11am: Ikhlas faces off against Kursi in a battle amongst young talent. Both teams have split the season series at 1-1. Soban Ali has done a bit of the heavy lifting for this young team as he finished the season averaging 16 points with roughly 6 rebounds. Alongside Ali, Mannahel Chaudhry will provide long range shooting and will help spread the half court offence for Kursi. On the other side, Ikhlas will have their big-3 of Chad Mondesir, Zakariya Khan & Zamam Khan. The three players have combined to average 49 points a game for the season. Also, on a side note, Ikhlas has not lost when Zamam Khan has suited up this season (9-0).
12pm: Al-Masad faces off against Kawthar in their first round playoff matchup, where the winner will continue and play Bayyina later in the day. Al-Masad has showed serious grit and promise with the impressive play from Masuud Issa, Mahmoud Salama and Ridwan Al-Nachawati as of late. Look for Ahmed Elmoursi and Ibrahim Rakkie to provide outside shooting to spread the floor for Al-Masad. For Kawthar, Jon Grunham will be the key factor for this deep team. Grunham finished the season with solid averages of 15 points and 11 rebounds, as he led the league in rebounds per game. Expect a solid two man interior game from him and Farhad Khan, while Komail Rawjani provides the leadership and strong half court defence.
1pm: A historic matchup for the ages continues as Nas battles Fatiha in the semifinals of Tier 1 basketball action. Fatiha is fresh off a close game against Falaq where Arsalan Jamil scored two go-ahead baskets with under 20secs left to take the lead, and eventually hit the game winning shot as time expired. Nas is entering the battle behind the strong backcourt of Jamal Douglas and Sanel Sehic. Shawn Berry will also be a key factor on both ends of the court as he finished the year with averages of 15 points and 7 rebounds. For Fatiha, expect consistently solid defense from the veterans Mike Jacobs, Deklon Roberts and Arsalan Jamil. Kendrick Williams will also provide as a strong defensive anchor in the paint. Both teams split the season series this season at 1-1, so we can all expect an exciting game.
2pm: Bayyina will play the winner of the Al-Masad vs. Kawthar game. Bayyina has struggled a lot this season as they have yet to win a game in either tier. With a full roster, Bayyina will be in a very good position to win this game regardless of the opponent. Throughout the season Bayyina has faced short rosters, injuries and some internal problems as well. Stefan Mioc has been a bright spot for this team as he has averaged 13 points and 7 rebounds.
3pm: Ma’un will faceoff against the Tier 1 drop down team Adiyat. Rumors are that Adiyat might be without their star player Louis Moore, who is out due to coaching commitments elsewhere. With a short roster, expect Adiyat to call upon the younger players to help provide a spark on the offensive end. Hamza Chaudhary, Nouraiz Akbar and Assim Chaudhary will be called up to help carry the load on offense. On defense, the veteran leadership from Mish Ahmed will come a long way. On the other end, Ma’un has been rolling as they have won their last two games against two of the top 3 teams in tier two. Expect solid defensive contributions from Daniyal Zia aka Swaggy D and Sarim Khan aka The Big Ticket. Asfundyar Khan and Akhyar Khan will be called upon for help on the perimeter on both ends of the court, as they will likely have the job to matchup with Hamza & Assim Chaudhary. Expect Jamal Khan to continue his performance as he’s coming off a hot 33-point, 10 rebound game against Zilzal. Moazzam Sheikh will be called upon to help on the rebounds as he has averaged 5 rebounds per game in his last 3 games.
Sunday 24 April 2016
April 17th - Playoffs Week One Recap:
Playoffs Week One Recaps:
11am: Kursi defeats Takathur 50-44
Expected to be a great game to watch, Takathur hindered their own chances showing up with only five players. Despite a strong effort from Hussain Shivji, Faizal Merali and Alykhan Bhimji it wasn't enough against the skill of Kursi - considering that Takathur is a consistent lock to make the Final Four this feels like an upset. Usama Shakeel and Adeel Mahmood finished with 12 points each to lead Kursi and a solid game from Soban Ali helped Kursi advance to the Final Four where they will face Ikhlas.
12pm: Adiyat defeats Asr 55-38 to advance
Adiyat came in feeling the humbling of their play-in game loss to Tamjeed which dropped them to the Tier-2 Playoff Bracket. They came into this game struggling at the start, only up 22-17 at the half against Asr who were putting up a fight. Second half is where Tahir Khan and Louis Moore started to hit shots and a big run saw Adiyat sail into the next round. Omar El-Hamouly played well for Asr in the loss with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Khan finished with 16 points while Moore ended with 14 to help Adiyat advance where they face Ma'un.
1pm: Ikhlas defeates Qariyah 65-48
Qariyah came into this game confident that they could give Ikhlas a run and knock out the first place team in Tier-1. The game did not start that way as Ikhas blew out of the games to a huge lead in the opening minutes and coasted to a 28-16 lead at the half as Qariyah tried to keep things close. The second half saw Ikhlas extend their lead as their big three could not be stopped, Qariyah hit a flurry of 3's in the final few minutes but didn't have enough to make the final score close. Ikhlas were led by Zamam Khan with 22 points and Zakariya Khan with 20 points while Chad Mondesir finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds and changed many shots with his presence in the middle. Qariyah were led by Saad Ahmad and Rohan Ghori with 12 points each.
2pm: Ma'un upsets Zilzal 48-45 to advance
These teams were familiar with each other coming in, and injuries had an impact as Ma'un was without Yasser Lachemi while Zilzal was getting back Fareed Cheema from a concussion. Ma'un came flying out of the game, building a quick 10-0 lead by doing all the right things as they protected the ball and worked for high percentage shots. Zilzal finally got their first basket when Ahmed Khalid hit a jumper over eight minutes into the game. Zilzal slowly started to chip away and when Daniyal "Swaggy D" Zia went down with an ankle injury it left Ma'un with no subs. Cheema started to impose himself more on the game hitting shots and creating for his teammates to cut the Ma'un lead to 22-18 at the half. Second half saw Jamal Khan drive the lane more and get to the line as a result. Some composure issues derailed Zilzal as they tied the game up but technicals gave free throws and possessions right back to Ma'un. Jamal Khan led Ma;un with 33 points and 10 rebounds in the win while Sarim "The Big Ticket" Khan finished with 7 points. Zilzal was led by Cheema with 22 points and Khalid with 7 points. Ma'un now advances to play 2nd seed Adiyat in the Final Four.
3pm: Nas crushes Tamjeed 70-44
Coming in there were many side stories around this game as multiple players from Nas cut their teeth playing for Tamjeed as Jamal Douglas, Bilal Forde and Waleed E now faced their former team. Tamjeed had pushed to be in Tier-1 all season and backed that up by finishing 2nd and defeating Adiyat in the play-in game - but against Nas they were not able to keep up the pace and got run over as a result. The first half was actually close with Nas up 33-28 as Andre Henriques seemed to be carrying his team and trying to make this a game. Second half Nas blew things open and never looked back with a huge run early and then just kept piling on for a 26 point win. Yasin Douglas led the way with 15 points while Sanel Sehic and Shawn Berry each finished with 12 points. Henriques led Tamjeed with 18 points in the loss while rookie Mohamed Abdurbo finished with 13 points. Nas advances to meet their ancient rival Fatiha in the Final Four.
3pm: Fatiha defeats Falaq 40-38 in double overtime to advance
Fatiha built an early 11 point lead but Falaq never gave up and at the half Fatiha was up 20-17. Falaq worked to tie things up and missed a chance at the winner in regulation sending the game to Overtime where things got a bit crazy. Falaq were up three in the first OT with less than 10 seconds left but missed a free throw that would have made it a two-possession game, the result was Fatiha pushing the ball and after a few passes found Youssef Daif open on the wing where he hit a three at the buzzer to send the game into a second OT. Falaq again had a two point lead in the final minute of the 2nd OT but Arsalan Jamil hit a pair of jumpers including the winner at the buzzer to send Fatiha to the next round.
11am: Kursi defeats Takathur 50-44
Expected to be a great game to watch, Takathur hindered their own chances showing up with only five players. Despite a strong effort from Hussain Shivji, Faizal Merali and Alykhan Bhimji it wasn't enough against the skill of Kursi - considering that Takathur is a consistent lock to make the Final Four this feels like an upset. Usama Shakeel and Adeel Mahmood finished with 12 points each to lead Kursi and a solid game from Soban Ali helped Kursi advance to the Final Four where they will face Ikhlas.
12pm: Adiyat defeats Asr 55-38 to advance
Adiyat came in feeling the humbling of their play-in game loss to Tamjeed which dropped them to the Tier-2 Playoff Bracket. They came into this game struggling at the start, only up 22-17 at the half against Asr who were putting up a fight. Second half is where Tahir Khan and Louis Moore started to hit shots and a big run saw Adiyat sail into the next round. Omar El-Hamouly played well for Asr in the loss with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Khan finished with 16 points while Moore ended with 14 to help Adiyat advance where they face Ma'un.
1pm: Ikhlas defeates Qariyah 65-48
Qariyah came into this game confident that they could give Ikhlas a run and knock out the first place team in Tier-1. The game did not start that way as Ikhas blew out of the games to a huge lead in the opening minutes and coasted to a 28-16 lead at the half as Qariyah tried to keep things close. The second half saw Ikhlas extend their lead as their big three could not be stopped, Qariyah hit a flurry of 3's in the final few minutes but didn't have enough to make the final score close. Ikhlas were led by Zamam Khan with 22 points and Zakariya Khan with 20 points while Chad Mondesir finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds and changed many shots with his presence in the middle. Qariyah were led by Saad Ahmad and Rohan Ghori with 12 points each.
2pm: Ma'un upsets Zilzal 48-45 to advance
These teams were familiar with each other coming in, and injuries had an impact as Ma'un was without Yasser Lachemi while Zilzal was getting back Fareed Cheema from a concussion. Ma'un came flying out of the game, building a quick 10-0 lead by doing all the right things as they protected the ball and worked for high percentage shots. Zilzal finally got their first basket when Ahmed Khalid hit a jumper over eight minutes into the game. Zilzal slowly started to chip away and when Daniyal "Swaggy D" Zia went down with an ankle injury it left Ma'un with no subs. Cheema started to impose himself more on the game hitting shots and creating for his teammates to cut the Ma'un lead to 22-18 at the half. Second half saw Jamal Khan drive the lane more and get to the line as a result. Some composure issues derailed Zilzal as they tied the game up but technicals gave free throws and possessions right back to Ma'un. Jamal Khan led Ma;un with 33 points and 10 rebounds in the win while Sarim "The Big Ticket" Khan finished with 7 points. Zilzal was led by Cheema with 22 points and Khalid with 7 points. Ma'un now advances to play 2nd seed Adiyat in the Final Four.
3pm: Nas crushes Tamjeed 70-44
Coming in there were many side stories around this game as multiple players from Nas cut their teeth playing for Tamjeed as Jamal Douglas, Bilal Forde and Waleed E now faced their former team. Tamjeed had pushed to be in Tier-1 all season and backed that up by finishing 2nd and defeating Adiyat in the play-in game - but against Nas they were not able to keep up the pace and got run over as a result. The first half was actually close with Nas up 33-28 as Andre Henriques seemed to be carrying his team and trying to make this a game. Second half Nas blew things open and never looked back with a huge run early and then just kept piling on for a 26 point win. Yasin Douglas led the way with 15 points while Sanel Sehic and Shawn Berry each finished with 12 points. Henriques led Tamjeed with 18 points in the loss while rookie Mohamed Abdurbo finished with 13 points. Nas advances to meet their ancient rival Fatiha in the Final Four.
3pm: Fatiha defeats Falaq 40-38 in double overtime to advance
Fatiha built an early 11 point lead but Falaq never gave up and at the half Fatiha was up 20-17. Falaq worked to tie things up and missed a chance at the winner in regulation sending the game to Overtime where things got a bit crazy. Falaq were up three in the first OT with less than 10 seconds left but missed a free throw that would have made it a two-possession game, the result was Fatiha pushing the ball and after a few passes found Youssef Daif open on the wing where he hit a three at the buzzer to send the game into a second OT. Falaq again had a two point lead in the final minute of the 2nd OT but Arsalan Jamil hit a pair of jumpers including the winner at the buzzer to send Fatiha to the next round.
Sunday 17 April 2016
April 17th - Playoffs Week One
11am - Tier 1 Bracket
4th Takathur vs 5th Kursi:
The teams split the regular season meetings with a default win for Takathur and a 64-32 win for Kursi. Both teams have great balance and Takathur plays a solid half court offense that has always served them well. For Kursi the wildcard is that you don't know which version of the team will show up - literally. Injuries forced them to use a mind boggling 20 players this season but they have their core roster ready for the playoffs now. A key match-up to watch will be Faizal Merali of Takathur against Soban Ali of Kursi.
12pm - Tier 2 Bracket
T1 7th Adiyat vs T2 7th Asr
Adiyat had plans for a big playoff run for the Tier-1 championship that came to a crashing end last week where they lost their Play-In game against Tamjeed and moved to the T2 Playoffs. Two of their key players are not playoff eligible but the rest of their roster is still strong enough to compete. The pressure will be on Nouraiz Akbar, Hamza Chaudhary and Assim Chaudhary to do the bulk of the scoring for Adiyat. Asr finished in 7th place but were in a 3-way tie for 5th place with all tie-breakers going against them. Asr had the worst three point shooting percentage as a team in T2 so better shot selection from the outside coupled with post work by Uzair Danish and Sajjawal Khan is the key for them to pull off an upset here.
1pm - Tier 1 Bracket
T1 1st Ikhlas vs T2 1st Qariyah
Ikhlas rolled through the regular season to a first place finish and their trio of Zakariya Tmj Khan, Zamam Khan and Chad Mondesir makes them a difficult match-up. These teams did not face each other in the regular season but have familiarity with each other. Qariyah advanced to the T1 Playoff Bracket by defeating Bayyina in the Play-In game, the reward of facing Ikhlas seems cruel but they were able to dominate T2 competition with a 13-1 record. They rely upon Saad Ahmad to pace the offense with Rohan Mohammed Ghori providing the outside shooting to spread the floor. An unsung hero from them this season was Babur Ali who quietly finished as their 3rd leading scorer/rebounder and never stops working.
2pm - Tier 2 Bracket
3rd Zilzal vs 6th Ma'un
Zilzal had a strong season with a 8-6 record (contrasted to Ma'un 6-8 record) and come into this one confident. The teams split the regular season meetings, Ma'un winning first 58-40 and Zilzal taking the second game 69-63. There is also a personal element between these teams that are very familiar with each other and that Ahmed Khalid of Zilzal gets a chance to show his former team that it was a mistake to trade him away early in the season. Fareed Cheema and Rizwan Rana will be tasked with doing the scoring although rumours are circulating that Fareed Cheema has an injury coming into this game. Ma'un will be looking to Jamal Khan to lead the offense and Moazzam Sheikh will be needed for support but the key will be the rest of their offense providing support on both sides of the ball. Production from "Big Ticket" The-Sarim Khan and "Swaggy D" Daniyal Zia along with shooting from Akhyar Khan and Asfandyar Khan will be what gets them the upset.
3pm - Tier 1 Bracket
T1 2nd Nas vs T2 2nd Tamjeed
Tamjeed pulled off the upset win over Adiyat in the Play-In game and advanced only to find Nas waiting for them. Records aside this game also features multiple players from Nas getting a chance to face their former team as Jamal SaugaCity Bundy Douglas and Bilal Forde had successful stints with Tamjeed, highlighted with Jamal Douglas winning an MVP in his time there. Jim Ex also filled in with Tamjeed for a season before building Nas so the personal ties are rich between these teams. Tamjeed will need to play a strong and balanced effort to have a chance here, if they allow Nas to start running and gunning then they will be out of their element.
4pm - Tier 1 Bracket
3rd Fatiha vs 6th Falaq
Fatiha swept the season series between these two but by the slimmest of margins, winning the first game 45-43 with the winner going in at the buzzer and then 43-39 in a game that was close right to the end but they held on. Both teams have great balance and strong players so this one should be a great one to watch. Falaq will need Ahsan Mahmood and Sherif Shehata to lead the backcourt, that said Sherif Shehata sat last week with a knee injury so if he cannot go today it's a big loss for Falaq. Fatiha will have to control the Falaq bigs better than they did last week and if they play their solid brand of team defense they should be able to control the game flow and rely upon Arsalan Jamil to lead them.
4th Takathur vs 5th Kursi:
The teams split the regular season meetings with a default win for Takathur and a 64-32 win for Kursi. Both teams have great balance and Takathur plays a solid half court offense that has always served them well. For Kursi the wildcard is that you don't know which version of the team will show up - literally. Injuries forced them to use a mind boggling 20 players this season but they have their core roster ready for the playoffs now. A key match-up to watch will be Faizal Merali of Takathur against Soban Ali of Kursi.
12pm - Tier 2 Bracket
T1 7th Adiyat vs T2 7th Asr
Adiyat had plans for a big playoff run for the Tier-1 championship that came to a crashing end last week where they lost their Play-In game against Tamjeed and moved to the T2 Playoffs. Two of their key players are not playoff eligible but the rest of their roster is still strong enough to compete. The pressure will be on Nouraiz Akbar, Hamza Chaudhary and Assim Chaudhary to do the bulk of the scoring for Adiyat. Asr finished in 7th place but were in a 3-way tie for 5th place with all tie-breakers going against them. Asr had the worst three point shooting percentage as a team in T2 so better shot selection from the outside coupled with post work by Uzair Danish and Sajjawal Khan is the key for them to pull off an upset here.
1pm - Tier 1 Bracket
T1 1st Ikhlas vs T2 1st Qariyah
Ikhlas rolled through the regular season to a first place finish and their trio of Zakariya Tmj Khan, Zamam Khan and Chad Mondesir makes them a difficult match-up. These teams did not face each other in the regular season but have familiarity with each other. Qariyah advanced to the T1 Playoff Bracket by defeating Bayyina in the Play-In game, the reward of facing Ikhlas seems cruel but they were able to dominate T2 competition with a 13-1 record. They rely upon Saad Ahmad to pace the offense with Rohan Mohammed Ghori providing the outside shooting to spread the floor. An unsung hero from them this season was Babur Ali who quietly finished as their 3rd leading scorer/rebounder and never stops working.
2pm - Tier 2 Bracket
3rd Zilzal vs 6th Ma'un
Zilzal had a strong season with a 8-6 record (contrasted to Ma'un 6-8 record) and come into this one confident. The teams split the regular season meetings, Ma'un winning first 58-40 and Zilzal taking the second game 69-63. There is also a personal element between these teams that are very familiar with each other and that Ahmed Khalid of Zilzal gets a chance to show his former team that it was a mistake to trade him away early in the season. Fareed Cheema and Rizwan Rana will be tasked with doing the scoring although rumours are circulating that Fareed Cheema has an injury coming into this game. Ma'un will be looking to Jamal Khan to lead the offense and Moazzam Sheikh will be needed for support but the key will be the rest of their offense providing support on both sides of the ball. Production from "Big Ticket" The-Sarim Khan and "Swaggy D" Daniyal Zia along with shooting from Akhyar Khan and Asfandyar Khan will be what gets them the upset.
3pm - Tier 1 Bracket
T1 2nd Nas vs T2 2nd Tamjeed
Tamjeed pulled off the upset win over Adiyat in the Play-In game and advanced only to find Nas waiting for them. Records aside this game also features multiple players from Nas getting a chance to face their former team as Jamal SaugaCity Bundy Douglas and Bilal Forde had successful stints with Tamjeed, highlighted with Jamal Douglas winning an MVP in his time there. Jim Ex also filled in with Tamjeed for a season before building Nas so the personal ties are rich between these teams. Tamjeed will need to play a strong and balanced effort to have a chance here, if they allow Nas to start running and gunning then they will be out of their element.
4pm - Tier 1 Bracket
3rd Fatiha vs 6th Falaq
Fatiha swept the season series between these two but by the slimmest of margins, winning the first game 45-43 with the winner going in at the buzzer and then 43-39 in a game that was close right to the end but they held on. Both teams have great balance and strong players so this one should be a great one to watch. Falaq will need Ahsan Mahmood and Sherif Shehata to lead the backcourt, that said Sherif Shehata sat last week with a knee injury so if he cannot go today it's a big loss for Falaq. Fatiha will have to control the Falaq bigs better than they did last week and if they play their solid brand of team defense they should be able to control the game flow and rely upon Arsalan Jamil to lead them.
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