Assalamu-ailaikum!

By the Grace of Allah we held the second preseason game of the Ahmadiyya Ottawa Basketball League - Alhumdolillah! The second round of AOBL games were fun, and exciting with players showing their will to win right from the start. Special thanks and jazakAllah to the Khuddam and Atfal who helped with making these games a success by either reffing, score keeping or helping in any other aspects of the games. 

Check out www.leaguelineup.com/AOBL and see all the tabs on the left for the updated record of the standings as well as: statistics, league leaders, message board for posting, pictures of the evaluations last week and much more!

ABSENCE ALERT!

Few players had unexcused absences and should understand they have a commitment to their teams by signing a 3-month deal for 0$ but plenty of Sawaab. InshAllah we can all hold true to our word and guide our teams to victory - Ameen!

We will also be posting a video highlight reel of prior to preaseason in the next few days - stay tuned!

GAME #1 - Team Sadaqat (W) vs Team Rafaqat (L)

Team Sadaqat showed consistency and had excellent teamwork which carried them through the game, winning 46-43. With both teams short of players, Ehtsham came in and carried Team Sadaqat with an outstanding 24 points. However, all of team Sadaqat -  including Musaver Ahmed with 12 points on 67% shooting and Luqman "X-Factor" Ahmed with 10 points and 6 crucial rebounds helped to make it all work. The game was very close near half-time but unfortunately Fawad Khan went down with a sprained ankle, leaving his mark with 16 points at over 67% shooting only at half-time. Saib Ahmed continued his rebound onslaught pulling down 22 rebounds and showed resiliency. Team Rafaqat definitely lacked offense with Shakeel Nazir and Faraz Faisal as the replacements for a team that had a well-built team chemistry. It will be interesting to see how Team Rafaqat copes mentally and phsically with having their captain go down with a injury that will keep him out for the next few weeks indefinitely. We will have to wait for Bilal Ahmed and Faateh Malik to return from their vacations while their team is hard at work in order to help pull this team out of the hole.

GAME #2 - Team Shujaat (W) vs Team Amanat (L)

Team Shujaat showed AOBL and the fans that they are definitely capable of scoring and hitting the boards hard with the crushing victory over Team Amanat of 41-31. Team Amanat held their ground until halfway through the second half but stamina and consistency continued to haunt Team Amanat. Despite the absence of Muneer Khan, Valeed Malik and Daanish Malik showed great team chemistry both combining for 20 points and 15 rebounds with several give and go plays. Team Shujaat revealed some secret weapons with Shakeel Nazir putting on a show with 16 points with his trademark Jabbar fadeaway hookshot. However, it was the big weapon on the court that could not be missed - Qaid Sahib, Awais Mehmood - who showed that he is the Shaquille Oneal of this league - simply dominant and unstoppable when focused and willing to take charge. He played like a star with 19 points and 8 rebounds, however, Team Shujaat needs to focus on shot selection as their field goal percentage was quite low at 39%.  An interesting matchup of next week will be Team Shujaat and Team Sadaqat, both teams healthy and hungry for wins.

The following are the statistics of the two games played:

GAME #1

Date: December 23, 2012     Time: 8:30am      Venue: School Property

GAME #2

Date: December 23, 2012     Time: 9:00am      Venue: School Property

JazakAllah to the players for showing excellent sportsmanship once again as well as participating in the Ijlas-e-am and Fajr namaz. May Allah continue to bless our deeds and may He give us the strength to carry His message to the ends of the Earth - Ameen!

Wassalam,

Fawad