| Too Hot to Handle |
Jan 16, 2008 |
The last time these two teams met in the regular season, Yassir Malik had the game of his life when he went off for 32 points and 12 rebounds. But it was an entirely new season now, and Takathur had a chance to make some noise in the playoffs despite having a disappointing season. But before they could make any noise, there was one obstacle in their way, and that obstacle was none other than this year’s Cinderella team, Kawthar. Coming into the playoffs, Kawthar was riding a 3 game winning streak. Each week this team has looked more and more confident. They have truly come together, and are starting to play as a team, not to mention they are also red hot as a team from beyond the arc.
With the tip off underway, Kawthar began to show exactly why they were not to be messed with. Their big man August started off with two huge blocks to get his team the quick momentum early on. With their exceptional defense, Kawthar’s guards took full advantage on Takathur’s turnovers and converted them into fast break baskets. Kawthar was a double edged sword the entire game, because when Adit was being covered August was making buckets, and vice versa. Just 5 minutes into the game, Kawthar jumped to a commanding 26-10 lead and looked to be cruising early on. Kawthar then decided to rest their superstar Adit, knowing that if they won this game, they would need him to be fresh for the second playoff game later on during the day. This may have been costly because during the timeout, it seemed as if the Red Bull kicked in as Takathur finally woke up from their slumber. Jason Cheddie knocked down a 3 pointer on the following possession, and after Kawthar’s missed shot, Sultan knocked down a pretty hookshot. Jeron and Alvin also got into the mix, as they converted on back to back buckets. All of a sudden, Takathur cut the lead to 8 and this game was far from over! Showing a lot of poise, Takathur ended the first half on a 12-4 run.
The second half started off with the same excitement at the end of the first half. On the very first possession, Sultan was able to knock down a deep 3 and was fouled during the shot. Converting on the free throw, Takathur was now only down by 4. But Kawthar answered back as August was unstoppable inside, scoring consecutive baskets to bring the lead back to 8. On the next possession, Takathur converted on another And-1 play by Amit to bring the lead back down to 5! Takathur was hanging on and was not going to go away that easy. But to burst Takathur’s bubble, August answered back with his own And 1 after he grabbed a ridiculous offensive rebound and went back up for the put back. Kawthar finally started to regain control, as Yassir Malik, who single handedly destroyed Takathur before, made a couple of impressive layups.
With Adit once again resting on the bench, Kawthar jumped to a 15 point lead and never looked back. To add salt to the wound, Mudasir knocked down 2 big 3 pointers near the end of the game to avoid any sort of comeback attempt by Takathur. Kawthar won the game by a score of 70-57 despite an early second half scare. Takathur finishes this season winless, but give them credit for showing poise and heart in all their games. Adit lead the way with his 17 points and 6 rebounds. But the first star of the game was August, who was marvelous as he had a solid all around game. 16 pts, 8 rebs, 3 blocked shots. He truly was the difference maker in this one. With the win, Kawthar now advances to the second round as they have a very tough task facing Al Fil. |
