Amman 60 - Sana’a 38WOW. They hadn’t given up over 50 points, but 58 then 60 given up. In consecutive games proved to be the downfall of Sana’a. Amman, you could say, out Sana’a-ed Sana’a - they played smothering defense and won the game by running in transition. Luis and Moayad outscored the entire Sana’a team, a team, that flat out could not shoot the basketball. Omar Mana out rebounded Mo Amin and co in what was a total domination of a team that believed they had a legit shot at winning the championship. For Sana’a going forward, they need to find a perimeter threat that can free up space for Mo to operate in a less congested paint. For Amman, boy was that a terrific win - now they get a very tough Tehran squad.
Alexandria 56 - Jakarta 53 (2OT)The game to watch in the Sweet 16 was this matchup. Unbelievable finish after Jakarta seemed to have their way in the first half. Impressively, Alexandria was able to contain Mujtaba in what many believed was Jakarta’s game to lose. I think this will go down in MB history as “The Timeout Game” - First, Mujtaba called a time out with under a minute left, a timeout he did not have. Alexandria tied the game, but Mohammad missed the potential game winner after being awarded possession on the technical. Then in overtime, after an extensive discussion about whether or not Alexandria had a second time out to call after they called it, Mujtaba could only hit one of two free throws to tie it. Bernie then missed the potential game winner to send it to the second OT. There, all you need is 5 to win it, and it sure took a while for Alexandria to eventually secure those 5 points. Mahdi hit the second free throw on three trips to the line, the third being the winner. Tough loss for a Jakarta team that looked like it had all the pieces to win a championship. Hats off to Alexandria for getting it done in a grinder.
Riyadh 43 - Mombasa 64After an exciting game winner in the first round, Riyadh could not find any more magic to compete against powerhouse Mombasa. Not going to lie, I didn’t see much of this game because of what was still going on in the Alexandria Jakarta double OT thriller - but after talking with players from both sides, Riyadh was simply outmatched by a better team. Mombasa and Alexandria meet next week in what could be a shootout - both teams have terrific offenses and sometimes forget to play defense when their shots are falling.
Sarajevo 54 - Beirut 53I though a complete Sarajevo team would push Beirut to the edge, but without Leonard Lee, it felt like Beirut was going to take this game. If you told me no Leonard and only 9 from Rameez, I’d tell you that they lose this game by 20, but Mike and Umar had other plans. Boy did they both step up and take control of this game. Defensively, they contained Jon Mingo to a pedestrian 7 points and Nick to just 12. Even with Beirut’s very balance attack, they couldn’t get a shot to fall at the end to win it for them. Sarajevo is a talented and deep offensive team, but to see them play the level of defense they did against Beirut, they will not be an easy out in any matchup. They get Islamabad next round in what should be a great game.
Delhi 52 - Dhaka 58Turned out to be competitive than most of us probably believed it would be. Ahmad aka Splash knocked in some 3s late after being smothered by the Dhaka zone for the first 30 or so minutes. Dhaka was able to outlast the Delhi late push because they just have more offensive weapons than Delhi (and maybe every other team in the league). I would not bet on Fahad going 0/5 from 3 and I would put significant money on Farzad keeping up this level of play - 25 points on only 16 shots. Ameer keeps doing his thing, sometimes from inside, sometimes from outside. They get Granda next week in a game that has intriguing matchups all across the board.
Mecca 49 - Granada 77Rematch of a Week 10 game that featured a Mecca team sans Jaber and a Granada team looking to get ready for the playoffs - Granda one handedly. Fast-forward two weeks, Jaber is on the court for Mecca, but to no avail. Granda has everything going - terrific defense, running when the opportunity was present, and knocking down shots. They’ll get Dhaka in the Elite 8 in a game that will measure the grit and toughness of this team. They’ve won some big time games, but this is their toughest challenge yet - playoff Dhaka is no joke.
Fez 42 - Islamabad 58@ed…9? Talked a big game and did not back it up. #FezSummerball2017Champs is over (thank God) and now we can focus on real teams like Islamabad. They didn’t get the toughest opponent to start the playoffs, but after a slow end to the season, this was the type of game they needed to get back into the flow. Big time contribution from Basel, a guy most defenses lay off to help on Omar. If he can stretch the court for them and hit the open shots defenses will give him, Islamabad will be in a position to be unguardable. They’ll be in a much tougher game next week if Sarajevo brings the full team.
Suba 30 - Tehran 38After a morning of offensive explosions, we got a defensive grind that ended with the better team on top. Suba had a terrific run this season lead by newcomer Yaqob. I didn’t think that Tehran would be challenged as much as they were in this game, but it’s they playoff and they will get every teams’ best game. With Sana’a out of the picture, Tehran should have an easier time getting into the Final Four.
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