| Kursi wins spectacular game at the buzzer |
Jan 28, 2008 |
When these teams met in the regular season it was Kursi who won by a 35-24 score. Nas said that they learned what they did wrong in that game and would be able to overcome the big three for Kursi in Michael Sagoe, Carlton Sago and Tunji Giwa. Kursi obviously felt that this game would be closer as they had scouts at the quarterfinal game between Nas and Falaq. The chances for Nas were made slimmer when captain and centre Mahmoud Qasim suffered a serious ankle injury and was lost for the playoffs. Adding to their woes was the loss of veteran guard Zuhaib Ansari who separated his shoulder. Nas would need to get a strong game out of their young dynamic duo of Umair Jabbar and Uzair Ansari as well as a strong game in the post from Zubair Qasim. They added Usman Chaudhry to their bench staff as a coach Kursi would need to get their full team involved, if not on the scoreboard than at least on the defensive end and helping on the glass.
The game started with Nas coming out flying as they shut down the passing lanes and double teamed Michael Sagoe. The strong pressure defence from Nas forced multiple turnovers as passes were either picked off or the Kursi players were forced into committing traveling offences. Ansari and Jabbar were all over the place as they came up with loose balls and doing everything they could to shut the Kursi offense down. Nas was also getting the job done offensively and with 16:06 left in the half, Kursi called a timeout as they were trailing 8-0. Kursi was clearly frustrated with their poor start but finally got some offense going to get on the board. Nas got a boost from Waqar Khan who nailed back to back three pointers to give his team a 17-6 lead with ten minutes left in the half. Nas seemed to be in control but sensed Kursi was gaining some steam and called a timeout with 2:47 left and leading 20-12.
Nas managed to get another basket before the end of the half and found themselves leading 22-12. Khan led Nas with 6 points and 4 rebounds while Kursi was led by Tunji Giwa with 6 points and 5 rebounds.
The second half saw Kursi make a 16-0 run to start which saw them tie the game at 22 after five minutes of play and go on to take a 28-22 lead. Coach Chaudhry did his best impression of the “Lenny Wilkens face” from his time with the Raptors which involved a frozen glossed over look of fear as he watched his team fall apart. Nas considered calling their final timeout but did not want to use it so early. Nas managed to stop the run and after getting a pair of buckets, Kursi called a timeout with 11:15 left and leading 28-26. Kursi managed to build up their lead and with 5:16 left, Nas used their final timeout while trailing 35-29.
Nas would need a strong finish if they wanted to win this game and after Khan hit a jumper they trailed 35-32 with four minutes left in the game. Kursi missed their next shot and Rizwan Merchant of Nas was fouled, he calmly stepped up and hit both his free throws to make it a 35-34 game. Merchant quickly stole the ball on the next Kursi possession and made a beautiful pass to Ansari who completed a lay-up while being fouled giving Nas a 36-35 lead. Ansari missed the free throw but the ball was knocked out of bounds by Kursi giving Nas another offensive possession. Nas worked the ball around to try and eat up as much clock as possible and Kursi was forced to foul which sent Mohammed Ghori to the free throw line. Ghori hit both free throws in a double bonus situation to give Nas a 38-35 lead with 1:25 left in the game. Kursi fed the ball to Tunji on their next possession but he missed a three pointer and Kursi was forced to foul again.
This time Zubair Qasim went to the free throw line with the chance to make it a two possession game but he missed both free throws which kept the score at 38-35. Kursi moved the ball quickly up-court and Carlton Sagoe drew a shooting foul where he split his free throws to make it 38-36. Kursi was forced to foul again and this time Ansari split a pair of free throws to make it 39-36. Kursi fed the ball to Carlton Sagoe again who was fouled, he missed both free throws but poor boxing out allowed Michael Sagoe to grab the rebound and get a put-back while being fouled making it a 39-38 game. He hit his free throw with 33 second left to tie the game at 39 all.
Nas worked the ball around, careful not to turn it over and put it into the hands of Ansari who pump faked a three to get the defender to commit, stepped by him and knocked down a jumper with 10 seconds left to give Nas a 41-39 lead. The inexperience of Nas showed as their bench and players on the floor all started to celebrate and did not pressure the ball which allowed Kursi to quickly inbound and put the ball up court where Giwa found himself open for a three point attempt which he hit at the buzzer to give Kursi a 42-41 win. Giwa who had not hit a three all season proved to be the hero in this game and broke the hearts of the young Nas squad who fought so hard this game.
Kursi was led by Giwa with 16 points and 10 rebounds; he was supported by Michael Sagoe with 19 points. Nas was led by Ansari with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals while Khan finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds. Nas had opportunities to seal this game late but poor free throw shooting (8 for 22) cost them down the stretch although overall poor shot selection for the game hurt them as they often threw up forced three pointers and gave away offensive possessions.
Kursi got the win but would have lost if not for Giwa’s heroics and need to be concerned with their poor start and careless turnovers throughout the game. They will now move onto face Inshirah in the Finals next week. |
