Muslim Basketball

No Big Billy, no problem. Sana’a with yet another blowout victory, despite missing their superstar guard. After being MIA the first three weeks of the season, Kareem made his debut (or what felt like it) and scored 21 points on 7-12 shooting from the field. All jokes aside, he needs to be more consistent and games like this remind us of how great of a player he is. Jehad is continuing his stellar player as he added 20 of his own. Oh, and that Abdelhadi guy, just a measly 8 points 10 rebounds 5 assists and 5 steals.

Mr. Double XL AKA Amir and Zain had their fingerprints all over this one. Amir led the way a game high 23 points and Zain added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Uncharacteristic games from Splash, Idris and Salim but Faris Farhan picked up the slack with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Arguably the team with the most depth and shooting in the league Week 5 will be the game of the season with Sana’a up next as this will dictate playoff seeding and perhaps even MVP.

The team full of hyper bunnies, rugrats, teen titans or whatever else you want to call them continue to be pests on the defensive side of the ball. As a team they recorded 9 steals, 7 blocks and forced Dhaka to turnover the basketball 18 times, which resulted in a flurry of transition points. Hassan Chaabane continues his stellar 2K stat lines with 13 points 4 rebounds 6 assists 2 steals and 4 blocks (0_o). Ahmad and Lil O regained their touch from deep as they combined for 7 three pointers. They defend, rebound, and share the basketball. Having them at number 3 feels like I am doing them a disservice,

Talk about a day and night. Muj really did put his Danny Ainge cap for this one and turned their season around. Acquiring Sal and Yusef has been nothing short of excellent for Damascus as they secured the double overtime win against Lagos. After a disastrous week 3, Yaqob returned to MVP form as he stuffed the stat sheet with 22, 11, 2, 1 and 2. His presence downlow was the difference in this game Yo Shah ended the thriller with an AND-1 as he walked off and hugged his big brother as they shared a proud moment together.

As previously stated, game of the week but someone had to leave with a bad taste in their mouth. The new big 3 of Singer, Shahzaib and Aymen were great as they had 48 of the team’s 62 points. They could have gotten more out of Moe Rayyan, as he has to be more aggressive and look for his shot. Neither squad shot particularly well from the FT line, which explains the game going into double overtime, but Lagos had this game within reach. They should win at least two of their next three games.

No Ali, no problem…… For Sana’a. Sana’a had their way with this team from the jump. S/o to Elias for doing his part and stepping up in place of his injured captain. Shafic and Muhammad Mustafa combined for 28 points on 10-18 which is a great sign moving forward. Not having a true big is hurting this team as they are dead last in rebounds per game. I still want to see more out of Shafic as he has yet to give us that “WOW” game that we have all become accustomed to. 

Big O has been a revelation for this team as they have been close in the past two games he’s played in. Unfortunately, it resulted in their fourth straight loss. Islamabad had 11 more rebounds as a group, which resulted in more 2^nd chance points. Their 5^th player was a guest as they desperately missed Raied and Muhannad downlow. Malik and Raza are gradually beginning to gel with another, but Amir has yet to regain his Week 1 form. The trio of Malik, Raza and Amir need to be clicking on all cylinders if this team wants to get over the hump and get a win. 

Another week & yet another blow out loss. Dhaka is on the verge on an 0-7 season and that would most likely set them up with a playoff matchup with Sana’a or Islamabad. Omar Mana has been the lone bright spot for this squad recording his second double dip of the season. I know teams will focus on Towfeek and Ed, but they need to do a better job of creating shots & moving without the basketball. They look out of sync and shot a combined 3-17 from the field. Expect much more out of Towfeek as he has blossomed into a premier guard over the past few seasons, this season has everything but that.