Recap
Final (2:30 PM-3:30 PM) Sunday, Jun 18, 2006
Kafirun
Fatiha
  1 2 T
Kafirun (5-3-0) 29 19 48
Fatiha (0-8-0) 17 28 45

Kafirun builds early lead and hangs on for the win Jun 20, 2006
by Zuhair Fancy  

When these teams met in the regular season, Fatiha showed signs that they could win as Samer Kurdi had a huge game and only the heroics of Kafirun’s Greg Hamilton saved his team from defeat. Both teams had their full rosters available and were ready to go at tip-off.

Kafirun started off strong as Hamilton took control early and exposed the mismatches he had on defense down low for some easy baskets. When Fatiha double teamed him down low, Hamilton made excellent passes to teammates for open baskets or simply stepped back to drain a three. Despite their defensive struggles, Fatiha scored some nice baskets of their own as Kurdi and Asaph Levy attacked the Kafirun basket. After their lead was cut down, Kafirun quickly called for a timeout with 5:30 left and up 14-13. Hamilton took over once again and when the half ended with was Kafirun leading 29-17. Hamilton led his team with 18 points and 7 rebounds while Fatiha was led by Levy with 9 points and Kurdi with 8 points and 7 rebounds.

The second half saw Fatiha adjust defensively to try and deny Hamilton the ball and make his teammates do the scoring which was a strategy that worked as Kafiurn’s lead slowly began to dwindle. Kurdi was a force in the post as he grabbed every loose ball while Levy started to get to the free throw line more as he drove the lane hard. However as hard as Fatiha worked they could not stop Hamilton who slowed the game down for Kafirun and helped them to eat clock up. The game ended with Kafirun winning 48-45, just hanging on towards the end as Fatiha tried desperately to tie the game. Hamilton led Kafirun with 26 points and 13 rebounds while Fatiha was led by Kurdi with 18 points and 17 rebounds and Levy with 21 points and 8 rebounds.

Fatiha ended the season without a win but showed great improvement as the season progressed. The addition of another point guard to handle the ball and a bit more organization defensively and they will be able to surprise some teams next season.

Kafirun will now move on to face Bayyina who they lost to 56-39 in the regular season. Hamilton will need to keep up his strong play for his team to have a chance against the offensively explosive Bayyina.