8:00pm: Pick-up
Before the finals there is a pickup session. Open to former and current players. Please bring a dark and light jersey. $5/player.
9:00pm: Emaan vs Sabr
We are now down to two teams. The best two teams all season long will now battle it out over two weeks to determine who gets to take home the I-Slam Cup. Let’s rewind the tape and look at the evolution of both teams. First up Emaan (aka TMT), after self-destructing and getting into penalty trouble in the fall semi-finals against Yaqeen, TMT made huge splashes in free agency, grabbing the 2017 Fall Best Defensemen, Salman Khalid and last season’s first overall pick Arif Bijabhai. The remaining players of the protected list included Waqar Khan, Furqan Salam and Adeel Awan (now replaced by brother Umair Awan due to injury). Arguably many felt that this was the strongest 5-man core and expected this team to get to the finals. Throughout this journey, they faced many trials and tribulations with season ending injuries to both Abdu Sharkawy and Adeel Awan. Also now, Zuhair Fancy is nursing an upper-body injury sustained in TMT’s semi-final win over Ihsan.
After exorcising their demands from the past year, with a convincing 4-0 win over the defending champions in the previous round, they now find themselves the final’s favourites versus Sabr, whom they defeated twice already in the regular season.
Sabr is the feel-good story for this season. In the fall they were the last team to qualify for the playoffs. Often, they used to get blown out of games before the start of the second half. Many questioned why GMs Saleem Malik and Naiem Malik decided, despite these poor results, to retain almost the exact same roster. Really the only significant change that was made was deciding to address their goaltending issues and draft Ahmad Mobin third overall. This bold move was opposite to what Sabr did in the fall, electing to select a goalie with their last pick. Give them credit! Sabr has ranks number two in the league in stopping goals from entering their net (behind Emaan) but remarkably with the same group of guys from the fall is the most lethal offense. So far, they have been able to solve every team but Emaan. They can take comfort in the fact in their most recent encounter they were leading against Emaan at the end of the 1st half.
On paper, logic suggests Emaan will take this series. However when it comes to playoff games, anything is possible, especially the finals which is a whole different environment.
With that said here is how you guys think the teams match up (as per the results of an online poll):
Better Offense: 55% Sabr; 45% Emaan
Better Defense: 86% Sabr; 14% Emaan
Better Goaltender: 66% Sabr; 34% Emaan
The Better Team: 52% Sabr; 48% Emaan
MVP will be: Waqar Khan (Emaan), Arif Bijabhai (Emaan), Umair Awan (Emaan), Dawood Ciombar (Sabr), Naiem Malik (Sabr), Ahmad Mobin (Sabr), Akib Malik (Sabr), Ali Malik (Sabr)
Other Comments:
“Defense wins championships! Although Doc, JJ and the Fancy/Hamidi ensemble is a solid defensive corps for green, the M&Ms (Mobin and Malik's) are a daunting challenge in a one game eliminator. My money is on Mobin getting hot and stoning the green offense on his way to a repeat championship.”
“TMT! TMT! TMT!”
“Emaan has speed for longer duration of the game while the Malik's may not last the whole game.”
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