who had a big game against Phantoms. Backups Kei and Shahril will be filling in the spot. Last year’s MB Cup MVP Jijun is at the helm, setting up the offense and tearing up the defense with his quick cut and dish. Aznor provides the shooting from the outside, while UiTM captain Kei is a prominent shooter inside and out. G/F Aboy has been growing into an elite Forward this season, threatening with his baseline spins, cut-ins and to top it off, a great outside shooting. Aboy is the favoured man to lock Yasier from shooting at will. G/F Amin is as he is, has a knack for making the steals and is very confident when cutting in.The biggest factor in Pegasus’s game plan is their mobile big men, consisting of Bo, Lolo, and Masri, while John and Panje are consistent scoring centers and good rebounders.

The question for Pegasus in this Finals is – can they perform and execute like they (often) do on offense and defense? If they can, this game can go their way. Jijun needs to hit his shots to put the defense in disarray. From there, everything will fall into place as Jijun is a big threat with his quick cut-ins and quick cut-n-dish. Pegasus will need to grab the rebounds, both defensive and offensive. Most of all, shutdown Abi as Swoosh’s offense starts from there, and make Yasier’s day tougher by challenging his shots.

Conclusion

This will be a worthy game to watch, and that’s an understatement.

Swoosh has their game plan ready, and they do execute according to plan. Pegasus meanwhile will have to search their souls over the next few days and find their winning form. Both Swoosh and Pegasus are heavy favourites from the start of the Remix NCBL 2008, and here they are in the Finals.

Regardless of what is mentioned above, it doesn’t matter much to both teams.

The stats don’t matter, the previous achievements won’t matter.
Popularity don’t matter, critics won’t matter.

WIll it be a year of “Perfection”?
Or will it be the year for a “Three-Peat Dynasty”?

40 minutes will determine their fate,
To prove that they deserve the better.
The only thing that will matter this Sunday…

The chance to be crowned the Remix NCBL  2008 Champion!

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

My Prediction – Coaches of both teams, Salman (Swoosh) and Hisham (Pegasus) will be screaming at the top of their lungs this Sunday. You guys decide who wins the game (and the screaming competition)

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The Final will be played in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong in Cheras on 17 August 2008. Tipoff is at 11.30 AM (GMT +8). Come early for the 3rd and 4th placing between Cocoro and Phantoms, which starts at 10.00 AM.

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REMIX NCBL 2008 SEMIFINAL RESULT
Pegasus Phantoms	53 52
Swoosh Cocoro	59 49

Pegasus Beats Phantoms in OT Thriller

Swoosh marches through to the Finals

Pegasus beats the odd and books a place in the Final by winning over Phantoms in perhaps the best game in the Remix Non Chinese Basketball League 2008. The score was knotted at 42 points after 40 minutes, and the game went to overtime, where Masri Redza Iskandar scored the winning free throw.

Pegasus started the game aggressively despite having only 6 players at the start of the game. They closed the the first quarter by leading 17-9. Phantoms fought back in the second quarter, outscoring Pegasus 16-13. Both teams went into halftime with Pegasus leading 30-25. C Faries had 6 points while Amirul Effendy had 5 points during the quarterfor the Phantoms . Phantoms’ leader Rushdi picked up his 4th foul during the quarter.

The third quarter saw the trademark defense of both teams, with Pegasus contesting every shots, while Phantoms forced a dozen of turnovers from the Pegasus offense. Phantoms made 3 shots from behind the arc, 2 from Amirul and 1 from Zunnasri, and Amin, Panje and Lolo contributed 2 points each for Pegasus to keep them in the game. Phantoms’ Rushdi fouled out End of the third quarter, 38-36, Pegasus still had the upperhand. This setup a thrilling 4th Quarter.

Both offenses struggled against the superb defending by both Pegasus and Phantoms, every shot contested, good defensive rebounding, fouls were aplenty, Lolo and Bo from Pegasus and Amirul Zunasri for Phantoms fouling out. With less than 2:00 to play, Phantoms were in control with a 2 point lead. Score was 47-45. Panje tied the score with less than 1:00. On the next position, Phantoms failed to score, and Pegasus has the ball to setup the final position. Aboy had the chance to win the game with a jump shot, but decided to pass to Jijun instead. Another turnover for Pegasus when the ball went out of bounds, and the horn sounded the end of regular time with the score tied.

In Overtime, Pegasus regained their confidence, continuing their shutdown defense. Phantoms were not to be left behind and applied their defense as well. Both teams had trouble to score, but Phantoms took the lead with a free throw from backup PG Rushnizam. Phantoms 50, Pegasus 49. 1:00 minute left to play, Panje made a basket and the lead swings Pegasus’s way. The next possession was fruitless for Phantoms, and Pegasus rebounded and launched a fastbreak. Panje went for a layup, but was fouled by a Phantom, and made one shot out of two, extending Pegasus’s lead to 2 points. The ensuing possession was also fruitless for the Phantoms, and Pegasus has the ball. Masri was fouled, and went to the line, making one of two shots, and Phantoms were trailing by three.

Phantoms came strong on the next possession, PG Rushnizam again scoring a field goal and cuts the deficit to one point. With 26 seconds left in the game, Pegasus had a chance to extend their lead and close the game. But that was not to be. A silly turnover gave the ball back to Phantoms with about 10 seconds left to play. Timeout was called by the Phantoms to setup their final possession.  Pegasus pressured the Phantoms’ Zunnasri to miss a shot that would have won the game, and at that second Pegasus gave Phantoms another chance at the game by leaving Rushnizam to pickup the offensive rebound and release a last gasp shot. The shot clanked off the rim, and Pegasus advances to the Finals.

Swoosh shook off a below par shooting from Yasier and Ramesh to win 59-49 over Cocoro in the other Semifinal. Guganeswaran (Abi) of Swoosh had a great game with 5 3pointers, a handful of assists that drew an appreciative “oohs” and “ahhsss” from the crowd, and even an occassional chatter with the spectators on the sideline. PF/C Shan was a big factor down low with key rebounds and blocks for Swoosh. Cocoro had a good 3 quarters, keeping the scores close. But fatigued legs in the fourth quarter proved to be Cocoro’s undoing when Swoosh ran away with the game and won 59-49.

The Non Chinese Basketball league Final will be played next week on 17 August 2008, and the venue will be determined later.

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This is a guest post from Yasier Rashid of Swoosh. Yasier is the newly crowned MVP of the Kejohanan Bola Keranjang Bukan Cina ke-14 recently, and has been a major contributor for Swoosh this year.
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Well looks like the more favourite game coming up will be between Pegasus & Phantoms. Both of them have their loyal fans & supporters who believe that their team can win. While both team are great teams, both have shown lack of spirit, commitment, seriousness & sense of urgency to the game in their quarter final game. Pegasus which are in every angle a team better than Flames (except for their spirit, fire & enthusiasm) lost 3 quarters to Flames. They won by only 3 points, which can really go the other way. Phantoms on the other hand got a big lead, then put their guards down & let Scorekeys chase them on a 10-0 run. Eventually they fought back & won. Better teams in NCBL still have the weakness of looking down at their opponent. When they play against a weaker team, they don’t give their best, maybe only 70%, but the weaker team gave their 110%, that is why the end result is close when they should win by a big margin. Swoosh too is one of them. Few times Swoosh started cold, but when Swoosh face Dyna Sport in the MBCup Final 2008, they think that Dyna Sport with 3 MABA trainess are a worthy opponent, so they started the game as hot as they possibly can ending the half 40-20. This Sunday, i predict Pegasus & Phantoms will show their true colour again. They will start hot & stay hot. Which is a better team?

PEGASUS

Double champion for NCBL 2006 & 2007. Anyway few times they shown that they are beatable (Scorekeys beat them in the first round last year) & vulnarable (ex against Flames last week). They beat Flames by only 3 points, while Phantoms beat Flames by 23 points (72-49).

Strength – While people say their strength are their shut down defense, i don’t think Phantoms’s defense are any worse than theirs. Defensively i’ll say both have the same strength. Pegasus have a better inside defense with their shot blocking big men like Masri, Panje, Lolo & even Boy. Phantoms have a better close out defense against the shooters & better rotation from help side defense. Defensive rebounding will be their strength, while offensively, i don’t really see their big men crash the boards. If they wanna win against Phantoms, maybe their big men should do that more often. They have bigger & taller players, thus make their inside offense better than Phantoms.

Weakness – Although they have shooters, but they are not consistent, thus make their weakness is shooting. People favor their defense, but i’m gonna say this, while their individual defense is not bad, their help defense is nothing impressive. Flames proved it. Another one is their preparation & focus towards the game. Throughout the tournament you can see that they are kinda relaxed in the game. They are the KING of NCBL, but they don’t play like one, yet. Maybe after the wake up call by Flames, this sunday the KING will emerge again.

PHANTOMS

Zunnasri who have been MIA (Missing In Action) for few years, came back & proved to everyone that he is a better player than a lot of them & one of the best shooters around (maybe the best too?). With his awkward unbalanced senget sebelah high & quick release jump shooting, he is almost unstoppable & made a lot of teams cry. Amirul too have improved a lot & made a good piece of the puzzle. Even the young rising star J3 kid Nami showed that he can play with the adults, he can play under pressure & he can be the starting PG too.

Strength – Phantoms is an old skool team. They do not have superstars, but they do whatever as a team. They play better team defense & better team offense. They have better ball rotation. They too have better shooters.

Weakness – Lack of big man & size. Lack of inside game. Lack of individual offensive skills. While their team offense is superb, if we press them man to man, they are lost. None of them can play good enough 1 on 1 offense to break down the defense consistently. While their team defense is superb, their individual 1 on 1 defense is not good enough. If the opponent is good, they will drive, attract the help defense & kick out for an open shot.

Conclusion – Pegasus should play inside & crash the boards. They should try starting the game with half court man to man pressure against Phantoms. Phantoms should play 2-3 tight defense inside. They should shoot more. Drive in & kick out. Pegasus’s big men may be too much for them.

This is really a 50/50 game. They are equally strong, but the one who fear the other team & the situation will not win. Phantoms is the underdog thus they have nothing to lose. Pegasus on the other hand have to win & take care of their status. To me Phantoms is fearless. Who i vote? Phantoms.

But the ball is always round.

The Pegasus vs Phantoms showdown will tip off at 10.00 AM, Sunday 10 August 2008 in Pusat Rekreasi JKKK Balakong, Cheras. Admission is FREE!