Now this is just a crazy dunk!
On Westbrook’s Top 10 of the year, I’ve gotta say I was looking for my favorites and numbers 4 and 8jumped out at me. But there’s no favorite. This guy is simply rockin’ the hoop!!
And from the annals of the “anyone can make a mistake” files, check this out!
As I’m sure you all know I’m a die-hard Mahram fan ever since I started watching SuperLeague play during the NBA lockout. I’ve shared their games on livestream with a number of colleagues, some of whom are basketball professionals, and I think they’ve all been surprised at the level of play coming out of Iran and WABL.
But I digress. This is about the WABA series and how Mahram is amazing! The series has generated a lot of stress… and screams… sometimes some bad words… all in my apartment… 🙂 I’m sure my neighbours are wondering about the lunatic woman next door, but alas it is only The Diesel Diva watching one of her favorite teams playing her favorite sport.
Basketball is about strength, speed, coordination, real team play, strategy and sportsmanship. Both Mahram and Al Riyadi have these qualities and the game promised to keep us on the edge of our seats. Well it did, but not in the way that was expected! Mahram dominated throughout the whole game, not giving much space to Riyadi until the 4th quarter when the spread was below 10 points a couple of times. But Mahram kept answering their opponents.
At half time the score was 50-34 for Mahram, but the spread was frequently more than 20 points. This was a surprise given that Riyadi had fought so hard in the first four games of the series, winning two. Riyadi played hard the first half of tonight’s game, but their results did not reflect their real ability. While they rallied in the second half with stronger passing and play, shooting was not good enough to overcome the Mahram basketball machine! Photo – The Diesel Diva
Mahram did it all tonight. Mehdi Kamrani, Hamed Afagh, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Pape Sow, Nikoloz Tskitishivili, Farid Aslani and Amir Sedighi played basketball the way basketball should be played. They knew where every teammate was (they seemed to read each others’ minds!), and they moved fast and strong and their shots hit home. That’s the way to win a game, as Mahram showed us tonight!! Or as my basketball playing friend said during the game, ” These guys are legit!”
Unfortunately I was not able to watch the game live, but many thanks to Milad Payami for permission to post FIBA Asia shots above.
Photos: FIBA Asia Photo / Milad Payami
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CONGRATULATIONS to Mahram!
My friends from TopFlight Basketball Academy know that I’m a bit of a basketball fan and invited me to join them to watch the Bangkok Cobras play the Chang Slammers today. Well, to say I was excited is an understatement. While I love watching basketball in any form, live is best. The fact that I was going to be in the company of former LA Laker Ike Nwanko and NCAA San Diego State alumni Eric Rohwer, made it that much better. I did however feel the need to review my knowledge of basketball rules in my Idiot’s Guide to Basketball 🙂 I also got the camera charged up…
The Chang Thailand Slammers and the Bangkok Cobras play in the Asean Basketball League, a recently formed international league in Southeast Asia. The ABL was formed in 2009 and is the region’s first professional league for any sport. Each team is allowed 2 international imports and 3 ASEAN imports each season. The ABL champions will go on to represent Southeast Asia in the FIBA Asia Championship. Currently Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia are represented in the ABL.
Although I’ve watched faster, stronger basketball, there is a certain feeling that goes with sitting in the stands, with the smell of basketball permeating every square inch of the gym. There is anticipation, adrenalin, and a general sense of well-being — especially if your own team is winning. Neither of my favorite teams was playing (Mahram, Iran and Chicago Bulls), but that just didn’t matter. There is a always a team to cheer for in any game! So the Cobras got my fan card…
The first half of the game saw both teams sluggish with no coordinated passing or feeling of teamwork. Shooting was not strong and ball-handling clumsy at best. There was no one I could call a playmaker. I can’t imagine what was going through the mind of Cobra coach Joe Bryant, if I was thinking these things!
Then there were the strange noises emanating from the announcers table, perhaps akin to football match vuvuzelas. There was an odd loud scratching noise that would be played at undefined moments. Sometimes it was accompanied by what can only be described as a loud fart noise. Then there was a tendency to play music at also undefined times. It was distracting, annoying and lent a less than professional atmosphere to the game. While I am all for fun, cheers and music at a game, this just screamed high school match …
The second half of the game picked up with more teamwork demonstrated and a bit more energy, especially given the score was neck and neck. It was still inelegant but was at least more effective, with balls dropping through the hoops on a couple of nice 3-pointers and a few messy but point-generating scrambles under the net. Interestingly, in this game height did not seem to be of great importance, with some of the Filipino imports demonstrating some fast moves and a little more skill. It was a close game until the end, with the teams evenly matched but the Cobras edged out the Slammers.
The game was a good afternoon outing. The league is embryonic and it showed, but the elements are there for someone with a strong love of the game, the experience and support to make something of this and get Southeast Asia on the Asian Basketball map.
ASEAN Basketball League website: http://www.aseanbasketballleague.com/
TopFlight Basketball Academy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TopFlightBasketballAcademy
Bangkok Cobras on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BangkokCobras
Bangkok Cobras blog: http://bangkokcobras.tumblr.com/
Chang Slammers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chang-Thailand-Slammers/112555938808704
Chang Slammers website: http://www.changthailandslammers.com/
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