As always, we start all media activities with the remembrance of our brothers and sisters around the world. the situation in Palestine over the past few days has took a turn as 10 Israeli prison guards were arrested for committing horrific acts against a Muslim brother in the prison. Now, there is an outcry among the Israeli citizens that these men were wrongfully arrested and there are now discussions in Israeli parliament regarding the rape of a “non-Israeli” person and if it should be prosecuted. I mention this to say that we still have plenty of work to do as an Ummah. You can see that these people are so bigoted and hateful that they will rise and protest together to defend soldiers gang raping Palestinian inmates. We must all remember that we are brothers and as the world sells us out, we must strengthen our brotherhood and faith altogether to defend ourselves.

This week of predictions comes after a wild week 5 in MB, where some familiar faces made a return and put on a show. Let’s get into what our upcoming week will look like.

Safad - Ramallah:

Ramallah is coming off their easiest win of the season, as they faced a Nablus squad that was without 3 starters, which has been a theme for this season. Safad made another heroic comeback last week, which has also been a theme for this season, but this wasn’t enough to secure them their second win as they fell short yet again. This week we get a Malik Zubi vs Anas Zubi matchup, which should be fun to watch. That will probably be the most interesting aspect of this game as I believe Safad does not have the recipe to overcome the talented Ramallah roster. Omar, Islam and Fursan must all show up and make their mark on the game if this team is to stand a chance. Ameer Koyas is not someone who can get a shot on his own and he lives off of other players succeeding as he finds his spots. Muhanad Deeb could also be playing better, but he isn’t getting the touches he’s used to and has found it difficult to produce otherwise. Malik Zubi’s errant style has not fit well with this team, and their best shot moving forward is one where he is collected and composed with his decision making. I haven’t been able to watch too much of this Ramallah team but their two losses on the season have come by 1 point and 2 points, which could easily make them 5-0. It seems like Jay Mustafa has taken the PG position and Anas has assumed SG role. Then they have role players that are versatile and two bigs, a very complete team. Ramallah matches up well with Safad and I don’t see where Safad could exploit a match up here. Overall, their best bet is to run Omar in the screen action and hope for him to make something happen.

Ramallah by 13

Nablus - Qibya:

Another week, another blowout loss. Qibya comes off a great win against Bethlehem and they have shown signs of a team that could be really tough to beat as the season goes on. This week, they face Nablus who haven’t been the slightest bit impressive but at least Omar Mana gets to improve his MBR as much as he can. They obviously need Ali Hassan back to even feel competitive and they also need time to mesh, which is not in their favor. I think Omar Mana may cause Farhad some trouble if they were to match up because he has the strength and size to stay with Farhad and Farhad doesn’t really use speed to get to his spots. It’s a pretty interesting one though. Let’s see if POTW can come from Qibya as there will be stat padding.

Qibya by 25

Bethlehem - Al-Wehdat:

These two teams made a trade with eachother to completely change their rosters, and it seems to have been a pretty even one. This will be a fun matchup and one that could decide who won the trade. One problem for Al-Wehdat in this game is matching up against Mahdy, and no one stands out to me from the Al-Wehdat side to take that role. I assume it could be Omar Marachli or Moe Rayyaan. Rama will be busy with Shafic, and Jake vs Ali is also a nice matchup. The key for Bethlehem moving forward is to get some movement on offense, both players and ball. They have been too stagnant and there are too many mouths to feed for them to simply take turns. I think made baskets will help them set their defense and change things for them, but it definitely starts on offense. Al-Wehdat lost to Khan Younis and I think it was mostly a match up things, plus Khan Younis is a really strong team after their trade. I think they match up better with Bethlehem and they may find it easier to score as Bethlehem lacks a strong paint presence currently. Overall, this should be an intriguing matchup.

Al-Wehdat by 5

Al-Quds - Qalqilya:

Al-Quds is starting to look good again and sometimes less certainly is more. Moayad was able to find his spot as Omar Hussein has been rehabbing an injury, get well soon brother. This week though, Moayad will not be available, which allows Mahrooz and Zain to completely control the offense, something they did in Week 1. This matchup will be interesting because it seems that both teams do not have the key to stop an opposing star defensively. I assume Mahrooz will take the Shahzaib matchup. If Alzubidi were still around, this would be a great matchup personnel-wise, but he is long gone. Ismail Shah is a completely different player and poses an issue for the Al-Quds squad, especially without Moayad. It may be up to Ahmad Sehwail to slow Ish down, which is definitely a tall task. On the other side, looks like Omar Sehwail will have the honor of guarding Zain, which also seems like a matchup Al-Quds can exploit. I will say though, I think Ismail Shah may take up the challenge and try to slow Zain down, if he comes into this one with enough energy. Although both teams have a matchup issue, I think Qalqilya is a bit deeper and may be able to exploit their matchup a little better than Al-Quds will.

Qalqilya by 8

Khan Yunis - Al-Balah:

This matchup is a bit less exciting than the two 8:30 slots, mostly due to the injuries Al-Balah has suffered. Then again, if Ty Jackson makes another appearance, you definitely gotta give this team a punchers chance. Khan Yunis looks great since the trade, and I think they will only gain chemistry and figure things out as the season rolls on. Their team is filled with a bunch of high-IQ players that are willing to mesh and make things work as a team. Shoutout to the Al-Balah players for really fighting last week as they almost pulled off an upset. Great vintage performance by Idris and Elias was also efficient. They will need every bit of hustle and focus they can give to make this one interesting, which could happen if they catch Khan Yunis on a bad night. Another issue they will have to worry about is the size of Khan Yunis as well, which could make things harder to overcome. It seems like Khan Yunis has won this trade overwhelmingly.

Khan Yunis by 15

Yaffa - Al-Bireh:

Last but not least, we have a great matchup to end the week. Towfeek has talked proudly about his successes against Musa, which have been pretty short lived. Yet, he still feels pretty comfortable going into this one, even though his team is coming off their worst game of the season. These two teams do match up well, with 5 versatile players always on the court. This one will come down to who comes more ready to play and with the better scheme. Towfeek will be defended by Yahya, which will put Habi on Nader. The Jojo-Musa matchup will be a good one and could go either way. Elias and Saif will match up with Khaled and AK/Amir Hassan. As mentioned, this is a solid matchup down the line. I think there will be a lot of pressure on the Al-Bireh guards to make things happen, as they will have strong on ball defenders guarding them, plus size in the back to help. Drive and kick may be an option, and it may come down to Khaled and AK being able to knock down shots for them to stay in this one. Yaffa’s offense is smooth, but they do attempt a lot of 3s and aren’t necessarily the most efficient in those attempts. This season though, Habi has been their best shooter, which is something that will definitely be needed in this one.

Yaffa by 7

As always, this ain’t Lavar Ball, this ain’t Lonzo Ball, this is the Crystal Ball.