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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.

With this guy, anything is possible.

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.

Have Swoosh's defense improved?

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.

Can they do it?

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!

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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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