The SABL BS

Volume 2 Issue 63 April 2000

FROM COMMISSIONER SCOTT ELLIS, 2^ND AMER. BASKETBALL LEAGUE

St. Lucie blows out Galactic in Game 3 at home

The defending SABL champions took a 2-1 lead in the Classic Conference finals by whipping the Thunder at home 137-105. Galactic actually led athe end of the first quarter, 30-23, but the Aces scored 45 points to Galactic's 17 in the second quarter, taking a lead they never gave up.

Cliff Robinson was incredible for St. Lucie, scoring 29 and stealing the ball 5 times. Rapid Rod Strickland had 18 points and 8 assists. Sudden Sam Cassell scored 22 for Galactic.

New SABL Minutes Guide is posted and ready to view!

Tulsa Twister Coach Phillip Creider always does a great job in compiling our annual SABL minutes guide, but this year, he's outdone himself. He's already finished the list and I've posted it under our SABL Minutes link. Find out what rookies are available in the draft and how many SABL minutes (25% over what they did in real life) they can play. See what the minutes-to-play situation is for your own team, too.

Once again, we should all email or phone Phillip to thank him for his annual labor of love that makes our gaming labor of love a lot easier. Thanks so much Phillip!

Aces and Thunder split Games 1 & 2 at Galactic

It's on to St. Lucie as the Aces and Galactic split Games 1 and 2 at the Thunderdome.

Game 1 - Rapid Rod Strickland had 14 assists, while Gary Payton had 10 for St. Lucie as the Aces won 128-116. Karl Malone scored 22 and Grant Hill notched 20, while Shaquille O'Neal scored 17 with 10 rebounds. Former Ace Shawn Kemp scored 26 with 9 rebounds for Galactic and Sudden Sam Cassell scored 24.

Game 2 - The Aces made a crucial coaching blunder that allowed the Thunder to roar past them 113-105. Ace Coach Scott Ellis fell asleep at the switch in the middle of the fourth quarter, allowing a valiant but exhausted O'Neal to stumble to a 23-point, 15 rebound performance as Karl Malone languished on the bench for most of the fourth quarter. Even with Malone in, it might not have been possible to beat Galactic as Kemp again excelled, scoring 35 points and getting 10 boards. Nineteen of Galactic's 42 rebounds were offensive boards, compared to the Aces' 43 and nine, respectively.

Can Kemp keep it up when the action shifts to St. Lucie for Games 3, 4 & 5? We'll find out soon as the Classic Conference championships continue!

Deerfield and Richmond split in Games 1 & 2

It's a great Round Two series shaping up between the underdog Raiders and the West Division champion Kings as they split their first two games at Deerfield. It's on to Richmond for the next three games. Whichever team wins, it will be the first time either team has made it to the Royal Conference finals.

East Asia sweeps Holcomb, advances to Royal finals

The Dragons of Thailand, led by first-year SABL Coach Paul Bennett, are in the Royal Conference finals by cooling the Heat in two games at Holcomb, 117-93 and 98-75. Antoine Walker, the subject of myriad trade rumors, showcased his talents for East Asia, scoring 26 in the first game. Patrick Ewing scored 25. Penny Hardaway had 18 points in the first game and Nick Anderson scored 17.

In Game 2, Walker was wonderous, nailing 28 points. Congratulations to Holcomb Coach Charlie Dillingham for a great season.

East Division winner East Asia awaits the winner of the Deerfield-Richmond series in the Royal finals.

Aces trounce Tri City at home, sweep Round Two series

Defending World Champion St. Lucie swept North Division winner Tri City by taking Games 3 and 4 in St. Lucie, 121-96 and 122-107.

Game 3 - Chris Feeney sure has a good player in Stephon Marbury, as he again led the Black Hawks, scoring 26 points with 7 assists. Dynamic Danny Fortson had 13 boards, too, but it wasn't enough. Gary Payton poured in 24 with 7 assists and Grant Hill scored 26. Karl Malone had 24 points.

Game 4 - This was a closer game than it looks, because at one point, Tri City led the Aces 84-80 with 41 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. It was tied at 84-84 to start the 4th, but the Aces put on the press, forcing 6 Hawk turnovers and pulling it out of the fire. Marbury was magnificient, scoring 30 with 9 assists. Fortson had 15 rebounds and Bison Dele boarded 10. Hill scored 26 with 8 assists and 6 rebounds and Payton had 10 assists.

It was a great year for Chris Feeney's Black Hawks, as they came from a long way behind to win the North Division title. Congratulations on a great season!

Now the stage is set for a rematch of last year's Classic Conference finals: Galactic vs. St. Lucie. The two titans with the best regular season records in the SABL will now face off again to see who goes to the SABL finals to face the Royal Conference winner. Last year, St. Lucie beat Galactic in six games, but this year, Galactic has a stronger team while the Aces' defense is weaker. The excitement builds as these two old foes once again toe the line of battle.

St. Lucie wins two at Tri City, 102-91 and 104-96

North Division winner Tri City lost two at home to the Aces as Grant Hill, Gary Payton and Rod Strickland dominated the action.

In Game 1, Hill scored 25 and had 10 boards, while Rapid Rod threw 9 assists. Gary Payton had 11 assists. Stephon Marbury scored 22 points and Danny Fortson 13 rebounds for the Black Hawks.

In Game 2, Marbury had 12 assists and 18 points, but it wasn't enough to counter Hill's 21 points, Payton's 13 assists and Strickland's 10 assists. Strickland also scored 20 points.

The action shifts to St. Lucie for the next three games in this Round Two matchup. South Division winner Galactic awaits the winner of this series.

East Asia takes two from Heat at home in Round Two

East Division winner East Asia jumped to a 2-0 lead in Round Two Royal Conference Action by beating Holcomb at home. The action shifts to the Heat's arena for the next three games. Dragon Coach Paul Bennett tells the tale:

Chiang Mai – East Asia gave the home fans a scare for 3 quarters before using their league-best defense to pull out a 86 – 78 victory. Tied at 64

after 3 quarters, the Dragons held the Heat to 14 fourth quarter points and kept Nick Anderson and Penny Hardaway off the scoreboard. Asia played their sloppiest game of the season, committing 24 turnovers, however the real difference was the fact that the Heat were 0 – 16 from downtown while the home team was 6 – 10. Antoine Walker led the Dragons with 18 while Darrell Armstrong had 16. The Heat were led by Penny with 19 and Anderson was the only other Heat player in double figures with 16.

Pat Ewing poured in 23 in 31 minutes and was too much for the Heat big men. Eddie Jones scored 21 to go with 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Penny led the Heat with 17 points, 9 boards and 4 steals. Asia won the game from the free throw line, going 24 for 34 compared to the Heat’s 12 for 16. Heat snipers were only 4 for 20 from long range and Nick Anderson (1 - 10) should have stayed home.