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Two weeks in the books now as we are beginning to get a clearer picture of each team's depth and skill at both positions of the floor. We saw some impressive performances last week as some new players and many returning players looked to put their mark onto the season early on. This week teams looked even more comfortable and we got to see if players ranked on last week's edition were pretenders or are really here to ball out this season. Some double overtime games, a couple of 60 point team performances, all in all an exciting week in the league! Here's to hoping the trend continues upward and we continue to see great talent on a week to week basis. Now onto the topic of matter, the KP MVP candidates for week 2 around the league 1/15/17.

1. Mohamed Amin, Sana'a
Mohamed Amin put his mark onto this season last week putting up an impressive performance on both ends of the floor; not much changed this week as he continues to lead his team on the court. Sana'a didn't come out with the win this week but you can bet Mo Amin put his best foot forward and tried limiting his mistakes finishing with 16 points 9 boards, 2 assists, a steal, block, and zero turnovers. This guy has the capability to do it all and can be a nightmare for opposing teams to plan for. At the end of the day he's still human and can't single handedly lead his team to every victory but look for him to continue to do everything in his power to make himself and his teammates look great around the court.
Last Week's Ranking: 1

2. Raza Nassim, Mombasa
Mombasa pulled off the win this week and it wasn't close. This team is scary and has always been for the past God knows how many years. Part of the reason is that Raza leads this team at the forefront with his speed and skill at both ends of the court. He finished this week with 10 points, 9 boards, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Quadruple double alert! He can do just about anything you ask him to do on the court and is difficult to defend. If Raza continues to play at this high level and dominate this division Mombasa can be looking at another championship season.
Last Week's Ranking: 2

3. Anas Zubi, Mecca
Welcome back Anas Zubi. Definitely one of the top offensive scorers in the league if not the best at it. His ability to draw fouls and make plays out of nothing is what leads Mecca's offense that can be deadly at times. He finishes his plays and can absolutely finish from the free throw line ending 14-17 from the charity stripe including one game winning free throw in double overtime. He finished the game with 24 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists. Mecca lives and dies with Anas and dies more than not when he isn't around. Here's a guy that's presence on the floor is definitely felt and his absence is applauded by his opponents.
Last Week's Ranking: N/A

4. Salman Ilyaas, Dhaka
Salman continues to make his presence felt all around the floor finishing on the offensive end and making his presence felt on the defensive end. Dhaka loves their big man and is fully aware of the great player he has transformed into. He finished this week with 8 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks while not turning it over. He is a reliable big man that will clean up missed shots on an offense in Dhaka that is packed with shooters who love to shoot. He runs the floor very well, does not fatigue easily, and finishes plays. He has a high basketball IQ and if he were not playing in a game this season for Dhaka I would like to see the noticeable impact his absence would yield.
Last Week's Ranking: 3

5. Ammar Idelbi, Mecca
It's rare two players would be mentioned in the top 5 of this list from the same team but it is impossible for me to ignore the absolute dominance Ammar Ildelbi has had these first two games of the season. He finished with his second straight double double with 17 points, 18 boards, 3 assists, and 0 turnovers. Now, many might argue that these performances can be skewed by the fact that Mecca has played both of their games on the smaller court thus far. This is a fair argument and so I would love to see Ammar continue his dominance when Mecca finally plays a game on the larger court. Until then, I think it's definitely reasonable to mention Ammar's dominance thus far in the season, a player who averages 5 points and a little under 10 boards a game for his career average.
Last Week's Ranking: N/A

Next Five Up:
Moayad Abul-Huda, Amman
Anwar Ahmad, Lahore
Mahmoud Hamdan, Istanbul
Farzad M, Dhaka
Gurjinder Singh, Mombasa

Next Up?
Shadi Dahduli; Granada: Granada struggled to mesh this week in their game against Baghdad and it was clear there was a lack of cohesiveness on the floor. 28 total points for the team is a number Shadi has put up completely on his own and is capable of repeating at some point during this season. Shadi played his first game this week and finished with 10 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks. He has already cemented his name in the league in seasons past and this week's game looked more like a warm-up game for him. He didn't finish on a few plays he normally would and looked a bit exhausted but when he is at 100%...teams beware. Shadi has the capability of being the top big man in the league when he plays to his full potential. Look for him to bounce back next week and get back to his dominating ways.

Edited by user Wednesday, January 18, 2017 8:40:01 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified