Insha'Allah everyone had a great break, let's start the new year off with a bang here in week three. As always, I'm here to entertain ya'll and myself with these predictions, don't take any offense to anything that's said please.

7:30 PM Slate
Damascus (Black) @ Palermo (White):
I'll start this one off by saying Damascus certainly exceeded some expectations. It looks like they're on track to reaching their potential sooner rather than later. The matchup with Palermo is a great one, it's just a matter of whether they can keep up or not. Though it's only been a one-game sample, it seems this Palermo squad is completely different when Jason Gomes is present. It's like their chemistry stat shoots way up, and at their best, Palermo runs up and down the court and has the weapons to do it well. If Damascus does keep up, they have the weapons, the strength, and the size to take advantage. Regardless, this is going to be a fight, but because it's in the hands of Palermo, I'll roll with them.
Palermo by 2.

Lahore (Black) @ Cairo(White):
So far, it's been all Gaballa for Cairo, and that makes game planning against Cairo fairly easy. Stop Gaballa. Cairo will have two game plans, play defense, and find a way to help Gaballa. It's fairly easy to see in which way I'm leaning, but I do think Cairo has the potential to be better. They just lack experience as of right now. Lahore should have an easy time finding their way to the basket, but I'm interested in what they'll do on defense on Wednesday. This game will be closer than some expect, I just don't see Lahore containing Gaballa or Adil too well. This could be the game that one of Bilal, Youssef, Yazzed, or Hossam steps up, but let me be clear, the Yousuf brothers are certainly some pesky defenders. At the end of the day though, Lahore has true, and proven firepower; that's what will give them the edge.
Lahore by 8.

Jerusalem (Black) @ Islamabad (White):
One undefeated team has got to go, and it won't be Jerusalem Jerusalem's priority remains the same, and that's defense. Islamabad has been on a tear though; we expected Zain, Hassan, and Idris to get buckets, and now it looks like our beloved Kareem Ahmed is officially back. In terms of pure offense, Islamabad should have the advantage there; Jerusalem is still finding their way on that end, it's obvious Mana's leading the charge there, and though Ahmad Saleh has been helping out, for them to compete vs Islamabad on offense, we'd need to see one of the Abbassi brothers seriously step it up. Defensively Islamabad has struggled a bit, though they've played some tough offenses. Jerusalem stills sit at first in terms of points allowed, though they did seem to struggle in their last game. Looking at these two rosters though, I'm leaning toward the superior defense, the matchups look to be in that favor.
Jerusalem by 1.

8:30 PM Slate
Mecca (Black) @ Kabul (White):
This matchup is extremely weird, both teams have records that may be a bit deceiving. Mecca has had a fairly easy start to their season in terms of playing teams that had particularly bad performances on those respective nights. Kabul showed they've got what it takes in the first game, and lost in a bad matchup game 2 without one of their top scorers. I think this is the first true test for Mecca; let me re-word that, there's going to be an upset. I know, I know, hear me out, it's not that simple. Kabul has two high-volume scorers and veterans in Farhad and Tom, Ameer's going to look to slow one down, but that leaves the other to do as he pleases. Maybe not, but that's my take. Mecca has done what they were supposed to, not to discount their results, but I think we learn a lot more about them here. Here's where I take a deep breath, the issue with what my gut is telling me is Kabul has been horrible defensively, so a combo of Mike Johnson (aka MJ?), Yaqob, and Ameer could have an absolute field day. For the sake of the prediction though, I hope Kabul sees this and does something about it.
Kabul by 5.

Tripoli (Black) @ Mombasa (White):
Another great matchup, another hard game to predict. Tripoli and Mombasa, they go way back, glad this matchup made the schedule. I'm torn though, look at their matchups against Alexandria, these teams are so similar it's scary. Here's what I'll do then, highlight the differences. Tripoli has scorers they can consistently rely on, while for Mombasa it's mostly been Elias. Mombasa has facilitators in Raza and Sadat, while Tripoli leans more toward the iso game. What do I like more? Well, I'm a Kobe fan (I know Lonzo's a playmaker), get me a bucket when we need it, and that's what Tripoli offers. Furthermore, I believe Tripoli has what it takes to slow down a familiar face in Elias, forcing Mombasa to reach into their bag of tricks. Can't wait for this one, but I got Tripoli.
Tripoli by 3.

Delhi (Black) @ Jeddah (White):
Finally, an easier one whew. Delhi impressed me, though they lost by 12, they were going head to head against one of the best teams in the league, when there's been a complete change in attitude and approach in their strategy in only their first game doing so. On the other hand, Jeddah has been underwhelming, they've been inefficient, and for their size, I expected more rebounding. The only pull-back is that Delhi clearly is facing a learning curve, when I see someone like Splash only shooting 3 shots in a game, there's an issue, but in this one, I think it's a pretty easy choice.
Delhi by 17.

9:30 PM Slate
Granada (Black) @ Riyadh (White):
Granada had a horrible showing last week, and they're coming back hungry. What better matchup than against Riyadh. Malik knows he's got to do better, Muhammad knows he has to do better, and Capone is begging for a backbone. I know Riyadh is feeling worse than anyone right now, so let's see how hungry they are, make us believe!
Granada by 21.

Medina (Black) @ Alexandria (White):
Opposite to last week, this is a pretty bad matchup for Medina. That combination of the Yanes' and Jay Wiggins can prove to be too fast and athletic for Medina. Medina's going to have to do what they do best, and that's out-rebound Alexandria and dominate the paint. Alexandria does have size though, and athleticism also helps with that size disadvantage. Too much has to go right for Medina; Alexandria presents a major advantage. The hiccup here is Medina clogs the paint, forcing Alexandria to shoot, let's see how well they do from the great beyond.
Alexandria by 9.