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.
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