Rank: Director
Groups: Forum Moderator, Website Administration
Joined: 3/19/2008(UTC)
Posts: 682
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Damascus vs Medina I expect both of these teams to bring their full squads, and if they do, this game will be one for the ages. I wholly believe Medina has what it takes to not only win this game but win it all. They have the personnel to defend Damascus's big three, so I think this game will come down to which team is patient enough to take good shots and also which team will hustle more. From what I've seen historically, I think Medina, as a team, holds the edge in both of those intangibles, so I'm going with the upset victory of 8th seed over 1st seed (which is actually pretty common in MB). Bukhara vs Kabul This is another upset in the making. If Waleed Gabr is there to coach, I think this will be a close one, given his team's volatile nature when he's not there. Farhad Babury is the key to this game. He needs to stay healthy from beginning to end, and he will get his. Bad news for Bukhara - the sleeping giant Mujtaba Shahsamand has finally woken this season, so Raied (assuming that will be the defensive matchup) will have his work cut out for him. I think this game will either be close or a blowout, with Kabul winning either way. Mecca vs Islamabad Islamabad has shown true grit all season, with impressive showings despite a thin bench. Unfortunately for them, so has Mecca, which expects only 5 to show up for every game. Islamabad has no pressure on them, which will help them play loose and make things more competitive than one would expect. However, in a matchup of the lowest scoring team versus an opponent that allows the fewest points, it will not be an easy task. If the game is close, I expect Mecca to still be able to close out with the ball in either Ahmed Elfayoumi or Mustafa Abbassi's hands. Istanbul vs Fez This will probably be the most fun game to watch with a run-and-gun pace. These two teams played each other Week 1, but both were unfamiliar with their surroundings. Fez seems to have the edge at guard with the Brian-Victor-Andre trio, but nobody really knows what to expect from rookie standout Sean Brock, who might shift into overdrive after coasting in the regular season. Fez has what it takes up front to slow down Ali Omar and Greg K, but the two average a combined 31 ppg and 27 rpg. Kevin Cushing will do wonders for Fez if he can show up, providing much needed muscle. Although I was impressed with Fez's resilience after blowing big leads this season (Week 4 vs Mecca, last night vs Jerusalem), Istanbul has just been a team on fire (albeit versus undermanned squads). I'm gonna go with Istanbul in this game. Edited by user Friday, July 8, 2011 8:19:21 AM(UTC)
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