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Season 3 - Week 13 Recap

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Week 13 saw a record number of absences from GBBL regulars with 6 guys missing in action.  With so many not able to play this week, the substitution list took over and brought in a lot of talent.  With so much talent in the draft, the Ballers would have to hit on all cylinders this week in order to get their win and complete the Dynasty.  The Legends on the other hand, assembled an All BSL Veteran Team, while the Wolves reassembled their winning team from earlier this year.  The play was a bit chippy this week and a lot of fatigue was seen throughout the night due to a number of players having played in the first annual Dynasty Tournament this past weekend (GBBL thanks everyone who participated and donated to such a great cause).  The Mambas were able to put together 3 quick wins, while the Ballers tied on multiple occasions.  Due to the tie difference going to the Mambas and even though they had the worst point differential in the round robin, the Mambas, would take on the Legends in this week’s finals.

The Mambas this week were captained by Saleem Qureshi.  Saleem coming off a final’s loss in the tournament on Saturday, was determined to get this week’s win and redeem himself.  Wasting no time, he immediately drafted Most Improved Player candidate Umar Ilyas.  Zain Malik was quickly added to ensure size would not be an issue for this team.  Saleem rounded out the team with sharpshooters Adeel Qureshi and Riyad Ramjaun.  On paper, this team had all the tools to be a new Dynasty however, the round robin games proved otherwise, as they scrapped their way to 3 wins and had the worst point differential of all teams.  On the flip side, the Legends were captained by Baseer Yaseen.  Big Bass decided to go with an all-sub team and veterans he’s used to play with on Sunday’s in BSL.  Sneaker of the Tournament winner Taher Mirza was added, while Baseer also added Shamil Khadaroo.  The biggest news of the night was the next pick, with Umair Sheikh making his big return.  Umair suffered a gruesome injury earlier this year, and it was nothing short of a miracle to see him back on the court so quickly.  Rounding out the Legends was Saoud Ramjaun.

The first half between these 2 teams was a snooze fest, with both teams regularly missing shots until both captains decided enough was enough.  Saleem quickly put the Mambas up 3-1, but right before half, Baseer scored 2 more points and the score was tied at 3’s going into the 2nd half.  We’re not sure what Saleem told his squad at half but whatever it is, it worked.  The Mambas came out firing on all cylinders and went on a 9 nothing run.  The entire Mambas scored on this night, with Zain and Adeel hitting their signature mid-range shots from the top of the key.  Riyad got involved and hit a big 3, while Umar put the exclamation point on the game with another 3.  The Legends would score only 1 more point on the night and looked deflated, with only 2 players from the squad scoring while the remaining 3 could not get much going.  The night ended with the Mambas taking the championship this week with a final score of 12-4.  The only downside for the Mambas on the night was that there is now only 1 week left.  With such a talented squad that finally showed their potential in the 2nd half of the finals, they’re all wishing for an additional week to potentially get the Dynasty; unfortunately, that will not be the case.

With only 1 week left, the Mambas are going in and looking to climb up the GUT standings.  Umar has now taken the overall lead for now, but the real story is between players 7 to 17, with the final 4 spots in the GUT All Star game up for grabs between 11 players.  Although GBBL’s season is coming to a close, the storylines and drama is just heating up.  Who will make the top 10?  Stay tuned for a wild ending to the season YoungBloods!!!