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.
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