Muslim Basketball

Lod closed out week 1 with the largest point differential at 14+. Missing Saleem this week didn't hold them back at all, they quickly took the lead and held onto it the entire game. There was really no point where they allowed Deir Yassin back into this one. 42% from the field, 33% from 3 (carried mostly by rookie Dawud C's 5 3pt'ers). The big man pairing of Uthmaan and James looked calculated and impactful. Staunch defense and some efficient offense down the stretch made this team look tough to beat. Key contributions from Dawud C., Ghaos C., and Yaseen Z..

Shiekh Jarrah had a great showing in week 1. What really impressed us, is that they won this game, without key player David B. AND Abdul Wahdud had to leave 15 minutes early. They pulled off a convincing victory against a good Tiberias team outscoring them 36 to 21 in the first half. Moving forward, at full strength, this team is going to be tough to beat. Notable contributions from Lansana K., Monim Khan and Andy C..

Nazareth took a tough loss in week 1. I think they may not have expected such a surge from Ramallah honestly. But this is the power rankings, not the standings, and we still believe that Nazareth will be a force in the league. Anwar Ahmads 3-4 from 3 and Waqas Ahmads 8-15 from the field were efficient, but the volume wasn't high enough to come away with a win. Here's something to consider, we here at the power rankings crew think Ramallah is likely the best defensive team in the league, and still, with a sick Waqas, Nazareth shot 33% from the field, which isn't great, but, it's not bad. Key contributions from the Ahmad brothers as always, but we're gonna need to see more from the other guys on this team.

Ramallah, congrats on the upset. #6 taking down #1 in convincing fashion was exciting. They played an efficient game, 47% from the field, paired with some great defense and above-average 3-point ability. This team is going to hang its hat on grit and defense. And they're tough, its not going to be easy for anyone to score on them, as they showed this week, holding Nazareth to only 41. They move up 2 spots this week, but only to the 4 spot as we think they still have much to prove in the weeks to come. Key contributions from Drew M. and Farhad M., of course, we also have to mention this week's POTW Saad K. who exploded for 16 on 80% from the field!!! I'll say one last thing here, we here the the power rankings team know Ramallah has felt slighted by the predictions so far. So here we are now, look above you, look below you, are you better than these teams? Go prove it then.

Tiberias is in a rough place. A demoralizing loss to Sheikh Jarrah in week 1.There's a couple of issues here but we'll start with size. When Abdul Wadhud was on the court, they couldn't stop him, barbecue chicken. Then there's the issue of Captain, Ayan Khan's health, we've been hearing reports that he may be on concussion protocol for the next few weeks. That leaves this team in a really bad spot without their leader and point guard. They're gonna struggle in the next couple weeks, we'll see if they can find the resiliency to come away with a win or 2. Key contribution from Hakeem Malik who scored 23 this week.

Deir Yassin drops to 6 in this week after a defeat in week 1. Deir Yassin looked incredibly flat this week, there was really no pep in their step and it was just a weak performance. They faced a strong team in Lod, but, they definitely underperformed. Saad Q going 1-12 was incredibly uncharacteristic, so was Usman Shaw's 1-1 FGs this week. This team has a lot of progress to make during the season, and we think they can make that progress. But its going to take a strong voice stepping up and guiding the team if they want to find their way to any wins this season. Key contributions from Wasay R who had 16 PTs and Kieara Yasin.