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The SABL BS

Volume 2 Issue 78 May 2001

FROM COMMISSIONER SCOTT ELLIS, 2ND AMER. BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Bulldogs win all 3 at Miles, head back to Asia up 3-2
An uninspired Miles Bulldogs played poorly but managed to escape all three games at home against East Asia. The series now goes back to East Asia, where Miles hasn't fared very well.

"We don't expect to win there, but we'll give it a go," Miles Coach Hayden Fry said. "We'll shake up the lineup and hope for a miracle."

Fry was philosophic: "It's been a good, long ride. We had fun. But I think we've scratched our last itch for this season."

Jones leads Drags to 2-0 lead in Royal Conference finals
Eddie Jones and the East Asia Dragons appear to have peaked at home as they handed the Miles Bulldogs a pair of large losses.
 
Jones scored 48 in game 1 as Asia ran away 132-102. Jones was 17-29, 9-10 from the charity stripe, and 5-7 from downtown. Asia took 104 shots, had 21 offensive boards, 31 assists, 8 turnovers and 13 assists, while the Bulldogs turned it over 22 times and could never get on track. Walker scored 21 and Hornacek had 19 while Robinson scored 20 for Asia.
 
Jones pretended to be Allan Iverson in game 2, and it seemed to work as Asia pulled away 117-83, in perhaps their best overall game of the year. Jones potted 37 on 10-25 shooting (3-7 downtown), 14-14 from the line, while collecting 4 steals. However, the game was won early as Ben Wallace got the start over the Admiral and he dominated Mutombo early and often. Mutombo only managed 23 mins., 2 points, 5 boards and 0 blocks. Robinson was able to dominate when he was in the game and finished with 14 boards and 3 blocks. Asia also grabbed 50 rebounds(41 defensive) compared to 29 for Miles.
 
Games 3-5 will be played in Miles and the Dragons are expecting a very different scenario, as a result of 4 losses in Miles earlier in the year. Coach Bennett is anxious to see if the addition of Jerome Williams will continue to be the biggest reason for the play of the Dragons. Or Antoine Walker..........

St. Lucie sweeps Sublimity in Classic finals
The thrill is gone - the luck ran out.
 
Facing a superior offensive team, the Senators gave it all they had but came up short in Games 3 & 4 to lose 4-0 in the Classic Conference Finals.
 
In Game 3, Sublimity looked good in the first half, taking a 71-60 lead into halftime. However, the Senators managed only 34 points in the second half to lose, 126-105. Six Aces scored in double figures, led by Chris Webber with 27 points. Shaq added 22 points, 18 rebounds and blocked six shots. Sublimity was paced by Alonzo Mourning's 20 points.
 
Game 4 was a tighter battle, but St. Lucie pulled away in the fourth quarter. Sam Cassell led the Aces with 36 points on 14-for-16 shooting, and Webber chipped in 33 points. Elton Brand led the Senators with 29 points and 12 rebounds.

The Aces now advance to the SABL World Championship finals for a record fourth time. Their opponent will be either Miles or East Asia, who are facing each other in the Royal Conference championships.

Asians beat Richmond, advance to conference finals

Paul Bennett's East Asia Dragons are going to the Royal Conference finals for the second year in a row after winning their series with the perennial playoff contending Richmond Raiders 4 games to 2. The Dragons now take on Tom Jargo's Miles Bulldogs to see who goes to the 2001 SABL finals from the Royal Conference. Here's a report from Paul on the deciding sixth game in East Asia:

East Asia pull out the win at home at the charity stripe, converting 24 0f 32 attempts compared to 10 of 13 for Richmond. Jones, Armstrong and Robinson led the Dragons with 22, 21 and 20 points respectively. Big Dirk led all scorers with 24 while Finley had 22 and 10 assists. The Dragons used their rebounding advantage to create a lot of second chance fouls and shot 47%(7-15) form downtown, compared to 33%(8-24) for the visitors. All games in asia were close and next years richmond team should be even more dangerous.

Aces take first two from Sublimity at home

New SABL Coach and West Division winner Marc Schlotthauer lost Games 1 and 2 of the Classic Conference finals in St. Lucie, behind a barrage of come-from-behind Ace offense. It was a great start to this year's Classic finals, with St. Lucie returning to the finals and the Subs making their first appearance there.

Game 1 - St. Lucie 150, Subs 137

Sublimity surged way ahead in the first quarter, 44-29, forcing the Aces to press as the second quarter started. The Senators extended their lead to 51-31at the 10:11 mark of the 2nd quarter and it already looked like the Subs, who eliminated last year's SABL champs, the Galactic Thunder, in Round Two in a seven-game series, were gonna upset the Aces, too,  at least in Game 1. In last year's Classic Conference Championships, Galactic Coach Steve Walters beat Ace Coach Scott Ellis en route to the SABL championship, which Galactic won over Coach Paul Bennett's East Asia Dragons.

The pressing Aces started their long, steady comeback, finally pulling ahead of Sublimity 100-99 with 3:52 left in the 3rd Quarter and keeping the lead the rest of the game. St. Lucie's Grant Hill exploded for 47 points and Gary Payton had 31 tallies with 15 assists. Sudden Sam Cassell had 14 assists and Shaquille O'Neal had 10 rebounds. Little Earl Boykins scored 18 points in 19 minutes

For Sublimity, Jason Kidd scored 28 and former Ace Alonzo Mourning had 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Big Dog Glenn Robinson scored 24 points.

Game 2 - St. Lucie 132, Subs 111

Sublimity once again surged to a first quarter lead of 35-26, but the Aces answered with a 35-12 2nd Quarter to take the lead for the rest of the game. Hill again led all scorers with 32 points, adding 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Payton scored 20 with 14 assists and 9 boards, while O'Neal had 16 rebounds.

For the Senators, Big Dog scored 28 points and Kidd scored 20.

Now the scene shifts to the next three games in Sublimity. Can the Senators recover and play the Aces like they played Galactic and send the series back to St. Lucie? Can the South Division champion Aces prevail and advance to the SABL Finals for a record fourth time? Stay tuned as the 2001 SABL Classic Conference finals continue.

Philip's annual gift to the SABL - SABL Minutes

Every year, Tulsa Coach Philip Creider treats his fellow SABL coaches to exhaustive compilations of how many total minutes you can play your players in the SABL (SABL Minutes 2001) and how many minutes players available in the annual SABL draft can play in the SABL (2001 Draftable Players). He's done it again this year. Enjoy!

Sublimity Advances to Conference Finals

SUBLIMITY - The importance of the home court has never been more apparent than this Classic Conference semifinal matchup between Sublimity and Galactic, as the Senators held serve in Games 6 & 7 to move on and face St. Lucie in the Classic Conference Finals.

In Game 6, Alan Houston continued to carry the Senators, amassing 46 points on 20-for-26 shooting from the floor and making 5 of 7 3-pointers to pace the 135-122 win. Sublimity outscored the Thunder 45-31 in the final quarter to break open a close game. Jason Kidd once again proved his worth, scoring 27 points and dishing out 19 assists.

Karl Malone had 25 points and 11 rebounds for Galactic. Sean Kemp had 23 points, while Terrell Brandon and John Stockton distributed 13 and 12 assists, respectively.

The decisive Game 7 saw Sublimity outscore Galactic 44-24 in the 2nd quarter and never let the Thunder get closer than eleven points the rest of the way.Alonzo Mourning led all scorers with 30 points, Houston added 27 and Glenn Robinson scored 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the floor.

Malone and Kemp each scored 23 points for Galactic.

The Senators, rightful underdogs in this series, move on to another daunting test versus the high octane Aces from St. Lucie.

Once again, anything can happen in the playoffs, and it usually does.

Gladiators roar back at home, taking all three from Subs

Galactic Thunder washed away a 2 game Senators lead in the best of seven gamne series with scores of:

Game 1) 140- 99
Game 2) 129-113
Game 3) 139- 99

Game One:
Sublimity was lead by Mourning with 24 points and 11rebs, Brand 23 points and 8 rebs and Kidd with 10 points and 16 assists. Galactic put 9 players in double figure scoring lead by Malone with 28 points, 6 rebs and 7 assists.

Game Two:
Sublimity was lead by Mourning with 23 points and 7 rebs, G.Robinson with 24 points and 6 rebs, Brand with 24 points and 2 rebs. Kidd had 8 points and 10 assists. Galactic had 6 men in double figure scoring lead by Malone with 26 points, 7 rebs, and 4 steals. Kemp added 19 points, 8 rebs and 4 assists. Brandon had 12 points and 12 assists. Pippen had 6 points, 12 rebs and 6 assists in 25 mins.

Game Three:
Sublimity was lead by Kidd with a triple-double 21 points, 10 rebs, and 10 assists, Houston had 23 points and 6 assists, Brand added 17 points and 8 rebs, G.Robinson had 16 points and 6 rebs. Mourning was in serious foul trouble and played only 16 mins with 4 points and 2 rebs. Galactic was led by Malone with 25 points and 11 rebs, Kemp with 25 points, and Brandon with 21 points 12 assists and 6 rebs. Stockton fouled out in 17 mins with 12 points and 6 assists. The Thunder shot over 60% from field for the 3 games including 17-28(61%) on 3's and was 71-90(79%) from the free throw line. Galactic averaged 37.7 assists per game.

With Galactic leading in the Round Two playoff series 3-2, the action returns to the West Division champion Senators' home court. The winner of this series takes on St. Lucie in the Classic Conference finals.

Sublimity Out To 2-0 Lead Versus Galactic

SUBLIMITY - Even the loyal Senator fans have come away from the first two games of this Classic Conference semifinal series in a state of shock.
 
Despite finishing the regular season on a high note with a flurry of victories, few prognosticators gave the Sublimity squad much of a chance versus the powerhouse Galactic squad. But, the Senators have pulled out the first two games of the series, both by 110-101 final scores.
 
In Game 1, Sublimity went on a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter and held on for the win. Jason Kidd was spectacular at the point, scoring 20 points, pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out 17 assists. Alan Houston led all scorers with 23 points, while Glenn Robinson and Elton Brand added 23 and 20 points, respectively.
 
The Thunder were paced by Karl Malone's 19 points, but the Mailman fouled out with 4:16 to play, hurting Galactic dearly. Sean Kemp added 16 points, while former University of Oregon standout Terrell Brandon contributed 13 points and 12 assists.
 
Key to the game was Sublimity's 52-33 rebounding advantage. The Senators managed to overcome a dreadful 29 turnovers to top the mighty Thunder.
 
Game 2 was an equally tough battle, with the Thunder leading the majority of the game. The difference here was a super-human performance by Houston. Sublimity's scoring machine poured home 40 points, including 6 of 11 3-pointers. Brand added 29 points, and Kidd distributed 12 assists. Malone again paced Galactic, scoring 21 points.
 
The Senators scored eleven straight points in the fourth quarter, 36 total for the period  to pull away in this tight contest. The Thunder outrebounded Sublimity 45-38 and enjoyed a 28-15 point advantage from the free throw line, but Houston's consistent scoring kept the Senators in this game all night and they peaked at the right time.

Galactic beats San Jose 4 straight

San Jose fell to the Gladiators in four straight games, as Galactic won Games 3 & 4 at San Jose to complete the sweep. Galactic now goes up against Sublimity in Round Two SABL playoff action.

East Asia wins first two games vs. Richmond

East Division champion East Asia took two wins at home vs. The Raiders in this Round Two series. More to come!

Miles takes Tri-City 4 out of 5, goes to conference finals

Miles managed to leave Tri-City with a victory, and the Bulldogs were smelling blood on the way back to Rochester, Minn. Miles and Tri-City split 1-1 on the Blackhawks home court in the first two games of the series.

"We didn't want this series to return to Tri-City," said forward Antoine Walker. "We had a chance to finish it at home."

And the Bulldogs did just that, sweeping the Blackhawks in a three-game set before a probationary crowd at the Mayo Civic Center. Miles took leads early in each game -- then overcame sloppy ball-handling with solid shot selection and deadly free throw shooting to hold back the Blackhawks.

Game 1 (125-116): Miles overcame 28 turnovers, shooting 51 percent from the field and hitting 27-31 free throws. Mike Bibby led the way with 19 points and 11 assists. Dikembe Mutombo clogged the middle with 8 blocks. Tri-City, which shot 47 percent from the floor, got 29 points and 20 assists from Stephon Marbury. Larry Hughes led the Blackhawks with 31 points.

Game 2 (120-113): Walker led 8 Bulldogs in double-figures with 21 points, while hauling in 10 rebounds. Bibby scored 11 points and spurred the offense with 18 assists. Marbury netted 42 points and 8 assists for Tri-City, while Danny Fortson pitched in 14 points and 8 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

Game 3 (141-129): Miles jumped to an 18-point halftime lead, thanks in part to the hot start of guard Jeff Hornacek, who ended up with 24 points on 9-13 from the floor -- most of the damage coming in the opening frame. Tri-City cut the lead to 9 in the second half, but the Bulldogs rallied behind Lorenzen Wright, who tallied 22 points on 10-12 from the floor and hauled down 7 rebounds -- most of that damage in the second half. Walker pitched in 24 points and 7 rebounds as the Dogs got lots of production from the power foward spot. Miles also hit 34 of 41 free throw attempts to keep Tri-City at bay. Hughes, despite being in foul trouble, scored 35 points to lead Tri-City. Marbury was again spectacular with 34 points and 18assists. Ricky Davis added 13 points off the bench for the Blackhawks.

Miles, who goes to its first SABL conference championship series in the Royal Conference, now awaits the winner of the East Asia-Richmond tussle.