Muslim Basketball

Delhi gets the revenge win they wanted over Al-Andalus this week. Throw back to their first matchup, where they got battered, they’ve come a long way, and made some big adjustments. They butchered the zone all day long, and how about the career day from SG Ghaos C.. Ibrahim Jaaber’s leadership on the court is not to be overlooked, the offense starts with his facilitation. But the difference from week 1 to now is night and day. Turnovers are under control, and defense is locked in, Delhi is running like a well-oiled machine. A win next week will secure their playoff WK #1 bye. 

I can finally say, that Mecca is right where they belong, near the top of the standings, and the power rankings. It almost seemed to be slipping away in the first half, the team looked dejected and frustrated. But some great leadership emerged and they were on a mission that second half. Switched to a zone, held their opponents to 3 points all half, and started finding the space on the court, and hitting good shots. Next week is their biggest game yet against Al-Andalus, a win there will secure them a Playoff WK #1 bye. 

Ouch. Losing to an 0-4 team hurts. Losing to an 0-4 team in OVERTIME, hurts even worse. We know these guys are good, and have some playoff pedigree from last year. We also knew, it would be a tough transition after losing one of their star players in Adam. But the time to adjust is quickly passing. One regular season week left, they’ll have to find ways to make up for the buckets and hustle they’ve lost. 

Power rankings guy is getting really tired of these dudes. Horrible shooting from outside the arc, too many turnovers and most importantly, repeated defensive lapses. Credit to Delhi who exposed their zone with back-door cuts and a well-paced offense. They tied the game series up 1-1 now. Will be interesting to see these 2 teams matchup for playoffs down the line. But one things for sure, Al-Andalus is NOT playing like the reigning champs.

Tarim got a win! I repeat, TARIM GOT A WIN! They seemed to finally be bringing all the pieces together, and it even took them most of this game to figure that out. But late in the game when it mattered most, they hit some key buckets and were the aggressors on offense, never settling for bad shots. In overtime, they pulled away from Islamabad and secured a really big win. I’ll say it now, these guys are my dark horse pick for the chip this year. That could change depending on their performance next week but, putting some of my eggs in this basket.

3 points in 20 minutes really says it all. They’re missing Omar A. big time. The defense was pretty solid as it usually is with these guys, at the first half actually saw them take control for a while. But as Qasim M. cooled off from a crazy hot streak and Mecca heated up, the lead switched hands. Couldn’t break the zone and couldn’t find buckets down the stretch. Medina will have their hands full moving forward to their path to a championship.