Blacktop Tales | Season 2 | Episode 11 | Ayla Habbal | Hoopsfix All Star Classic 2025
Pressure. Whether it’s full court or half court, it’s uncomfortable. Ayla Habbal doesn’t allow easy baskets—she knows pressure.
She’s lived it. She steps into it.
At just 11 years old, Ayla moved with her family from Lebanon to the UK. The change brought opportunity, diversity—and a different kind of challenge. Back home, she’d grown under the guidance of her semi-pro father and her mother, a trainer and nutritionist. Lebanon’s hoops culture gave her a foundation rooted in skill and precision. In the UK, at City of London Academy, she faced a new reality: bigger, more physical players. She didn’t flinch. She played her game. Applied pressure.
Dribble move. Hesi. Pump fake. Mid-range. Splash. Light work. She gives opponents the kind of problems you’d expect from a Facundo Campazzo–Tony Parker–Kyrie hybrid. Facing Ayla Habbal means staying locked in from tip to buzzer.
NO PRESSURE
At the Hoopsfix Classic 2025, Ayla rocked the Luka 4 'Bloodline' – available now in-store and online at bouncewear.co.uk.
Blacktop Tales | Season 2 | Episode 12 | Melchi Egbeyemi | Hoopsfix All Star Classic 2025
Melchi Egbeyemi is a combo guard—blurring the lines between the 1 and the 2, between orchestrating the offense and creating his own shot.
His game reflects his journey: a constant combination of elements. It started at his Essex primary school at a lunchtime basketball club. Then came Brentwood Fire, national league reps, and eventually Barking Abbey—where Melchi sharpened his edge, combining team sessions with 1-on-1 coaching three to four times a week. He paired that with his own workouts, even during lockdown, training with a friend at a local park until the masks came off and the squeak of the hardwood returned.
On court, Melchi mixes grit with finesse, speed with precision. Think Darius Garland’s handle fused with Dwyane Wade’s slashing grit. That same blend of discipline and drive has now taken him to Utah, where he’ll be suiting up for the Weber State Wildcats later this year.
“I want to make money playing the game I love.”
With that mentality—and the way he continues to combine all the right things—it’s not hard to imagine him rising to the pro level in the next few years. At the Hoopsfix Classic 2025, Melchi rocked the Luka 4 'Space Navigator' – available now in-store and online at bouncewear.com
