Yo yo yo. We back again with another round of predictions. Thanks to Big O for giving his insight this week and filling the void due to my tardiness. After Week 2, seems like things are starting to pick up and the teams are starting to take shape within the league. As always, let’s remember what we’re playing for this season as the situation in Palestine continues to deteriorate and atrocities continue to be committed. Make sure to keep those affected by the situation in your Dua and try to do as much as you can.

So, after last week, I went 8-1 in my predictions, moving me to 13-5 total on the season.

Anyways, time to get into the Week 3 fun:


Al-Bireh - Qibya:

Starting this week off are two teams with different trajectories after last week, or maybe not. Yes, Qibya lost but they were able to complete with Al-Quds and kind of controlled the game for much of the matchup. This is going to be a week where we see if they can get all 5 guys involved on the offensive end. I’d like to see them move the ball more, set screens for eachother and put the personnel on their team in positions to succeed. Starts with the best players, Aadil, Nader and Abdul Kareem: You guys gotta work on building chemistry before chasing stats and wins. For the Al-Bireh guys, they bounced back in a big way last week and looked more characteristic than the first week. They gave me my only loss of the week on predictions so props to them.

This is a Lebanese showdown, with 90% of the Lebanese in the league playing in this game. I think Shafic and Towfeek will be more assertive in this game in order to stamp their position as best Lebanese duo but also because they are familiar with the opposing defense and will know how to exploit it. It will be interesting to see how Qibya decides to guard the 5 out style of Al-Bireh because I think this can cause them trouble as well, as they have a traditional big. Overall, I think styles are a big thing when it comes to matchups and I feel like Al-Bireh is too high powered for Al-Qibya’s tough defense and passion. Should be a fun one though.

Al-Bireh by 9


Al-Khalil - Shatila:

Okay, second game of the week and this is what I call a snooze fest, unless you like seeing Farhad take people to school. Maybe he’s the bus driver, maybe he’s the professor of the class, maybe he’s the principal. Whatever you wanna call him, he’s going to show out in this one and lead the way for Shatila, even more so than the past two weeks. I was also wrong last week by saying Farhad doesn’t have others around him and guys like Karkis, Hafiz, Tariq Yasin, Ed are all important pieces on this squad that have to consistently provide the help necessary to Farhad.

I want to write good things about Al-Khalil but I just can’t. I can understand shooting woes, and this team has had its fair share over the first two weeks, but I can’t understand the lack of communication, shot selection, defensive intensity and overall cohesiveness of this squad. If Al-Khalil thinks this is just some regular old Sunday league, they’re going to be on the wrong side of the scoreboard for much of the season. The time is now for them to pick things up and provide a spark moving forward.

For me, this game starts and ends with Farhad. Does Al-Khalil have anyone to put in front of him that will give him real trouble. My guess is a resounding no.

Shatila by 13


Al-Quds - Gaza:

The best of the 7:30 games comes last, and I’m excited to see how this one unfolds. Al-Quds is not looking how I expected and I think there’s one reason as to why. Their defense is up to par with my expectations but offensively, they have not found a way to fit Omar into the system with Mustafa and Amir. I haven’t been able to watch them play but my guess is that it’s been some sort of a my turn, your turn between Mustafa and Amir with Omar playing 3rd option. I think this game must be a sign that something has changed for this team on the offensive side of the ball. Otherwise, they might not be everything we raved about going into the season.

For Gaza, how will they respond with one of their top guys out of the lineup? We saw how they did without Singer, albeit against much lighter competition. Maybe Mo Thirty has a second legacy game in 3 weeks to show us he has more in the bag. Ammar and Kareem could also be in for more minutes and that will be a huge test for the Al-Quds side in trying to contain that duo of IQ, chemistry and veteran prowess. Fun aside, this game has Mahrooz written all over it. He hasn’t given us a wow performance yet and I think this week he’s going to change that.

Gaza by 7


Baysan - Yaffa:

Oh man, this game will not disappoint. At this point, we should be accustomed to which teams have a brighter outlook on the season and which don’t. These two teams look to be near the top and both of them are coming off of tough losses. When thinking about this game, I find myself struggling to predict how this one will really go down. On the one hand, the methodical attack by Zain, Sohaib, Jared, Idris and Co is a very strong one and only the most disciplined defenses will be able to contain them. The job isn’t just to stay disciplined, of course, because even after forcing this team to a tough shot, they are relentless on the glass. To me, the interior is the weakest part of the Yaffa squad and that could play a factor in this game.

However, Yaffa proved themselves against one of the bigger teams in Al-Quds week 1 and they have some guys who are versatile enough to make the stops and rebound the ball enough to stay in this one. Offensively, Yaffa is one of the best, and I think this is where they will look to shift the game. If Yaffa gets out in transition, spreads the floor with timely 3s and pushes the pace to not let Baysan set up, I see them pulling it out. This may be a bit of an upset,

Yaffa by 4


Haifa - Safad:

No Kareem, no problem. Haifa is a deep squad, as I stated last week. It is truly next man up for this team and they just need to collectively bring enough to have a good week. Not everyone on this team has to have a great game for them to win but they just need solid contributions from a few of the guys as all of them are capable of producing enough. On the Haifa side, I’d say the same thing and that’s what makes this game interesting. I think these teams match up pretty well but there is a bit of a size advantage to Haifa. I think it will be really important for Jawad, Islam and Fursan to make their mark on this game and outplay the Haifa guards. Ali Sufian has his hands full in this one, and I don’t see this being the game he breaks out. Haifa has OQ, Deeb, and Darr who will all take turns on Sufian and make life tough for him. With that being said, too much is being asked from the Safad guards in this one and I don’t think their will to win is going to be enough.

If Safad can somehow find high-level shooting from multiple guys, they have a good chance. I don’t think that will be the case this week though

Haifa by 8


Bethlehem - Al-Wehdat:

Ok, so this Bethlehem team has gained some attention as they are only one of 4 teams to be 2-0 so far. BUT, and that’s a big but, the competition so far has been a joke, to be honest. Anyways, this week seems to be more of the same, right? Wrong.

Al-Wehdat did get blown out last week, but they were without leading scorer Jay Mustafa and were playing with just 6 guys against arguably one of the best teams, or the Avengers. Assuming Jay Mustafa is back, this team has something to look forward to. It’s important for them to find shots for everyone in the places they need them. Jamin has to work off the ball and take a better selection because his 3 point shot is important for this teams success. I’ve heard of a newcomer, Keon Osborn. We’ll see if he can make more of a name for himself this week.

For Bethlehem, I think this team has figured almost everything out and it’s super early. These guys have played together before and they are best friends, so it makes sense that they are in full swing after just two weeks. Coming into this week, I’d like to see them add another level to their one-two punch and find a 3rd option that teams will need to keep an eye on. I don’t think this week will be as easy as the first two weeks but

Bethlehem by 10


Areeha - Nablus:

I’m not going to lie, I pictured this game in my head as I was looking at the rosters and it looks like Areeha’s play style will have serious implications on this Nablus team. WHOOPPSS. Forgot about this guy Ty Jackson for a second. Take play style out of the window, because Ty really dictates the way the game is played much of the time. He can run the break alone and his ability to get out in front of people gives his team many easy buckets. If they’re down, it will keep them in it and if they’re up, it will help them pull away. Imagining this game with Ty Jackson leading Nablus, it’s really hard for me to find a way for Areeha to stop that guy. If the Areeha guys can turn the clock back enough and apply just enough Icy-Hot before the game, they’ll still have their hands full come Wednesday night.

I can see Areeha’s size causing trouble for Nablus, but those problems will have to be consistently exploited by Areeha because of the firepower on the Nablus side. I don’t see them being able to withstand that for 40 minutes.

Nablus by 7


Sabra - Qalqilya:

Game of the week.

Really not much to say about Qalqilya. According to MB records, Qalqilya has not lost a game since 12/14/2022 and Wednesday will be the anniversary of that game. They lost that game to none other than Pete Brown and most of the Sabra guys.

Things are a little different now. Qalqilya has a year of experience under their belt and Sabra has a new weapon in Austin that has been inserted into the lineup. Automatically, Austin and Pete Brown are at the top of the duo list around the league. Sabra has shooting, guard play, bigs and pretty much all the recipes to dominate against any team.

Sadly, that just won’t happen. The team is missing something and it’s intangible. Everything they are missing, Qalqilya has 100% of. When words like grit, hustle, passion, energy, intensity are mentioned in the analytics of basketball, it’s because these attributes are what pushes a player or team to the next level. Mix that in with the talent of this squad, and you have a recipe for winning. It’s as simple as that.

Qalqilya by 9


Jenin - Ramla:

In the last game of the week, we have two teams that have been missing an extremely key piece. For Jenin, it’s been Jake and that is probably the biggest reason this team is 0-2. For Ramla, it’s Mana and that’s probably the reason this team is 0-2. Let’s take both of these guys out of the equation. I mean regardless, both teams match up very well with Ian Felix and Shahzaib headlining that. Both of these guys are the focal point of the offense and look for big games out of the two of them. Ahmad A was on triple double watch wish is a little splash from the past, hopefully he can create more with Ian taking the scoring load.

I can rant all I want about Jenin’s offense and their talent, but realistically, they can’t and deliberately choose not to play defense or bring energy on that side. I think Mo Hunerd and Mo Abdelghani really gotta get in the ears of their teammates and force the passion out of them. I can’t bet on that happening this week, and Ramla is a team that can get going with weak defense or in a shootout game. Shahzaib and Hassan Farhad will lead the way.

Ramla by 6


As always: This ain’t Lavar Ball, This ain’t Lonzo Ball, This is the CRYSTAL BALL

Edited by user Tuesday, December 12, 2023 11:57:35 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified