Sunday 25th March 2007 @ 8pm, Court 1

 

Regular Season Record - 10-9, 4th

 

Regular Season Series - Elites won 2-0

                                    1: Elites win by forfeit

                                    2: Elites 40 def Kuma Sutra All Stars 26

 

Form - The elites form looks shaky as they have once again repeated their late season form slump from last season by only being able to win 2 out of their last 6 matches which saw them just hang on to 4th spot by percentage on the ladder. They go into the finals having loss 2 in a row and dropping 3 of their last 4 games. Its not that the elites have been playing badly, it's how the elites, who in many of these matches, found themselves a good chance of winning the game but then all of a sudden, find themselves switching off for a brief period of time which has seen the elites go scoreless while allowing the opposition to make a run on and take control in that certain period of time. There were many examples during the latter half of the season where there were periods during the game where the elites just switched off. In the game against the

 

Mcaschfreys - the elites started badly and were down 2-14 in the first 10 mins of the first half before eventually running over the top of their opponents who slowly tired from fatigue.

 

Space cadets - saw the elites jump out to a 5-0 lead, early the first half before allowing the space cadets to score 11 of the next 13 pts and trailed 7-16 at half time before eventually losing out by 10 pts

 

Slackers - scores were level at 36-36 with just 6 minutes remaining and with the game in the balance and the elites with possession of the ball, DU calls a timeout to get his chargers refreshed to run out the last 6 minutes of the game. However the elites were only able to muster only 2 pts as the slackers scored 11 of the last 13 pts to effectively end the tight contest

 

Warriors - the elites were only down 21-23 with just 4 minutes remaining. However a soft foul on kosta saw him foul out of the game and this turn out to be the turning point of the match as the elites didn’t score anymore points after this incident. The warriors scored the last 6 points in the remaining 4 minutes to seal victory.

 

The ring ins - The elites had led 17-9 early in the first half and 21-18 at half time and looked headed for victory, but the 2nd half saw the elites go scoreless for the first 14 minutes of the 2nd half as the rings went on a 15-0 run which effectively saw the elites down by 12 pts with 6 minutes remaining and this turned out to be a match winning lead for the ring ins as they managed to eventually win by 3 pts despite the elites making a mini revival which went to no avail in the end.

For the elites, making the semi finals is merely confirmation that they have improved as a team, but rather some luck played apart to allow the elites a chance at making the grand final.

Medical Room - Good news for the elites, Sam and Richard is a 50/50 chance of making a return to help the elites win their first final, but we wont know for certain until possibly on the day of the finals. DU has a minor blister on his left wrist but shouls still be ok to take his palce in the line up. Wong has become a late withdrwawal due to uni assignment commitments.

Verdict - Well this is it. It's now or never for the elites. will their first time end in humiliation or ecstasy. It's hard to say considering the elties, for the majority of the season have been just hanging in there and as a result they have managed to sneak into the finals for the very first time. You have to give the elites enormous credit for making the final four for the first time despite what has happened this season and DU will have his troops believing they can pull off a miracle to make the grand final. The elites havent really been able to show all their cards this season due to injuries and player absences this season which haven't allowed the elties to play to their full potential. The absence of their star player "SAM" due to year 12 has been a huge blow to the elites team balance. Clearly they are a better team with SAM in it. It's going to be a tough one for the elites to win considering the form they are in at the moment and if SAM isnt able to take her place in the finals then its gonna make it a lot tougher for the elites to win, but then again this is a final and as such, anything can happen.

DU realised during the season that his team wasn't a high scoring team and wouldn't win anything by trying to outscore other teams - outside TRAN and CLIFFORD, they simply don't have enought fire power. So the elite palyers decided to make a renewed commitment to defence, in such that other teams might score on them, but they would have to work extremely hard to do so. It might be ugly, it might only be for the purists, but it has served them well in some of the games this season, and if they can maintain that effort in the semi finals then they have chance. But realistically, it's a small chance at that. Kuma Sutra All Stars have been terrific over the past couple of months and has been rarely challenged, and unless they suffer an unlikely meltdown, the elites will have to play near-perfect basketball to get even close. Therefore, TRAN and CLIFFORD will need to fire in this game and if neither one of them don't, then it will be a case of another one bites the dust. The only question that remains is, are the elites ready to take the next step or are they just simply there to make up the numbers. Also, can the elites avoid switching off during certain periods of the game because if they do happen to switch off in this crucial finals clash then there will be no way back for the elites. Keep in mind the elites have won both their clashes this season against the kuma sutra all stars but that won't count for nothing if they fail to beat them this Sunday. In the final analysis, the elites will give a good account of themselves, but they rely on too few offensively, and kuma sutra's all star's depth will be too much in the end as they should power away into the grand final and a shot at championship glory. Kuma Sutra All Stars by 8 pts