| One Last Chance at Redemption (Part 1) |
Dec 20, 2007 |
Takathur entered this game 0-5 while Ash-Shams entered a disappointing 3-2. From the start, it didn’t seem like Ash-Shams was taking this game very seriously as only 4 players showed up, while Takathur on the other hand looked very intent on ensuring that they recorded their first win of a season that most likely can be characterized as disappointing for such a veteran laden team.
It was obvious that Takathur’s game plan was to shoot their way to a win. In the 1st half alone, they attempted 10 3-pt shots (making a respectable 4) whereas Ash-Shams didn’t even attempt one, looking instead to capitalize on their interior advantage. The lack of outside shooting on Ash-Shams part is a little confusing to anyone present as they were missing Nima (in a move that likely cost him the 3-pt champion title and possibly the scoring title) and Mohammed Sayeed but did have Donovan who has never been shy to bomb away. The half ended in a 26-22 score for Ash-Shams that was likely closer than Ash-Shams would have hoped despite playing with only 4 guys. Ash-Shams was lead by Ahsan and Sameem’s 8 first half points each and Ahsan’s 9 rebounds while Takathur was lead by team captain Sultan’s 12 points.
Takathur was able to keep it close in the 2nd half but couldn’t finish the game despite gunning away from behind the 3-pt arc. Sultan did his best, shooting 3-3 from long ranger in the 2nd half (and finishing 5-5 from there) and overall his team shot 6-16 from behind the arc in the 2nd half (and 10-26 as a team for the game). All of those are impressive team percentages, but it only goes to show you how dominant Ash-Shams was down low to over come such a shooting display. Unfortunately for Takathur they were only able to convert on 7 2-pt field goals all game and didn’t balance their overall play enough to win the game. The final score was 57-51 for Ash-Shams (behind Ahsan’s 22 points and 19 rebounds) improving them to 4-2 and 2nd place in their division while Takathur ended 0-6 and will take part in the “sudden death” playoff round in the new year. |
