Muslim Basketball

Another week at the top. Great all-around performance from the entire squad. Possibly their toughest matchup is coming up next game against Islamabad.

Kabul almost held Palermo to zero scorers in double digits. As per usual, Mo and Ameed did most of the heavy lifting in this gimme game. If there is one area of opportunity, it is their 3 point shooting. They shot just 1-16 (6.3%) from 3 this game, and currently are ranked 26th in the league in that category shooting just 25.3% on the season.

There was no chance Mombasa was going to lose this game. Raza was on fire dropping 24 on 9-12 shooting, and Pete and Elias dominated scoring and the glass. They essentially have bye weeks until the last game of the season. I predict a stat padding game for Mombasa next time they’re on the court.

“Started from the bottom now we here!” This team just continues to impress. Granted, winning by 10 against the worst team in the league isn’t impressive at all, but being 6-1 and 3rd in the standings is. Kareem and Herb were the key contributors this game. Next week is a true test of how good this team really is when they face off against a Dhaka squad coming off a tough loss.

I am not used to writing about Dhaka losing. The first thing I check is to see if any big contributor missed the game. With Dhaka, they have so many contributors it really means did anyone miss the game. Nope. The stats from this game from both Dhaka and Sana’a are creepily similar. Dhaka shot 44.4%, Sana’a shot 47.1%.  Dhaka grabbed 25 boards. Sana’a grabbed 25 boards. Dhaka had 6 turnovers. Sana’a had 6 turnovers. Dhaka had 2 blocks. Sana’a had 2 blocks. The only real key differences is Sana’a had more assists and shot better from 3. This was a tough loss for them, and they have another tough game against the Yanes family next week. I don’t see Dhaka losing 2 in a row.

Is that a FULL team I see for Bukhara? 7 people? What is the occasion? As I fully expect when Bukhara actually shows up, they are a force to be reckoned with. Matthew Cancel definitely helps out this team significantly, adding another big next to Big O. Look for this team to be dominant for the rest of the season and going into the playoffs.

It is very hard to win games with just 4 guys, but Amman made the game more respectable than the scoreboard shows. With a fifth player, I believe Amman wins this game easily, especially if that fifth player was Farhad. Both losses they have on the season they were shorthanded. Similar to Bukhara, they need their players to show up to stay a top team in this league.

Granada now has 2 forfeit wins this season. I cannot stress enough how important it is to show up. We all paid the same amount of money. We all want to play. It is unfair to Granada that they are stripped from that opportunity TWICE on a season that already has a lot of gaps in the schedule.

The scoring can really come from anywhere with this team. I don’t want to show favoritism, but they might be my favorite team to watch. You can see the unselfishness of all the players on the court, and in the standings. Next week is huge for Islamabad, and I know this isn’t the predictions section, but I predict an upset.

The win I finally was waiting for! They beat the defending champs and they had both Muj and Jean present. They needed Kenny, Steve, and Ed all to show up, and they did. If Joe shows up as well, this team can battle with anyone in the league. They should win out the rest of the season barring any upsets.

Only thing worse than not playing because the other team doesn’t have enough players is showing up to the court expecting to play and finding out on the spot they are forfeiting. At least give them some notice. Waste of gas.

I was excited to see Amman take on Kazan. The once powerhouse squad vs. one of the new powerhouse squads. Unfortunately, nobody got to see what we wanted to. Amman only showed up with 4 guys and no Farhad, and Kazan looked very sloppy. I promise this game was not a blowout as it should’ve been. I think Frank is locked in as the second scorer on this team… for now. I think I said the same thing about John H before, and he scored 0 this game. I really don’t know if this team is good or bad anymore. I guess we will find out in the playoffs.

As expected, they blew out Riyadh. Some new top scorers though, with Jason and Shafic both dropping 30 points. Jason was a wild 15-17 from the field. What?! Is that real? Also grabbed 10 boards in the process, and almost got a triple double with steals snatching 8. He has to be a contender for player of the week. Unfortunately, as stated in week 6, they can’t move up too many spots from a win against one of the worst teams in the league.

Huge win for Sana’a! No standout performance, but they all worked together to grab a very tough W against Dhaka. If somehow they can beat Kabul in 2 weeks, Sana’a can easily crack the top 10. They are the team nobody is talking about, and can upset someone in the playoffs.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. When Muj doesn’t play well, the team goes down with him. Yousef did his best to carry Tripoli, but in the end they fell just short. They are now under .500, but they do have 2 easy games coming up. Tehran might give them some trouble, though.

Losing to the undefeated team by only 5 points isn’t bad. Anas dropped his normal buckets, while Mo did most of the rebounding. Yama fouling out left them with only 4 guys. Playing short really hurts teams, and makes them play defense softer than they normally would with the fear of fouling out and playing with 4. Tehran is a very good team, and I feel like 16 is kind of low, but this year has so many good teams it is tough to rank them higher.

Suba handled business without their star player. Rookie Zach Franklin scored a season high 29 points. Suba played a clean game, with Mecca only getting 5 free throw attempts, while they took 15. They made the best out of it too, shooting 13-15 (86.7%) from the line. That was the key to their victory, being that they didn’t shoot as well as Mecca did. Next week they look to get back to .500 as they take on a very hot Sana’a squad.

Fez played a hot Islamabad squad without their best player. The fact that they did not get blown out is kind of impressive. Raj and L-Rod made the game respectable, while the rest of the team combined for 3-26 (11.5%) from the field. Yikes. If the rest of the team was at least a little productive, they definitely had a shot at upsetting Islamabad. They have a tough matchup next week when Mo, Ameed, and the rest of the Kabul team come to town.

Forfeited the game without even giving notice to the other team. 

Lagos was coming off a really big win last game, but they could not repeat the results. Kyseem once again was forced to try and do it on his own. Without Hosam there, Kyseem is always left by himself. Someone needs to step up. Kyseem really needs to consider joining another team if he wants to win.

I know we talk about player of the week contenders, but AMP isn’t a contender this week. It is very clear he is the player of the week. Abdul shot 18-26 from the field, scoring 44 points, 6 boards and 4 assists. That is one of the best 40 point games I have seen in a while. Most importantly, they came out with the W. As long as AMP shows up they should beat Riyadh next game and get back to .500.

This team has to do a better job rebounding. They are averaging 25.1 rebounds a game which is good for last place in the entire league. Crash the glass! Box out! Nowlin is 6’4”. He leads the team with 6.3 rebounds a game, but I repeat, he is 6’4”! There is no way he should be getting only 6 rebounds a game. Be aggressive on the glass big fella! As always, Kashgar spread out their shot attempts, and nobody really had a bad game. They just need more players with great games. Average games won’t cut it this year.

Even with Hafiz scoring a career high 25 points, they weren’t able to come out with a W against Suba. They actually shot better from the field and behind the arc than Suba, but just didn’t get enough attempts up. Next week’s game against Kashgar is very winnable and against a team on a similar skill level.

This team is looking more and more like Timmy and the rest. He is doing all he could to keep this team afloat, but his back is bound to break from carrying everyone on the roster. They have another L waiting for them next game against a Tripoli looking to avoid three losses in a row.

They went from a free win to a free loss. When was the last time Damascus stepped foot on a court?

Another shorthanded team where a player fouled out the game and left them with 4. I know it is summertime, but teams have to add more players so they aren’t stuck in this situation. Granted, I don’t think they beat Kabul even with a full squad, but you have to give yourself a shot. Palermo will end the season 1-9.

Blown out yet again. Their chances of getting a win this season are dwindling down. Their best shot is next week against Cairo.

They put up a fight against a top ranked Timbuktu squad. Unfortunately, they are the favorite to go winless. Keep your head up, Delhi! Playoffs is essentially a new season! Anyone can win it!