Third Place Game: Zain vs Jordan Hospital

Despite a hot start by Jordan Hospital that saw them take a 9-0 lead in the first minutes of the game, but Zain came back quickly with some good shooting and fastbreaks to finish the quarter trailing 15-17. In the second quarter, the scoring picked up by both teams as players from both teams were hitting shot after shot to go into halftime with Zain leading 44-41.

The third quarter saw an offensive outburst by Zain as they scored 32 points compared to 11 points by Jordan Hospital while the fourth quarter saw Jordan Hospital fight back to cut a 28 point lead down to single digits before time ran out and Zain won the game (92-78).

Scorers:

Zain
Nihad Madi 45 pts
Kevin Thomas 18 pts
Sultan Abu Mariam 13 pts
Eyad Mohammad 8 pts
Faisal Nsour 5 pts
Osama Tarazi 3 pts

Jordan Hospital

Ahmad Bashir 28 pts

Tareq Abdallat 21 pts

Ameer Khateeb 14 pts

Osama Hamarneh 8 pts

Marwan Matouq 5 pts

Bassam Al Shami 2 pts

Written by Faisal Nsour
on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Game 3 of the 2nd semi-final: Zain vs Bank Audi

After falling behind early in games 1 and 2, Zain came out determined to keep the game close and not dig themselves a hole to climb out of. They were able to do just that as the first quarter was a back and forth battle and despite red hot shooting from Bank Audi (they hit 4 threes in the first quarter) but Zain kept it close as the first quarter ended with Bank Audi leading 25-23. In the second quarter, Bank Audi shooting cooled down a bit and Zain took advantage by going into half time with the score tied at 41-41.

In the third quarter, Bank Audi went back to their hot shooting as they hit 3 threes early on combined with a couple of fast break buckets to take a 15 points lead midway through the quarter. And after trading baskets for a few minutes, Zain went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 62-53 at the end of the third. Bank Audi started the fourth quarter with a three that increased the lead to 12 but Zain slowly cut into the lead and with less than 2 minutes to go the lead was only 2 points (73-71). That was the closest Zain would get as Bank Audi were able to hit key free throws to get away with a deserved win 79-75 to advance to the finals and play Arab Potash Co. for the title on Friday.

Scorers
Bank Audi
Ghazi Naber 24 pts
Raed Owais 20 pts
Ali Farouki 14 pts
Khaled Quran 11 pts
Ziad Khair 5 pts
Hani Thalji 3 pts
Fawaz Al Shaikh 2 pts

Zain

Nihad Madi 28 pts

Faisal Nsour 21 pts

Eyad Mohammad 12 pts

Kevin Thomas 7 pts

Saliba Amash 6 pts

Bassam Qamhieh 1 pt

Written by Faisal Nsour
on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Game 2 of the second semi-final: Zain vs Bank Audi

Bank Audi came out of the gates sizzling hot as they almost made every shot they took in the first quarter while Zain looked completely out of sync as the quarter ended with Bank Audi leading 31-9. In the

second quarter, Zain started their long comeback as they were able to win the quarter 18-11 and thus cut the lead down from 22 to 15.

In the third quarter, Zain continued their comeback early on and were able to cut the lead to single digits before a couple of untimely turnovers allowed Bank Audi to increase the lead back up to 16 (57-41). In the fourth quarter, Zain had one last run in them as they cut the lead again to single digits but they finally ran out of gas and Bank Audi were able to win the game (70-61).

Scorers:
Bank Audi
Ghazi Naber 22 pts
Raed Owais 14 pts
Fawaz Al Shaikh 9 pts
Samer Issa 9 pts
Khaled Quran 6 pts
Zaid Khair 4 pts
Hani Thalji 3 pts
Ali Farouki 3 pts

Zain
Nihad Madi 17 pts
Kevin Thomas 16 pts
Sultan Abu Mariam 10 pts
Faisal Nsour 10 pts
Eyad Mohd 6 pts
Bassam Qamhieh 2 pts

Written by Faisal Nsour

on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Game one of the second semi-final: Bank Audi vs Zain

A tale of two cities; this game saw one team dominate the first half and the other team dominate the second. In the first quarter, Bank Audi started strong as they were able to take a 16-13 lead after one. In the second quarter, Bank Audi continued their dominance early on and were able to build an 11 point lead midway through the quarter then Zain started their comeback and were able to cut the lead down to only 5 points (36-31).

In the third quarter, Zain continued their slow but steady comeback as their defense was much improved and they were able to cut further into the lead to go into the fourth quarter trailing by only 2 points (51-49). In the fourth and final quarter, Zain used an 8-2 run to open the quarter and take a 57-53 lead. But after a timeout, Bank Audi scored 4 unanswered points to tie the score at 57-57 with less than five minutes to go. A big basket by Zain created some separation and then it was a matter of can Zain make their free throws to get the win which they were able to do successfully and win the game 66-62.

Scorers:

Bank Audi
Ghazi Naber 28 pts
Raed Owais 8 pts
Ali Farouki 6 pts
Fawaz Al Shaikh 6 pts
Zaid Khair 5 pts
Hani Thalji 5 pts
Samer Taha 2 pts
Khaled Qur'an 2 pts

Zain

Nihad Madi 22 pts

Faisal Nsour 12 pts

Sultan Abu Mariam 10 pts

Bassam Qamhieh 6 pts

Eyad MohamAd 6 pts

Sohaib Tawil 6 pTs

Kevin Thomas 4 pts

Written by Faisal Nsour
on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Zain vs Jordan Hospital

Zain started out hitting 2 straight three pointers but Jordan Hospital quickly answered with a couple of baskets to cut the lead down to 2 and this was the same deficit at the end of the quarter as Zain led 16-14 after one. In the second quarter, Jordan Hospital had their best quarter in the league this year as they scored 29 points while holding Zain to only 10 points to go into halftime leading 43-26.

In the third quarter, Zain tried to mount a comeback and even though they were able to score 24 points but they allowed Jordan Hospital to score 21 points. In the fourth and final quarter, Jordan Hospital took control of the game with a 20-12 quarter to win the game 84-62.

Scorers:
Jordan Hospital
Ahmad Bashir 26 pts
Alexy Gourgourinins 16 pts
Ameer Khateeb 13 pts
Osama Hamarneh 12 pts
Bassam Al Shami 11 pts
Tariq Abdallat 3 pts
Basem Hamdan 3 pts

Zain
Nihad Madi 32 pts
Faisal Nsour 14 pts
Sultan Abu Mariam 9 pts
Bassam Qamhieh 7 pts

Written by Faisal Nsour

on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Alcatel vs Zain

On cold wet night, thye had a hot competitive game inside as Zain and Alcatel battled it out. The first quarter was a relatively high scoring quarter as Zain jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first minutes but then Alcatel started making some shots and they were back in the game as they were able to cut the lead down to only 4 points at the end of the quarter (23-19). In the second quarter, Zain upgraded their defensive pressure and held Alcatel to only 11 second quarter points while scoring 20 points to go into the halftime leading 43-30.

In the third quarter, both teams traded baskets as neither was able to go on a run with Zain winning the quarter by 1 point thus increasing their lead to 14 points (62-48). In the fourth and final quarter, Alcatel started their comeback as they upped their defensive efforts and increased their offensive transition and they were able to cut the lead into single digits but Zain made a couple of timely baskets to maintain their lead and get away with the W (76-69).

Scorers:

Alcatel:
Saliba Amash 19 pts
Ramar Clash 16 pts
Keon Norris 16 pts
Fadi Saqqa 13 pts
Moutaz Husseini 3 pts
Issa Marto 2 pts

Zain:
Nihad Madi 29 pts
Faisal Nsour 16 pts
Sultan Abu Mariam 11 pts
Kevin Thomas 8 pts
Sohaib Tawil 6 pts
Bassam Qamhieh 6 pts

Written by Faisal Nsour

on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Zain vs Arab Potash

Second game of the day saw our two top teams of the league so far battle it out as Arab Potash wanted to remain unbeaten while Zain was looking to revenge their only loss of the season. Arab Potash came out hot in the first quarter while Zain looked out of sync and finished the quarter trailing 21-12. In the second quarter, Zain came out determined to show their true colors and get back into the game and they were able to do exactly that as they cut the lead down to only 3 points and went into half time trailing (35-38).

The third quarter was a defensive quarter as points were hard to get by as Zain scored only 14 points compared to 18 points by Arab Potash (3 of which at the buzzer) which meant Arab Potash finished the 3rd quarter leading 56-49. At the start of the fourth quarter, Arab Potash were able to increase the lead to 13 (62-49) but then Zain started their comeback and were able to cut it down to 3 points with over 2 minutes to go. Arab Potash were able to score some timely baskets at the end and get away with a deserved win 77-71

Scorers:
Arab Potash:
Ihab Imseeh 21 pts
Luay Dajani 19 pts
Fadi Yaghmour 14 pts
Tamer Nino 8 pts
Raed Ghosheh 8 pts
Mamdouh Younis 6 pts
Mohd Razem 1 pts

Zain:
Nihad Madi 26 pts
Faisal Nsour 24 pts
Eyad Mohd 10 pts
Sultan Abu Mariam 5 pts
Bassam Qamhieh 3 pts
Sohaib Tawil 3 pts

Written by Faisal Nsour

on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Bank Audi vs Zain

Another exciting game that went down to the wire, Zain came out hot as they hit their first three three pointers to build a 10 point lead in the first 3 minutes of the game, then Bank Audi started getting into a nice offensive rhythm as they used their speed and quickness to score easy points on the fast break and finish the quarter down 12-17. In the second quarter, Bank Audi continued running their fast break game to perfection as they out scored Zain 20-11 in the quarter to take a 4 point lead into halftime leading 32-28.

In the third quarter, Zain changed their defensive scheme to try and slow down Bank Audi and they were able to do that while being more efficient on offense as they out scored Bank Audi 24-13 in the quarter to take a 7 point lead heading into the fourth quarter leading 52-45. After a couple of scoreless minutes to start the fourth quarter and falling behind by double digits, Bank Audi started a great comeback that cut down the deficit to only 3 points with over 2 minutes to go in the game but timely free throws and a couple of three pointers from Zain put the game away as Zain won 68-61.

Scorers:

Bank Audi:
Ghazi Naber 19 pts
Fawaz Al Shaikh 12 pts
Ali Farouki 10 pts
Ziad Khair 9 pts
Raed Owais 7 pts
Samer Issa 4 pts

Zain:
Nihad Madi 25 pts
Faisal Nsour 13 pts
Sohaib Tawil 9 pts
Sultan Abu Mariam 9 pts
Kevin Thomas 6 pts
Eyad Mohd 6 pts

                          

Written by Faisal Nsour

on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Jordan Hospital vs Zain

Jordan Hospital started the game hot as they raced to a 12 point lead midway through the first quarter, then Zain started to get into the game and were able to cut into the lead and finish the quarter down 12 - 20. In the second quarter, Jordan Hospital again jumped out to a strong start then Zain was able to close the gap as the first half ended 36 - 28 for Jordan Hospital.

In the 3rd quarter, Zain kept inching closer and closer and they were able to tie the game for the first time at 40-40 and even take the lead on the next basket 42-40 but Jordan Hospital hit 2 three pointers back to back to take the lead 46-42 going into the fourth. The final period was very exciting and Jordan Hospital continued their trend of starting quarters strong as they increased their lead to 8 then Zain started climbing back and were able to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter and then take the lead on a couple of back to back three pointers. Jordan Hospital tried to get back into the game but Zain were able to keep their lead by hitting key shots especially their free throws to take the win 64-58

Zain 64 - 58 Jordan Hospital

Jordan Hospital:
Hussar Lutfi 28 pts
Ahmad Bashir 14 pts
Saif Halaseh 7 pts
Ameer khateeb 4 pts
Alexy Gourgourinins 4 pts
Bassam Al Shami 1 pt

Zain:
Nihad Madi 19 pts
Faisal Nsour 18 pts
Eyad Mohd 10 pts
Kevin Thomas 10 pts
Bassam Qamhieh 4 pts
Sohaib Tawil 3 pts

Written by Faisal Nsour
on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Arab Potash Vs. Zain

The 3rd season of the Old Timers Basketball League kicked off with a nice hard fought game between Arab Potash co. and Zain. The game which was held at the IAA school saw Arab Potash team come out of the gates swinging to a 14-3 lead. Zain team tried to get back to the game but couldn't cut the difference to less than 7 points in the first half which ended with Arab Potash leading by 10.

In the 3rd quarter, Zain team started to show its true colors as they fought back to finish the quarter down only 3 points. But they ran out of gas as Arab Potash were able to finish strong and win the game.

Final score:
Arab Potash 69 - 56 Zain

Scorers:
Arab Potash:
Mamdouh Younis 20 pts
Ihab Imseeh 17 pts
Luay Dajani 11 pts
Fadi Yaghmour 10 pts
Tamer Nino 8 pts
Raed Ghoseh 3 pts

Zain:
Kevin Thomas 16 pts
Faisal Nsour 13 pts
Nihad Madi 7 pts
Sultan Abu Mariam 6 pts
Osama Tarazi 6 pts
Sohaib Tawil 5 pts
Bassam Qamhieh 3 pts

Old Timers Basketball League Facebook Page

Written by Faisal Nsour
on Old Timers Basketball League official Page

Old Timers Basketball League: Arab Potash Wins the Title..

CEC (Sajdi & Partners) 102-64 Jordan Hospital 

It was apparent that both teams were disappointed not to be playing in the championship game as both teams deserved to, so the game started off slow as neither team was able to score 20 points in the first quarter which ended with CEC leading 17-14. Both teams stayed close until the last 4 minutes of the second quarter when CEC used a 13-0 run to take a 46-31 lead into halftime. 

In the 3rd quarter, Jordan Hospital managed to score only 10 points compared to 27 points by CEC. Things remained the same in the fourth quarter as CEC scored 29 compared to 23 by Jordan Hospital giving CEC the third place and the highest scoring game of the league with 102 points.

Top Scorers:

CEC: Nihad Madi 27, Fawaz Shaikh 22, Fadi Saqqa 19
Jordan Hospital: Eyad Mohammad 21, Ahmad Bashir 14, Pat McCurry 13

Arab Potash 84-70 Gulf Oil

Gulf Oil came in as the favorites, having the best offense in the league and winning all 10 games they played so far, while Arab Potash were the underdogs as they barely advanced to the finals and having a record of 6 wins and 5 losses. But Arab Potash did have the best defense in the league, so it looks like it is true "offense wins games but defense wins championships".

The first quarter was even as both teams exchanged baskets till the last 2 minutes when Arab Potash used a 10-0 run to end the quarter leading 21-14. Gulf Oil started the second quarter in a good way, as they were able to tie the game 31-31 midway through the period but Arab Potash went on a run to regain the 7 points lead and go into halftime leading 44-37.

In the 3rd period, Gulf Oil were able to cut into the lead and even take a 5 point lead for themselves (59-54) but like the previous 2 quarters, Arab Potash were able to finish the period strong and go to the 4th and final period leading 60-59. In the final period, Arab Potash didn't wait till the end of the quarter to finish strong, they opened up a double digit lead early and then were able to use the clock wisely and withheld any attempt from Gulf Oil to finally win the game with a final score of 84-70

Top Scorers:
Gulf Oil: Ghazi Naber 37, Ziad Nabulsi 12, Luay Dajani 8
Arab Potash: Ramar Clash 25, Samer Qardan 24, Mustafa Ghool 20

Old Timers Basketball League: Second Semi Final Games

Arab Potash 79-70 CEC (Sajdi & Partners)

Wow, one of the best games of the second season, both teams came with their eyes on advancing to the championship game. That probably is why we had a low scoring 1st quarter. And even though Potash had an early lead 11-7 but CEC were able to finish the period up 14-13. In the second period, Arab Potash had their highest scoring period of the whole league with 28 points while CEC scored 22 points to go into halftime with Potash leading 41-36.

In the 3rd period, Arab Potash were able to increase their lead to 66-51 using their speed and quickness. The fourth quarter was the most exciting as CEC were able to hold Arab Potash scoreless for the first 5 minutes while scoring 11 points themselves to cut the lead down to 4 (66-62), but Arab Potash did not panic and they were able to outscore CEC 13-8 in the last five minutes of the game to win 79-70. Hats off for both teams for a wonderful semi-final.

Top scorers:
CEC: Fadi Saqqa 24, Sultan Abu Mariam 15, Nihad Madi 13
Arab Potash: Ramar Clash 27, Douglas Dye 18, Samer Qardan 17

Old Timers Basketball League: CEC Vs. Arab Potash

A nice competitive game! That was game one of the second semi-final. First quarter was pretty even as CEC managed to finish the period on top 16-14. In the second quarter, Arab Potash scored only 12 points compared to 20 for CEC to go into halftime with a score of 36-26. In the 3rd period, the lead ballooned to 15 midway through the quarter before Arab Potash cut it back down to 10 at the end of the quarter 54-44. 

The final period was the most exciting of the game, as Arab Potash pushed to cut the lead down but CEC countered the Potash run by hitting 3 threes in the period, still Arab Potash were within 5 points with a minute and a half to go but managed to score only 2 points the rest of the way compared to 6 points by CEC to give us a final score of 76-67 for CEC.

Top scorers:

Arab Potash: Ramar Clash 25, Saliba Amash 17, Samer Qardan 11
CEC (Sajdi & partners): Nihad Madi 28, Fadi Saqqa 14, Fawaz Shaikh 12

Old Timers Basketball League: CEC Vs. Aramex

Last game of the regular season was the most beautiful game so far. With rankings already known, and the match-up for next week's semi-finals set, both teams put on a nice show for all of us to enjoy. During halftime, we had a wonderful kids game where parents enjoyed watching their kids play a mini game.

Aramex started off hot and were able to lead all of the first half. In the 3rd quarter the lead was up to 24 points, then CEC started a huge comeback to cut it down to 10 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The comeback continued at the start of the 4th quarter, as CEC cut the deficit down to 4 before Aramex pushed the lead back up to 10 (67-57) with little over 3 minutes to go. Then CEC mounted another run to cut the deficit down to 4 (69-65) with a minute and a half to go.

CEC then hit a three to cut the deficit down to 1 (69-68) and were able to get a stop on the defensive end then Aramex fouled to send CEC to the line with a chance to take the lead, but CEC scored only one free throw to tie the score 69-69 with 25 seconds to go. Aramex played their last attack perfectly as they let the clock wind down all the way to 2.2 seconds before scoring on a jump shot to take a 71-69 lead. CEC had to chance to win the game but could not get a shot off to give Aramex the win 71-69

Next week's schedule will be as follows:

Sunday Dec 8th: 1st Semi-Final at 7 pm Gulf Oil Middle East vs Jordan Hospital
Tuesday Dec 10th: 2nd Semi-Final at 7 pm Arab Potash vs CEC (Sajdi & Partners)

Friday Dec 13th: 2 games at 4 & 6 pm
1st Semi Final: Gulf Oil Middle East vs Jordan Hospital at 4 pm
2nd Semi Final: Arab Potash vs CEC (Sajdi & partners) at 6 pm

Old Timers Basketball League: CEC Vs. Jordan Hospital

Jordan Hospital 59-69 CEC (Sajdi & partners)

CEC never trailed in tonight's game as they led from wire to wire. They jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter after hitting 4 threes in the quarter to lead 22-9. The second quarter was much closer as Jordan Hospital scored 17 points to CEC's 19 which resulted in a 41-26 half time score. Third quarter was similar to the second as CEC outscored Jordan Hospital by 2 points (14-12) to enter the fourth period leading 55-38.

In the final period, Jordan Hospital finally showed their true colors as they outscored CEC 19-12 but that wasn't enough to close the big gap as the final score was 69-59 in favor of CEC.

Top scorers:

CEC (Sajdi & partners): Fadi Saqqa 16, Nihad Madi 16, Fadi Imseeh 14

Jordan Hospital: Ahmad Bashir 20, Fadi Yaghmour 19, Pat McCurry 8

Great Players in Old Timer Basketball League.. Nihad Madi: A Reason To Make You Wanna Fly

If you ever knew or watched Ahli Basketball Team, then you know excalty who Nihad Madi is.

He started young in Ahli Team as best wing player there ever was and kept going through the years keeping his remarkable touch in basketball, entertaining  people with his many three points shots.

Like any other player who left Ahli at the end, he started to search for a new place to continue his journey, a new home to settle down in and enjoy what he most love and that home was Zain Team.

After Zain, he settled for a while in ASU Team which was the last team we've seen him in until he made a came back with Old Timers Basketball League as CEC Wing player to make us all remember the joy we had when we used to watch him in Ahli games long time ago.

Old Timers Basketball League: CEC Vs. Gulf Oil

Tonight's game was a physical tough interesting game, Gulf Oil jumped out to an early big lead 22-11 over CEC (Sajdi & partners) behind hot shooting and quick offensive transition and they were able to finish the 1st quarter up 24-14. In the 2nd period, CEC were able to cut the deficit by half as they hit 4 threes in the period to go into half time down 36-41.

The 3rd quarter was the most even of the game as Gulf Oil scored 19 to CEC's 18 points which meant the lead was 6 points for Gulf Oil going into the fourth and final period. In the last period, CEC (Sajdi and partners) just ran out of gas in the final minutes as Gulf Oil continued to remain the only unbeaten team so far in the league with a 75-66 win.

Top Scorers:
CEC (Sajdi & partners): Fadi Saqqa 21, Nihad Madi 12, Sultan Abu Mariam 12
Gulf Oil Middle East: Ghazi Naber 34, Loay Dajani 11, Zaid Khair 9