Muslim Basketball

The only undefeated team and top championship contenders of the league. Starting the game off down 6 points with a jersey penalty is not an ideal way to start against one of the stronger teams in the league (Tulkarem), but it didn’t matter. Strong showings from Alassane (24 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl) and Mountaka (18 Pts, 8 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk) to keep Yazur on top.

Big win against the previously undefeated Bir Seb'a this week. Khan Yunis is only defeated by forfeit (Week 1), every game they've played, they've won. Shaharia (15 Pts, 9 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 Stl) and Husan (13 Pts, 9 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl) really kept this team in it for the long haul as it went down the to the wire against a shorthanded Bir Seb'a team. Some lethal scorers are on this team that the entire league is keeping an eye on.

Tough loss this week that sent Bir Seb'a down in the power rankings. They were shorthanded as mentioned before, playing with no subs and missing some key pieces like Abdullah Shabazz and Salim Laib. Still, with a fiery performance by Mahmoud Zayed (22 Pts, 7 3-pointers) and Aymen having a massive double-double despite his poor shooting (19 Pts, 15 Rebs, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 Blk, 31% FG), Bir Seb'a is not a team to be reckoned with when their whole team is present. 

Despite this being Ajjur's first win that they actually played in, it was a heroic one. Sheikh Karim Azzat was raining down the 3-pointers with his unorthodox shot form (17 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl) keeping them in the game the entire way. Ali Azzat (11 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl) and Faisal Waheed (8 Pts, 9 Reb, 6 Ast) also had important roles to fill on this team. With contributions across the board, this win could be the spark that Ajjur needed to propel them to further successes in the win column.

A hard fought defeat this week against Yazur gives Tulkarem their second loss of the season, but do not count this team out. Playing shorthanded (0 subs, lacking Aaron and Amil) against the best team in the league is definitely no easy feat, especially when Aaron and Amil are big contributors to this team. By the end of the game, they were playing with 4 players because Raheem (16 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl), their leading scorer, fouled out. Great stat lines from the entire team, showing the strength of everyone wearing a Tulkarem jersey. Talha Ijaz (12 Pts, 6 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl) and Subhan Wajid (9 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast) with some poor shooting, but they didn't let that count them out. They contributed on both ends of the floor as best as they can and almost came home with the win. Look for Tulkarem to have a bounce back game against Al-Balah next week.

Great performances from many players on this team, but it didn’t show up on the standings for them this week making it a difficult loss to swallow. Mohamed Afifi led the team with 16 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, and 3 Stl accompanied by an unbelievable performance by Sammy Abdo (12 Pts, 16 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl). It looks like it was the lack of discipline on the fouls that really put the nail in the coffin for this team. Giving up 16 free throws while only taking 7 is not the way to win a game, especially, one as close as this one. But look out, if you think that this team won't beat you, you haven't been watching the energy that they bring week in and week out.

An exciting victory by Rafah this week against Akka with a breakout performance by Kareem Shaban (17 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Stl). Rafah has been working hard on securing their first win, and it looks they found it. This team finally looked like the team we expected them to be this week. Strong showings from Abdullah Mahmoud (11 Pts, 8 Reb, 3 Stl) and Malik Soliman (12 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk) as they showed up on both sides of the court. And let's not forget about their fearless leader, Sami Shaban, who didn't have much of an impact on points, but showed out with a monstrous 13 rebounds to give his team second chance points. Let's see if they can keep this momentum going for the next few weeks.

A bitter defeat here by Akka officially giving them the worst record in the league. Still looking for their first win, this team has a ton of potential that has yet to be realized. On a bittersweet note, there were some breakout performances from this team such as Omar Khan (24 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl) and Ibraheem Sharaf (10 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast) who unfortunately went down with a season-ending ACL injury. Let's see who will step up to fill the void that he will leave for Akka next week.