Muslim Basketball

Picking up right where they left off (in the regular season*), with Moumtaz having a game-high 18 points on 7-11 shooting and Salihoun having 14 points on 7-12 shooting. Mountaka had a quiet night (8pts, 4 assists), but for him, the win means more, which I respect. I don’t have a read on the new guys yet, but if Mountaka brought them over, it means they’ll be turning up when the team needs it most. 

The champions got their repeat campaign started strong, dropping a nice 70 points without breaking a sweat. Moayad was the right move to add this season, having 19 points and 4 assists. Not to mention them investing in their youth—Moad and Mohamed both having 13 a piece. Shafic had 14 points and Mana a quiet 2. This team had it easy this week, but the rest of their schedule should challenge them. 

A round of applause for this dominating performance, despite no Joe Capone. Iyaad dropped 28 points in his MB debut, and is already in the running for ROY. Not to mention Mairaj having a double-double and being a force on the court. Unc still got it. Towfeek also having a double-double solidifies this team as someone you don’t want to face at full strength. 

Singer dropping a nice 18 piece, with Mahrooz having a light, more defensive focused game. Ameer and Salman Ilyas held the floor against two bonafide bigs, giving their matchups problems every step of the game. The team also went 46% on 6-13 shooting from three, which tells me they’re being smart with their shot selection. The new look Tiberias might be better than I thought. 

When you go up against 4, you’re expected to win. Ali Sufian had 20 points while Muj had a nice 15. They weren’t really challenged this week. And without Lil O, I doubt they were complaining. 

Tied going into the half made us believe that maybe Qibya was overhyped in the preseason. The second half threw those thoughts out the window. Gagan locked in; scoring a week high 36 points on 68% shooting. An absolutely insane stat line which he has opportunities to recreate week in and week out. Complimenting him was Bilal Mughal having 12 points, going 100% from the field. I can see them running into issues when they verse teams with legit bigs. Their rebound game has a chance to be their downfall. 

A tough loss, but great signs from Aymen coming back from his injury, almost having a double-double (10pts, 9rbs) in a tight game. Ammar also contributed with 4 blocks. You have to wonder when this team will clean up their shot selection. Two starters going a combined 8-29 from the field won’t help anyone. You can tell this team has a real hole in their shooting without Sean, going 17% from three won’t be winning you any games. 

The YM PWay boys make their MB debut, and they make it an exciting OT win. Sami Butt has a chance to be the 3-point leader this season, going 6-16 from 3 and ending with 22 points. These guys have a lot of chemistry together and that’s the advantage they’ll have over other teams. 

It’s a nice Saturday morning when you start with an easy win. Newcomers Bruno (12pts, 8rbs), Syed Ali (13pts), and Ammar Rana (8pts) got their careers off on the right foot. Next week they’re versing Yazur; that’ll be the litmus test for this squad.  

Hoopers know real heartbreak is losing in OT, so my love goes out to them. They put up a fight, Danesh had 12 points and 3 steals while the surprise here was Omar Mahmoud, having 13 points and 8 rebounds. This team is good, and is most likely shaking the offseason rust off. 

Tied at the half, you thought they had a chance, especially being down Daishon. Mo Amin picked up right where he left off, having 26 points and 13 rebounds. Mohamed Sakar also put up a modest 13 points. I think this is a great team who hasn’t entirely shown who they are just yet. 

A decent first showing against a dominant, veteran team. Abdelrahman had 16 points while Ahmed Ismaeil had 17 points. They do have to clean up their shots and get the rest of the team involved more if they want to win games. The majority of the team had less than five shots on the day. 

You can’t really do too much against the defending champs, but you can try. Usama had a great game (17pts). Listen, I love this team. Elton, Desar, and Usama are great players and are the backbone of this squad. But my main problem with Haifa this season is going to be that they didn’t address any of their issues that plagued them last season. They need a big, or at the minimum, a solid rebounder.

Nothing like having your “Welcome to the league” moment like going up against the best team in Central. Abduallah (9pts) had the team high, but it’s still hard to see how good they are. We’ll get a better idea next week. 

You can only do so much when you’re playing a man down. Good showing from Kareem, Husan, Abdul, and Yasin. Once they have a full squad, don’t expect them to be this low. 

All I can say is that it’s going to be a long season. Hopefully they figure it out. (Aka add players before the transaction deadline)