| We Want PIZZA! |
Jun 10, 2008 |
“We want pizza! We want pizza!” Those were the chants coming from the fans in attendance as they realized that Duha had a pretty good chance at scoring 100 points. Although I-slam does not have any such promotional give a ways, Duha still managed to be the first team this season to score a 100 points.
Duha finished the season winless, and while they headed into the playoffs with out a single victory, the team remained upbeat, confident and displayed one of the most brilliant offensive games I have ever seen. However, before the game they realized that in order to get to the second round, they would have to go past a veteran squad of Takathur, who defeated them during the regular season.
Right from the tip off, Duha went ballistic as Abdul Adoo nailed in 2 3-pointers to start the game. To dampen Takathur’s confidence even more, it was Abdi’s turn, as he nailed a 3 pointer. But wait, there’s more! The only big man for Duha, Mohamed Osman decided to take part in the 3-point contest as he also knocked down his triple! With only 4 minutes into the game, Duha had a commanding lead as they were up 19-5! A quick timeout for Takathur did not help, as Duha continued to give Takathur a good old fashioned beat down. Knowing that their season was at stake, and it was win or go home at this point, Duha was making sure that they would advance to the next round. The first half got even worse for Takathur, as Duha’s Osman and Abdi were dominating the boards and scoring on easy putbacks. With the first half over, Duha lead 43-24 with momentum on their side.
The drubbing continued in the second half, as Duha went absolutely nuts on the offensive end. Adoo hit another 4 3-pointers, as he shot 7-9 from beyond the arc. The energizer Bunny, Abdi snatched down 24 rebounds alone in the game! And Mohamad Osman, who was hitting shots from all over, hit another 3 pointer as they were up by 32 with 6 minutes remaining in the game. Takathur’s defense was disastrous, and not even their improved offense in the second half could help them now. Chris and Nasir of Takathur did much of the scoring for their team, but it would not be enough to overcome the 100 points that Duha had poured in. with the chants of “Pizza!”, Duha gave the crowd what they wanted as Adoo drilled a 3 pointer to give his team 100 points. With that, Duha earned their first victory of the season as they sent Takathur packing early once again. Duha was led by Abdi who put in one of the finest performances this league has ever seen, with a line of 26 pts and 24 rebounds. His teammates Adoo and Osman put in a 31 and 26 points, as they shared the offensive load for their team. Takathur was led by Chris’ 31 points.
We witnessed a remarkable offensive performance by the young squad today, and the future of I-slam definitely looks bright as Duha is filled with young talent. With the win, Duha will face the top team in their division Al Masad in the 2nd round. It’ll be a tough task to take down the powerhouse, but if Duha can continue to score and tighten up their defense, they will have a chance to pull off an upset. |
