Annnndddd Week 8 is upon us, this is it fellas, no more goofing around, we know where everyone's at. Posting predictions early this week to make up for the last few, Enjoy!


7:30 PM Slate

Granada (Black) @ Lahore (White):
Battle of the offenses. Both teams have stars, Lahore has Shahzaib and Aadil, and Granada has
Mr. Capone and Malik who's emerged in the second half of the season. I don't think either team has the facilities to slow down these 4 specific players. It'll be shot for shot, who can outdo who, that is, if the game was a 2v2. To be honest though, the outcome of the game does run through its star players, so the game may be much closer than expected based on records. That being said, Lahore does have the advantage all around, and I expect they will look to take advantage of those advantages outside of Shahzaib and Aadil. I do have to say Mr. Capone is our leading scorer this season, and definitely has been the most explosive offensive threat in this matchup, so depending on the day he has, an upset isn't out of the question. Aadil does have an extremely advantageous matchup also, and we can easily see him return to 10-14 shooting for 25 points like he did for a stretch of games this season.
Lahore by 8.

Kabul (Black) @ Islamabad (White):
This can be another one of those sneaky, deceptive matchups. Islamabad is undoubtedly the better team through 7 weeks, and are more well-rounded. What makes this game deceptive is that despite Islamabad being the better team, Kabul's size can be a real problem for Islamabad. Farhad, Tom, and Chris specifically are large, capable basketball players. If Kabul plays their cards correctly, they also have the right frame to limit Islamabad's offense. Here's the thing though, Zain and Hassan specifically are not your typical ballers at their respective positions. They just play better offense and can be solid on defense as a duo. Given Kabul does play their cards right, I'm turning to Jared and Kareem to really put in work this week defensively to help their top two stars maintain a high level of energy. This matchup is extremely interesting, and as much as I want to vote for the underdog, I know better than to vote against Islamabad right now.
Islamabad by 7.

Medina (Black) @ Jerusalem (White):
Game of the week! Sike! No Billal for Jerusalem, no commissioners for Medina. Medina doesn't have the worst of matchups here; Mana being the consistent focal point for Jerusalem falls directly into the laps of Medina's 2-3 zone. Luckily for Jerusalem, there are other tactics they can resort to, for example, running. Lil O can sometimes forget how to stop running, and Mana is the fastest big in the league. Put that together with the Saleh brothers' knack to get their hand on the ball defensively, the transition game would be a worst-case scenario for Medina. Furthermore, it looks like the vast majority of the scoring will have to be up to old man Ken, and you know Jerusalem doesn't give free buckets. Good luck out there Medina, find a way to keep up, and there's a chance.
Jerusalem by 18.


8:30 PM Slate

Tripoli (Black) @ Damascus (White):
Defense! Defense! Tripoli has been on a roll lately, but I'm rooting for the defense. Damascus has to reach into their back come Wednesday and find a way to slow down this Tripoli team. Damascus' offense has yet to find itself, so they have to keep Tripoli close if they want to have any hopes of a second win. Tripoli has to do exactly the opposite, play smart, and get an early lead. The emergence of Nesto really helps them, and it makes it that much easier to spread the floor. This game will come down to defense and turnovers. If Damascus can play hard defense and force mistakes out of Tripoli, they'll have a real chance. And if they can somehow emerge offensively, they'll have the advantage, and using Omar Qasem as the focal point to spread the floor and be the player-coach, getting everyone involved is definitely a step in the right direction. In reality, Tripoli is too much for almost any team to handle, and I could just be grasping at straws here.
Tripoli by 11.

Jeddah (Black) @ Mecca (White):
Another interesting matchup, but Mecca are definitely the favorite at first look. Jeddah banded back together and did their best behind Sohaib and gave us a good one last week. They seem to have lost some of that defensive strength they presented earlier on in the season, but the narrative for this team remains the same: Finish! Mecca is one of the most complete teams, they have their fair share of scorers and defenders. They have decent guard play, and decent size, they don't really lack anything, so it would usually come down to matchup for them. And when talking about matchups and Mecca, you look at MJ and Yaqob as usual, and both these dudes are too formidable offensively, dropping buckets with relatively high efficiency. As long as this team doesn't get complacent and gets back on defense, they match up well with anyone, and Jeddah is certainly not an exception. Jeddah is the underdog, and they'll need some of that fire from last week. Sohaib should be able to continue doing his thing, and Mo Amin, Jehad, and Tabty should be right behind him cleaning everything up and hustling on defense. If Sohaib shows up, this game will be very tight, and they might come out with the win. You know I love to vote for the underdog, but I've been let down too many times this season.
Mecca by 9.

Alexandria (Black) @ Palermo (White):
This game might end with a combined 150+ points. Palermo's offense has seriously started to click and they've been running up the scoreboard for the past 3 weeks. Alexandria has done so since week 1, and they'll continue to pester anyone they could from full-court. So yes, both teams can play offense, but I've yet to feel confident in the Palermo defense at all, and that's the difference here. Yes Wajdi and Big Moose, in particular, are bigger guys that can score and can present issues, but Palermo doesn't deserve the luxury of player comparisons. Palermo's defense has been downright atrocious, so unless by some miracle all 3 of Jay, Wajdi, and Musa struggle from the field, Palermo is going to have to rely solely on their offense to give them a chance, which isn't outrageous, but unlikely. Shafic is looking like his old self, JoJo just hit a game-winner, Amir can get hot quickly, and Jason's always finding the lane; this team is no slouch offensively, they'll find their buckets regardless, but how many buckets is the question?
Alexandria by 14.


9:30 PM Slate

Mombasa (Black) @ Delhi (White):
The old, calm vets vs the young, rowdy Delhi. Delhi shot lights out last week and flirted with an upset against a one-loss team, will they keep that up? The thing with calm veterans is that they typically ignore trash talk, play solid unwavering defense, and produce results. That would be in Mombasa's favor, but in terms of basketball, Mana had a field day against Delhi, and Pete Brown's the only dude bigger than Mana in MB. Delhi struggled defensively last week, they'll need to improve and offer more effort to the defense, whilst keeping up that offensive pace they showed. If they manage that, forget beating Mombasa, they could be real contenders, but as some random scientist once said, "Expelling more energy means there's more energy lost". That scientist, me lol. It's an unfortunate matchup for Delhi, and Pete Brown is definitely the key to a Mombasa win. I'd assume he plays a LeBron role, getting the ball in the post, and depending on the defense, looking to take advantage of a mismatch or dish out to the number-one 3 pt shooter this season.
Mombasa by 15.

Riyadh (Black) @ Cairo (White):
Dare I say, "Game of the Week!" It kinda sucks trying to type anything about Cairo because I've gotten pretty tired of it, but here goes. Cairo got Gaballa, he's been this team, and he's the real deal. Riyadh is dealing with injuries, but they fight and fight. That's what makes this matchup fun; although Cairo has relied solely on Gaballa to score, someone's had to do the dirty work defensively, and I can tell you they want to win, and that means they're all dogs too. Riyadh has shown a bit more promise over the course of the season. Nader is probably the most improved player this season, but their big, Ammar has also shown improvement. That's what I'm going to base this game off of; I'll say Nader's output is canceled out by Gaballa's, but Ammar and one Ahmad Doumani will give that edge to get another win. As always though, I will have to add that if Cairo finds just one more threat offensively, this team will find themselves experiencing a world of luxury in terms of finding space.
Riyadh by 4.