*Dreamers & Love Wins excluded due to forfeited game*
1.) Drip City (3-1): Another week, another blowout. Can this team be stopped this season? I might get used to keeping the #1 spot tied to Drip City’s name. It’s admirable to see the youngest of the Khan Brothers, Sabeel, putting up MVP numbers this season. Everyone was focused on Salman Tailor before the season that they forgot about the talent Sabeel Khan brings to the table along with his brothers Sohaym and Sameer. Well done, as they are leading their team effortlessly through D3. This next game will be the toughest of their schedule thus far, as they face off against a Cereal Killers team that looks to bounce back following a tough loss. This team will bring everything to the table. Will Drip City be able to continue its dominance? If we look at the previous seasons, these teams have met, and Drip City has won each of their last four matchups. Will this be the game that Cereal Killers takes the win, or will Sabeel continue his MVP run with his team?
Congratulations to Sabeel Khan on earning Week 4 player of the Week Honors.
2.) Cream City (4-0): Mohammed Kazzaz, although he didn't earn Player of the Week, had a remarkable performance with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a blowout against Hooks Aur Chai. It seems like a different player does significantly well each game for this team, and that adds to their diversity, as it's helped them reach this 4-0 start to the season. Ahmed Abdelhady is averaging 18 points, while Ayman Abdelaaty is averaging 12 points and 18 rebounds per game. These two are leading this team, and their dominance has been noticed. So far, Kazzaz's statement has been confirmed, and it doesn't seem to be debunked anytime soon. This week they face off against Swarm, who look to bounce back after a loss. They will bring everything, but will they be ready for Ayman's presence and his supporting cast in Wisam, Ahmed, and Mohammed? Only one way to find out! Let's see if this team can reach 5-0.
3.) Wolfpack (4-0): In a crucial overtime win against Swarm, Wolfpack asserted their chemistry and worked as a unit to get the job done. Although they were without their Ace, Taha Ahmed, they came to play. Deep put his IQ on notice, and along with Zain Razak, they controlled the offense of the team, as they were scoring from all over the court, catching their opponent off guard. Rizwan Shah made a presence off the bench, and Feroze Omergee contributed in the steals category. Overall, this was a strong team effort that resulted in a second overtime win in the season for this team. Their offense was on point, but their defense was stagnant, as they allowed Swarm to fight back and reach overtime. Also, there was a possession where Wolfpack retained six consecutive offensive rebounds yet missed every single shot. Six offensive rebounds, ladies and gentlemen, but still couldn’t convert. What a way to bail the other team out. Good thing they got the job done. Overall, this team has the chemistry of the best in the division and isn’t looking to slow down. Can they increase to 5-0? With the way they’ve been playing, I think they do.
4.) Cereal Killers (3-1): I can't say I expected this, but Cereal Killers faced their first loss of the season this past Sunday. Some may say the refs were questionable, but the truth is that this team is flawed in its fundamentals. Many easy layups were missed, a lack of communication on the defensive end, and overall frustration. These factors all contributed to this team's demise in Week 4. It all starts with their big man, Aasim Akthar, who got a double-double but missed some critical layups in crunch time. Alongside him, Umar Khalid and Zeeshan Haquani (I got you right this time, Z, sorry) both hit on the threes needed; they could not control the opposing backcourt defensively. PIA had an answer for this team, as they could not take Abbas Gauhar off his game and realized to make a switch after the damage was done. This team needs to build its character and trust one another to make the right play, whether defensively or on offense. They take on #1 Drip City; expect this game to be a battle, as these teams are rivals. Cereal Killers will bring it, but can they trust one another to carry that throughout the game? They'll need to if they want to achieve a victory this week.
Also shoutout to Alfraz Haquani, I got you in on this my brotha!
5.) Swarm (2-2): It seems like the way to stop this team is simple, implement a 2-3 zone. This causes this team to fall apart, and they have no answer for it. Cream City, you’re welcome for the heads up. Where to start? The last game was a tough loss in overtime for this team. They played the game with a valiant effort but ultimately could not execute team basketball and found themselves in ISO situations towards the end of the game. Jake Farnsworth showed up with 15 points and brought it defensively for his team; however, Arhum Ali had a quiet game with 13 points. However, he did grab 11 rebounds. Furthermore, Saim Ali wasn’t on his game, and they’ll need him tremendously alongside Aashir Ali, Yaseen Rasheed, and Ammar Tareen. Wolfpack was able to put a hold on MVP candidate Arhum Ali, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to bounce back from this, as teams are slowly figuring out his game plan. A critical mistake I must call this team out for is allowing Wolfpack to retain six offensive rebounds in CRUNCH TIME! That’s unacceptable, and this lack of effort cost them this game. It all starts with the fundamentals, boxing out. Hopefully, this team has come up with a plan because they go up against the rebounding leader in Ayman Abdelaaty, averaging 18 rebounds a game. What a way to test themselves; I am confident they’ll be sure not to allow that many offensive rebounds again because they want to win; at least, I think they do. Overall, they’ll need to bring everything they have to slow down an undefeated Cream City team.
6.) AK Trey (3-1): This team found themselves caught by surprise against I See I Shoot, as they had no answer for Omar Ouadii. Although Arshad Dadabhoy scored 29 points, he did go 8/22, and his running mate Edwin Tolentino went 8/19, tallying 20 points. These percentages speak for themselves, which is one reason why AK Trey couldn’t get past their opponents last Sunday. Aside from these two, the rest of the team didn’t show up and granted, they only had five players, but so did I See I Shoot. Overall, I expect this backcourt to bounce back as they’ve done so this season and reach better percentages because had they made more shots, this game could’ve gone the other way. So let’s see how they bounce back against a strong Dreamers team this Sunday.
7.) PIA (2-2): Well done! It was already on notice that this team was close to beating Swarm, but beating the #2 team in D3, Cereal Killers? That’s deserving of recognition. This team has moved up in the standings every week, and their game plan is why. They have a solid offensive backcourt in Sadan Warrach and Abbas Gauhar, who both showed up last game. Alongside that, they had Ali Shah, who scored 20 points, as their X-Factor. So when things are clicking for this team, they will compete. They are riding severe momentum; let’s see how they fare against undefeated Wolfpack this week.
8.) Main Event (2-2): Like PIA, this team has been consistent in moving up in rankings. Mahmood Baggia took what I said in Week 2 seriously, as he is now leading in blocks for D3 and making a case for Defensive Player of the Year! He had five blocks alongside 12 rebounds on Sunday. This defense has helped their go-to, Mohamed Aboubaker, as he has been scoring and controlling the offense for this team well. Mahmood and Mohamed managed the floor for Main Event last game, and with this duo performing, teams will have difficulty staying balanced. Good on them; I can see them continuing to go up! A shoutout, Hamza Bhai, “Sharpshooter,” for this game's three crucial three-point shots. Umair Bhai, I’m waiting for your breakout game!
9.) 2Nyce (2-2): This team bounced back tremendously, absolutely lighting Prospects up. This blowout was done beautifully and as a team effort, and this is what we’ve been waiting to see from 2Nyce all season. Granted, Prospects isn’t a great team in D3, but you can’t ignore how 2Nyce kept control from start to finish. With the addition of Ateek Shaikh, this team got a lot more defensively, and he, alongside Ibrahim Ellahi, will give any backcourt trouble as we advance. Asif Qureshi and Arsalan Rehman did their parts, each having 10+ points and 8+ rebounds. Shoutout Ibrahim Ellahi for another 5 steals this game, he is also making a severe case for Defensive Player of the Year, and I love what I’ve been seeing from him. So this team has the potential to bounce back; give D3 the surprise they’ve been waiting for!
10.) Black Mambas (2-2): After a dominant 34 points and 17 rebounds in Week 3, Hammad Amer could not buy a bucket against Drip City. This is one of the critical reasons they lost this game horridly. It seems that this team doesn’t want to listen in huddles when it comes to practicing fundamentals because whenever they are out there, it’s always a highlight play they are looking to achieve. Albert Sosa has been the true point guard of this team and has done his best to control the offense, but everyone needs to be on the same page. Winning starts with trust within one another, and right now, the huddles don’t look full of it as everyone’s heads are down and unwilling to make adjustments when things get rough. So you must lose some tough ones to cherish the wins when they do come. Overall, I like what I see from Albert Sosa, Hammad Amer, and Amjad Hamideh. Zain Asif needs to step up for his team, he’s their X-Factor, and once this kid gets the confidence, he will be the player this team needs to win. Yousef El-Mustapha needs to focus on the defensive aspect, and Aaquib Moulvi needs to perform as a 2-Way guard in terms of offense and passing from now on. They have a chance to fix things against 2Nyce, but this team is also looking to make a statement in D3, so I hope Black Mambas is ready for what they bring.
11.) I See I Shoot (1-3): Right off the plane, Raihan Dadabhoy showed up at MBL with the ESPN music playing in the background. It worked because his team did work last Sunday, as he dropped 11 points and 7 rebounds! They moved up three spots in the rankings, and they will continue to move up if Omar Ouadii continues to put up monster numbers. He had 22 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks! Talk about dominance. Alongside him, Mason Cotterill contributed 14 points with 6 rebounds. Let’s not forget the most important thing; they earned a W against formerly undefeated team AK Trey. This team is ready to play! Let’s see how they fare against Main Event, lookout for Omar to put up some more All-Star numbers this season.
Congratulations to Omar Ouadii for being named Week 4 Player of the Week!
12.) Maryland Grim Reapers (0-4): Another tough loss for this squad, but they are learning every game. They know if they utilize their bigs efficiently, the game will come easy to them. I believe they have the youth and skill to win some games, but it’ll only come once everyone clicks with one another. Zubair Ahmed has been consistently increasing this season, but Eesa Baig and Basit Khan need to step up and make their presence known to get their team going. Eesa had a solid 13 points and 13 rebounds last game, and he seems to be getting the flow of things, but he will need to work with his front-court teammate to have these numbers reflected in wins.
13.) Prospects (0-4): Mouaz Kanawati is doing his best, but with the loss of Baheer Khan, this team is in a tough spot. They struggled against 2Nyce, and things aren’t looking bright this season. Instead, they play against the team ranked above them in Grim Reapers, so maybe they’ll have a chance to get things going. Until then, this team will probably stay below the #12 seed.
14.) Hooks Aur Chai (0-4): Shoutout to Zeeshan Iqbal for the five three-pointers and 18 points, but unfortunately, another loss for this squad. Ali Latif almost had a double-double, but ultimately Cream City overwhelmed them. They face off against Love Wins, another questionable team this season, so let’s see if they can find a rhythm in this game and get something going.