The ABL Farewell Game

My ABL career has two parts: the early community-based teams where I played while I was a junior programmer and the current conference-based league where I played as an associate manager. During the early years, I had an accurate three point shot, a decent tear drop shot and basic jumping and lateral movement. Then came my major injury, onshore assignments and a long stint at rehab and I came back heavier than ever, an erratic “jump” shot and lost virtually all lateral movements and jumping ability. I guess it’s the age thing and the fact that I gained weight which messed up my center of gravity (yeah, right).



Age 23:
Michael Jordan: 37.1 points per game
Arn: 3.0 points per game

Age 29:
Michael Jordan: 32.6 points per game
Arn: 0.3 points per game

See? Us great ones decline with age.

For my last game, I weighed in 11 pounds lighter than my last ABL game. It was also the game where I didn’t have the heavy knee brace anymore and I could actually run back and forth now. Unfortunately, our opponent was a full run and gun team which basically means I get to check in and one minute later, my substitute is already in the scorers table. This game was the worst game I’ve ever played.

During the first play, a teammate bricked a shot, I got the offensive rebound but another player was poking it away so I tried to pry it off him then went out of bounds. It turns out that he was a teammate and we turned the ball over. It was more confusing on the defensive side since again, the opposing team found a small fat guy manning the post and so they forced the ball into whoever I was guarding. I didn’t contribute anything on offense either. My only attempt was a three point shot that went wide because the guy who tried to block my shot hugged me on the way down. After a couple more possessions, they subbed me out. The way I played, I would have subbed myself out 5 seconds into the game.

We eventually lost but we kinda knew we were bowing out sooner or later. We gave a good fight. Romer was aggressive. Franco was blocking shots with his elbows. JV cheered from the stands with his broken arm. Sonn had a cool motorbike. Tholitz had a bleeding knee for crying out loud. It was a happy bunch. Despite losing a playoff game, it didn’t feel like it. Sure, it would have been happier if we won. It would have been extremely happier if Jaye was in the stands. I still think it’s a cool way to leave the league.

The next basketball I'll be busy with in the next couple of months will be here: