| One Road Block Remaining For Ash-Shams |
Jun 18, 2008 |
The first semi-final match of the day was between Ash-Shams and Quraysh. Quraysh was all pumped up from their victory earlier in the day while Ash-Shams was fully recovered from the previous week's action. Both teams dressed only 6 players for this match. Missing in action was Donovan Gayle and the impact of this absence was soon to be determined for Ash-Shams.
Quraysh started this match on fire! Abdul Bari Yousufi and Abdelleh Abda were crashing the boards and scoring down low with ease. Abda in particular was playing as if he was 15 years younger. He was running up and down the floor, demanding the ball in the post, aggressively attacking rebounds, and even jacking up a three-ball! Ash-Shams was struggling to maintain him. Thankfully Amer Malik was on his game. He continued to show that his performance this season was no joke. The man masterfully slashed his way to the rim and would score some pretty baskets. But when it comes to entertainment you can't forget about the show-stopper himself, Mohammed "Kobe" Ismail. Kobe played as if he was in the Championship game taking on the Celtics himself. He started littering the floor with his jumpers and consecutive 3-point baskets. The excitement was overwhelming for Ash-Shams and they called a time-out with 9:13 remaining trailing 18-28.
At first it appeared as if the time-out made no difference as Ismail came out to hit his third straight 3-pt attempt. Adeel Sahibzada also got into the action as he would drive the basket and score a few deuces of his own. That's when Ash-Shams stepped up their game courtesy of Mohammed Sayeed. The big man would match Mohammed Ismail's three-point shooting by sinking three consecutive attempts of his own. Sayeed would also fill in the basket with a thunderous dunk. His heroics and sharp shooting would keep Ash-Shams in the game as they trailed 40 -34 at the end of the half. Sayeed and Ismail would both lead their teams in the opening half with 13 points each.
You wouldn't believe what would happen next. No really. No one could have predicted it. Ash-Shams continued their hot shooting into the second half. Quraysh would score the first 4 points of the half to extend their lead 44-34 but that would be it for them. Ash-Shams then went on an 11-0 run of their own to take their first lead of the game at 45-44! The hot scoring coming from Abbas Alidina and Sayeed who would sink two more triples to make it 5 successful attempts in a row. That was all Qurasyh could handle and they called a time-out to stop the bleeding.
Put away the first aid kit. Nothing was going to stop this gash. Ash-Shams was ruthless. Sayeed continued to throw down the ball and his fine play was followed up by Ahsan Raza who also played with zeal. Ash-Shams had extended their run to 20 points before Quraysh was finally able to end the drought with a basket at the 11:15 mark to make it 54-46. With 10 minutes remaining in the half the two teams put it into cruise control with little fluctuations in scoring. Sahibzada would be the primary player for Quraysh to score down the stretch but it all for none. Ash-Shams was playing out the clock and finished off the opposition 67-61.
Sayeed was by far the star of the game. He finished with 29 points but also did the job on defense with 6 rebounds, 2 big swats, and a few steals. Raza finished the game well and ended up with a double-double. Quraysh was led by Sahibzada with 22 points but it was Abdellah's 15 points and 10 rebounds along with his 3 steals that stood out the most. It's sad to see that the league won't get to benefit from "Kobe" Ismail's smart remarks and entertainment but ask Ash-Shams if they care. They have a championship to think about! |
