The halfway point is upon us. Some teams have legit championship aspirations while others are questioning why they joined their respective teams. S/o to those of you that approached me this past week, expressing your appreciation for the forums, and the spotlight you are receiving lol. Without further ado, time for the best 10 minutes of your day.


Dhaka vs. Kazan - two teams with legit championship rosters, two teams with legit scorers, and two teams that we will hear about a whole lot of come playoff time. Dhaka coming off their first loss of the season, behind the greatness of Abdelhadi (more about him later). Farzad led the way with 16, but he seems to be more ball dominant than years past. This team was known for their exceptional ball movement and movement without the basketball. Now it seems like they are stagnant and waiting for Farzad to create, while Fahad spots up and Ameer and Salman clean up the glass. Then again who am I to critic the 3 time champs? Kazan also coming off their first loss but Tehran just had their number. This team needs a consistent 2nd option and I expect that to be Frank O, AKA Malcolm Jenkins. His mid range game is lethal and he creates for others. Cody will always find a way to get his, and we all know the scoring prowess of one Patrick. I like Kazan to get back on track and this one.

Fez vs Sana'a - Fez getting their first win of the season is huge. I think they get their second win this week against a very offensively challenged Sana'a squad. Solid efforts from Musa and little Karkis and I think they could keep that up moving forward. On Sana'a side, they just need to someone to put the ball in the hoop. Figure that out and they will compete.

Cordoba vs. Delhi - When I turn 39 bi ithni la, I wanna be Kenny. Dude gets buckets while most people his age are having a mid life crisis! 29 points, on close to 64 percent shooting! For real? Muhannad Deeb is going to have his hands full with this guy, not to mention that point guard on Cordoba can make any defender dance. Delhi will keep this game close. Jawad needs to be the player we all expect him to be and carry the load offensively for the young bucks. Again this will be close but as long as Kenny's beating Father Time, they should be alright.

Istanbul vs. Jakarta - Yo Ed, your team needs you. On offense, not defensively. Hey Himey.

Beirut vs. Mecca - Mecca is struggling and need to book a trip to Mecca, #20 pick it up dog. next!

Granada vs. Alexandria - Mr. Shabazz had a very nice stat line last week. He spent 2 minutes yelling at me, 1 minute laughing at me and another 4 points 8 assists and 10 rebounds. I told y'all to get Anwar the ball. Omar Singer looked like vintage Singer and that makes this team scary. Alexandria doesn't have the personnel to guard Granada, therefore Ammar Mustafa has bragging rights over his younger cousin.

Timbuktu vs. Jerusalem - Mujtaba......

Kabul vs. Mombassa - The Abdelhadi effect is in full swing. When do you see the tallest man on the court guard the opposing team's best guard? He 22 points, 14 rebounds is a great stat line, and he makes his teammates better. Younger Abdelhadi added 13 of his own and they keep on rolling. But don't be fooled, Masta Weiss got his own star in Pete Brown. 18 points 17 rebounds in addition to 4 blocks. Masri is lethal from downtown, and oh yeah that Raza guy is one of the league's best. I really want to pick Mombassa, but Kabul has Abdelhadi. This is like picking a favorite brother. Toss up.

Sarajevo vs. Riyadh - Sarajevo just keeps scoring, and scoring and scoring and scoring. And scoring. Leonard Lee vs. Kareem Ahmad, get your popcorn ready. Kareem has shown that he is a smart ball player with very quick hands. He gets to the basket very easily, and isn't afraid of the big moment. Riyadh showed great in their come from behind win last week. I'm picking Sarajevo not b/c im salty but b/c they can outscore basically anyone in the league.

Islamabad vs. Lahore - 3 guarantees in life, death, taxes and being torched by Idris from behind the arc. Dude is straight cooking this season mA, and hasn't gotten the love or respect he deserves. Lahore should be able to hold their own. Billal vs. Moayad, Zain vs. Hosam. Going to come down the Abbassi clan's settler defense.

Tehran vs. Baghdad - Mo Amin and Jake, say that 3 times fast. If you actually did Anyway, they defeated a very good Kazan team with ball movement and excellent defense. They run in transition and look for the open man, and shoot the 3 ball pretty well. Baghdad is on the comeup but not this week. Note: Amir is a baller.

Suba vs. Cairo - AMP and Goldberg. Sounds like a law firm

Dhaka/Kazan: If any team is going to slow down Pat, it's Dhaka. They got a little lost against Kabul, they have to go back to what they know and they'll be fine. I'm not going to overreact to their loss. Kazan, however, you can't lose it like that. You guys are a great team and man is Pat a great player. Stay composed, stay true to yourselves and to what you do, ya'll are fine. I just don't know how they'll react if they are losing, only reason I'm going with Dhaka.

Fez/Sana'a- I just don't see where Sana'a will get their scoring from. They have not so bad defense, but they're not going to win a game if they don't score. Fez has Musa and I think he brings to the table something no one on Sana'a brings, and for that reason, I'm taking Fez.

Cordoba/Delhi: I got Delhi only because I hear that some players on Cordoba aren't showing up. How true that is? I don't know.

Istanbul/Jakarta: Istanbul just has nothing going for them right now, Jakarta at least didn't have Ibrahim for the first few weeks and din't have Ed for last few.

Beirut/Mecca: Mecca is struggling mightily right now. Anas is just starting to get his legs under him, are they under him yet though? Qasem and Anas haven't been the perfict mix either. Malik seems a little scared if I may. Do your thing baby. And man are they making a big mistake not letting Khalil be the floor general. Do they fix these thingz for this week, I really don't know, and so, I take Beirut. Jon Mingo could ball out and Nick could hit a few threes.

Granada/Alexandria: Granada is starting to mesh and I can't take Alexandria until they give me a reason to take them.

Timbuktu/Jerusalem: Timbuktu proved they could run with the best of them even if 2 of their top 3 players don't show up. Towfeek Hamza has to do more for his squad though. Jersualem has Omar, but that's all really.

Kabul/Mombasa: This is a really though one, but I expect to see Pete just absolutely take over. Abdelhadi is Abdelhadi and I wouldn't be surprised if he wills them to victory.

Sarajevo/Riyadh: I don't know how they'll play without Lee, but they have other pieces on this squad that could win this game even without Lee. Luke, John, Rameez, and Lionel could win this game even if Leonard doesn't show up. The only reason I'm going with Riyadh is because I haven't seen them play without Lee, they might not have the same production because he is not there, but they might also play even better. Who knows?

Islamabad/Lahore: Moayad might just torch us. #STDWSI

Tehran/Baghdad: Idk, this is one hell of a game. 2 great teams with championship aspirations. 2 teams that have players that could light it up from deep. I give Tehran the edge because they gave Kazan everything they can handle and A LOT more last week.

Suba/Cairo: Suba has had the easiest schedule thus far. Topspeed, you gotta try and move that ball a little more. You're shooting just a bit too much. Show this league what you got!