- SEASON 5 AWARD WINNERS -
These are the award winners for Season 5! More information on the prerequisites for the awards can be found by clicking directly on the 'ABOUT' tab. Season 5 was truly a one of a kind season where we got hit with the pandemic and our playoffs got delayed by a whole 19 months (still mind blowing to think about). 99% of organizations just cancelled their leagues but we managed to get it all sorted out and finish it off. Took some comprimising and dedicated planning but it ended up being a great season...pandemic aside. We are not going to have our full assortment of awards due to the delay (tough to vote and remember all the details from over 2 and half years ago) but I still want to present the main awards to these deserving individuals. Congrats to all the nominees on a terrific season!!!
SEASON 5's MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (MVP)
(NOMINEES)
KRISOTH GNANENTHRA
DUZAN INDRASITHU
AWARD WINNER: DUZAN INDRASITHU - What can we say about Duzzy that has not already been said? The Kings finished with a record of 8-3 which was good enough for 6th out of 22 teams and to put it bluntly...dude was the only reason they were in that spot. He did the most with the least (in terms of roster) compared to the contending teams and put up a league high 28.4ppg on 55.6% shooting! (No-one else even scored 23ppg) Just flat out rediculous!!! Plus he was good for 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game. But that is not all. The man was almost just as good on the defensive end. Consistently guarding the other team's best guard/wing and just being everywhere on the court. He did what it took every game to will his team to victory...knowing when to lead vocally and when to lead by example as well. He had one hell of a regular season and deserves every bit of praise for such an awesome performance.
SEASON 5' GM OF THE YEAR
RAY SURUJBALLY
BILLAL OMAIR
RANDY CHO
SANJOO JESUTHASAN
CO-AWARD WINNER: BILLAL OMAIR & RAY SURUJBALLY - For the first time ever, we have co-winners for the 'GM Of The Year' award. Both guys led their team to a 9-2 record and a top 3 finish for Season 5. They always want to one up each other in real life but for now they will have to share something together. Billal had a talented Heat squad but to be able to manage that many personalities and get everyone on the same page was worse than trying to solve the Da Vinci Code. Keeping the egos in check, managing minutes/usage, navigating other team's strengths and weaknesses...Billal did it all regardless of the pressure that was put forth upon him. Most people would have quit or folded having to deal with it all but Bill figured out the right formula and pressed the right buttons all season. Kept it all from blowing up! Ray on the other hand is winning this award for the third time in ETBL history so that itself in incredible. After you win it once, it is going to just keep getting harder and you are generally measured by your previous excellence...but that is why Ray is special and he continues to just get the absolute most of his teams. Noone woulda predicted a top 3 finish for the Nuggets. They had some solid pieces but not a true franchise player or a bunch of young energetic athletes. He put them in the right situations and played the right type of defence to maximize their ceiling. The amount of preparation and watching game film cannot be matched...not even close. Bravo to both gentlemen.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
MATHEOS KOSTAS
BEN OKYERE
JANATH KUMAR
AWARD WINNER: JANATH KUMAR
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
ARCHU MYLVANNAN
JANATH KUMAR
NASH KAMAL
SENTHU INDRASITHU
DUZAN INDRASITHU
VMAN VINAY
ANSON ANTON-PHILIP
AWARD WINNER: ARCHU MYLVANNAN - There were lots of great defenders in Season 5 but Archu stood out with his ability to shut down the best offensive weapon on the opposing team on a weekly basis. He was asked to guard them for the entire game and rarely did he ever need help on his matchup. He showed his toughness and wore his heart on his sleeve as he did whatever was necessary to get his team the win. He played great team defence as well and also guarded players bigger than him and did a tremendous job limiting their damage. He looked forward to every challenge and rose to the occasion during clutch moments and that is why he is your Season 5 Defensive Player of the Year.
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM (5 spots)
DUZAN INDRASITHU
ARCHU MYLVANNAN
ANSON ANTON-PHILIP
VMAN VINAY
NASH KAMAL