Muslim Basketball

Accounting for both offense and defense, this is the most complete team in the league so far. Looking at the schedule, this is the hardest test their offense will face and they passed, led by Ali Suiafan with 16 on 50% shooting. A Singer 3 and Jay Mustafa game winner sealed it in 2OT.

Zain is looking like a monster in the paint early on, battling with Khalid in one of the most entertaining matchups so far this season. Anas added in a calm 29, keeping Al-Bireh at a distance while they mounted a comeback late. They’ve done this while being last in the league in 3PM which will change very soon.

Everybody is eating for Bethlehem and they’re out here running sprints, leading the league with 75.5 PPG. Trey led the way again with another efficient 19 points. The stat sheet doesn’t do justice to Omar Qasem and the impact he’s having. This team is must watch right now.

The lack of 3 point shooting was glaring, even with Zain occupied in the paint by another impressive Khalid performance. Adeeb was 1-7 and Shafic 2-8 from 3, although Shafic did his best to keep them in it. They’ll look to bounce back but they have some tough games coming up.

Heart breaking loss for Tulkarem against another top team in the league. Mana almost willed them to victory, leading the second half comeback. Areeha’s zone really exposed this team's lack of outside shooting. They’ll need better than 1-9 from Elias and 0-6 from Hassan from 3. The defensive grit that kept them in this game will keep this team competitive all season.

The offensive explosion we all expected and Haifa needed has arrived. Amir Charrkas with 24 points on 14 shots in his season debut. Wow. And Shahzaib matching him with 19 of his own. Deep and Raj have yet to make a statement, which is scary. How they’ll do on defense is the question keeping them from being higher.

Too many different factors between their two games to properly evaluate Jenin. While they missed Wajdi, you still hoped for a closer game, even against much better opposition than last week. Akrum showed out again and Raied showed the type of impact he can have but 0-8 from Zubair and no defense was the difference.

Far from a perfect game for Safad, especially with all the turnovers early. But a dominant defensive performance led to a relatively comfortable lead throughout. Aadil and Brandon are the perfect complement in the paint to the Abbassi’s on the perimeter. Time for the offense to catch up.

Another offensive explosion for Michael Knight and another loss for Jerusalem. Frustrating 0-2 start for this team but with 2 strong opponents to open the season and missing Nick this week, there’s a lot of room for them to turn it around. They shouldn’t be this low for long.

It’s hard to rank this team this low knowing what they’re capable of on the offensive side. There were flashes this week too, where Ali Hassan and Sal looked unguardable in pick and pop. The margins are thin to win in this league and someone needs to make more winning plays for this team.

What a game by Ian Felix, with the 41 piece on 21 shots. Through 2 weeks, there’s not a lot to fault Gaza for with the way they’re playing. This ranking is more of a reflection of the schedule they’ve played so far, which is out of their control. With a matchup vs Haifa on deck, Gaza is a signature win away from launching up the PR.

Lots of promising signs from the new look Al-Khalil after some reshuffling. Mahdy with 29 has become regular, but new addition Muhammad Elhindi adding in 5 buckets of his own and Omar Sehwail neutralizing Luis in his season debut give this team something to build on. The team might rely heavily on Mahdy but if no one can stop him, it won’t matter.

The shot distribution for Nazareth shows that the roles for this team are becoming clearer. Luis will continue to be the focal point, with another 22. Khaled and Muhammad will be relied upon to support, having the next most shot attempts. It doesn’t look like this formula will be enough most weeks so they’ll need to look for other advantages.

Excellent shooting performance for Baysan despite the loss. 14 threes made.  Bounce back game for Omer Marachli with 17 and Shahaan getting on the board with 14. Glendi 7-9 for 18 points is huge too. The team has been competitive both weeks but they need to do more than chase games from behind.

Congrats on the first W in North for this core. It was a gritty performance and Yazur’s zone continues to give teams problems. 7 threes and 22 points for Ali Mahin was huge for this team that struggles to score consistently. They took care of business but they’ll have to keep proving themselves against better competition.

Not a good start to the season for Yaffa and it will continue to be an uphill battle as they look to form an identity. Something has to change but the season is young and they have time to prove everyone wrong.