Granada vs Islamabad - Islamabad has the chemistry and veteran squad, Granada is solid but will be integrating two new players to the team, I like Islamabad in this early season matchup.
Kazan vs Lagos -- Lagos has a solid team and an excellent player in Ted jimenez, maybe a top 5 player in this league.
Timbuktu vs Jeddah
Mecca vs Tehran -- game of the week; both solid teams that added big free agents in the offseason, mecca with Edriss and Tehran with Mo. Tehran should be considered a preseason favorite with the roster they have.
Lahore vs Sarajevo -- Lahore has the best player on the court, Jon Dejesus. Maybe the best player in this league.
Amman vs Damascus -- Amman brings back their squad with a few changes but should roll in this one.
Suba vs Baghdad -- Suba has a lot of new faces this year, maybe this year will be better.
Cordoba vs Sana'a -- Cordoba comes back improved with some solid players from past championship teams. Walter and Kenny are smart players who play the game the right way and will help any team. Don't know much about their new additions. Sana'a will bring the effort but will that be enough?
Jakarta vs Mombasa -- awesome matchup here as well. family feud, muj and yousuf vs. cousin Weiss. If both teams are full strength I like the shahsamand bros and company.
Beirut vs Dhaka -- Dhaka should win this one. With a pretty favorable schedule this season, there's maybe 4 games total where I see their full team really being tested.

*I'm going to need a 2-3 weeks to really get to know some of these teams.*

Granada/Islamabad- Not going to predict my game. #footballseasonisout

Kazan/Lagos- Kazan has Frank who might have the best mid-range game in the league. They also have Mark who can get buckets. However, Lagos has Idris who could just light it up from deep and his defense is very much underrated. You then add Ted, wow. Ted could win MVP if he brings his A game week in and week out. I like Lagos.

Timbuktu/Jeddah- I'm not all to familiar with either of these teams. I know Timbuktu has Raied Saleh who could be a match-up nightmare for many teams. He's too strong fro guards and too quick for bigs. They also have Layth Abdelqader, it's his first season but the many could really get hot from deep. Jeddah has Mahmoud Hamdan who is a pretty good guard and Ammar Shahid who had a great season in 2016. If I HAD to pick with the little knowledge I have atm, I would go with TImbuktu.

Mecca/Tehran- Tehran is a force to be reckoned with. They still have Big Boy Joe who will control the paint and Joe (Lock Down) Piptone is a top defender in the league. They have the rest of the cast from last season and added Muhannad Natsheh who could ball. Mecca just had bad luck last season with their star player, Anas Zubi, going down early in the season. Ammar Idelbi got hurt late. Now they have Ammar back but Anas is still out due to injury, (May Allah help you come back better than ever soon!), Malik added Ed 3's to make up for the offense lost. Hamza Saleh is another top defender. Mecca will need some time to find the chemistry and for that reason i have Tehran winning this game.

Lahore/Sarajevo- Lahore is no joke. They have some new players, but they also have experienced players who are proven. Jon Dejesus and Herb Henry will carry the load, if their supporting cast does their job, they will be contenders. Sarajevo proved they can compete last season, but I don't think they have enough to keep up with Lahore.

Amman/Damascus- Damascus will fight and fight and they will never give up. I hear their new addition, Ramzy, could be a star but I never witnessed him play myself. Amman has all the offense and defense needed to have a successful season. I'ma take Amman because I haven't seen Ramzy play.

Suba/Baghdad- I don't know these 2 teams.

Cordoba/Sana'a- Cordoba is a team with talent while Sana'a lost to big stars during the offseason. I like Cordoba.

Jakarta/Mombasa- I wasn't buying the "Himey for Manager of the year" chants last season, but wow what a move he made. He brought in a 3 pt sharp shooter in Mohammad Masri and an assasin in Yousef Shahsamand. You pair that with Mujtaba and the rest of the defensive supporting cast. What a team. Mombasa will always be relevant but they lost a big time player in Yousef. Jakarta wins this one.

Beirut/Dhaka- Dhaka wins. I won't bet against them until their first loss of the season.

Granada/Islamabad - Oh snap no Omar Q? I don’t know who Granada added but that’s a big loss. Gotta go with Islamabad here.

Kazan/Lagos - Lagos will be a problem in this league! Idris, Ted, Zain, Kev...nah not worried about their chemistry. Led by Mark, Kazan will keep this game competitive, but I think Lagos has the edge.

Timbuktu/Jeddah - Qasim always brings a well rounded squad. I think by now he’s printed out that “Raied’s the best player on the court comment” and given it to Brandon lol. That should be a nice matchup. Timbuktu got some height.

Mecca/Tehran - Tehran adds Mo Amin and Mecca adds Ed! Oh boy should be a good one

Lahore/Sarajevo - Midseason I’d take Lahore, but since it’s not I’ll go with Sarajevo.

Amman/Damascus - Ohhh so this is where Omar Q ended up. Well if the full squad shows up Amman should get the W

Suba/Baghdad - Can Aymen get Suba some consistency this season? I don’t know the Baghdad crew so can’t call it.

Cordoba/Sana'a - Sana’a bringing a roster of 6? Kenny did the opposite and got a squad of 9 for Cordoba, who struggled with attendance issues last season. I see a few new faces to an already solid Cordoba squad, they look like the stronger team here.

Jakarta/Mombasa - Muj-karta picks up Yusuf! Watch out. Mombasa always steps up for the challenge, but I don’t see then being able to keep up.

Beirut/Dhaka - won’t call my game, but no one will be taking Beirut lightly here

Is it Sunday yet?