Muslim Basketball

Who hurt Mahrooz? Boy walked onto the court and dropped 42 points and 16 rebounds, certified POTW. He had as many points as Tulkarem had in the whole GAME. Sal Ilyas put 10 on the board while Singer had an uncharacteristically quiet afternoon. They’re officially the last undefeated team remaining, maybe a struggling Haifa can change that this week. They’re the new #1, for now.

Even with only five players starting, then four with Parker fouling out with 10 mins to go, they found a way to hold onto the win. We thought Yazur would show its famous full-court press, but they simply couldn’t hold Gagan defensively. He finished with 32 points on 13-19 shooting. He’s the MVP front runner in my book, easy. Mohammad Popal had a nice comeback game for himself, netting 16 points. This is a brand new squad with Parker—they’re spreading their opponents too thin.

This is their first on-court loss in almost a whole year, and I can imagine it stings. They were outplayed, and came out flat against a tough Qibya side. They just had no rhythm this week. Moumtaz led the way with 17 points while Mountaka had 11 of his own. I think they’ll bounce back, but I’ve heard people saying that this Yazur squad is weaker than previous seasons. We’ll have to see. 

They came in Saturday morning ready to handle business, going up 19 to end the first half. Ammar is really stepping up, having his second straight double-double (17pts, 10rbs) after a sluggish start to the season. This was more-so an overall team win, with everyone pitching in after they went up by a lot early on. 

This was a lot closer than everyone expected, especially with who Nazareth was missing. Iyaad (22pts, 11rbs) continues a strong start to his career—five games into the season and he’s averaging 27ppg. Brother Sabir also had himself a game (20pts, 11rbs), the siblings each going home with double-doubles. Need to also give love to Mairaj (11pts, 11rbs)—he’s looking younger than ever, and having a resurgence in his 21 season career. 

They went up comfy, but towards the closing minutes of the game, I know they had to sit up to put away Al-Wehdat. I don’t know what happened for them to blow a 21 point lead, but all that matters is a win. Muj looked like old Muj, netting 25 points on 10-17 shooting, while Ali had 21 of his own points. As a team, they had 22 assists, which speaks to how selfless this team has been, and always will be. 

No Daishon, but they took care of business. Mo Amin continues to have the best year in his 13 year career, going for 26 points and 10 rebounds, not to mention 6 assists. I know this team is thankful he landed to them as a FA, he makes this team what it is. Mohamed Sakar had 13 points. Can’t forget to mention captain Abdu getting his 4. As a team, they had 35 boards, which ultimately won them the game. 

It’s weird to see them this low, paired with a negative record. They were shorthanded this week, going up without Shafic and Mana. But you have to give Moayad his flowers, dude is unstoppable driving to the basket, and he finished with 23 points. Nazareth made this a fun game when it had no right to be, so when they have the whole squad back, they’ll be better than ever. 

It was a good sign seeing Kareem on his feet after that scary fall. He was having a great season, so I’m hoping to see him back soon. The duo of Kareem (25 points) and Husan (22 points) is a deadly one, and the two offer completely different skill sets that Baysan was struggling to cover. Abdoul (10 rebounds) had a great game doing the little things, as did Mikael. Those steals in OT saved the game for them.

Whatever dua Ibraheem made during that last FT, worked. He finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Shoutout Usman (19pts, 11rbs) and Ammar (15pts, 11rbs), the two getting their first double-doubles in their MB career. Gotta highlight Ammar right now tho—him running this pick and roll offense and making smart, key passes got them the W. This was a hard-fought, deserved victory.

This was an ugly, chippy game. Have to give props to Baysan for putting put the fight they had in them. Sheff (18 points) and Bigmoe (17 points) had good games, and I’m really looking forward to see how they improve.

They were down most of the game, but man, they made it exciting. Abdelrahman is COLD. That three to tie the game? Absurd. Just had to make that last FT and the game was yours. Hack and Mohamed “the bank is open” Soliman also had double-doubles, so there’s positives to take away. Stang is the biggest guy on the court, there’s no excuse for him only taking 2 shots the whole game. If he was more aggressive with his offense, it was theirs. 

When an opposing player scores as much as you did in a whole game, you just gotta pack it up. Let’s get to the positives—Danesh looks good, and Mahmoud is shooting more efficient than last season. Omar Mahmoud is a statue on defense, and gives whoever he covers problems. Shabazz had a tough game, but he should realistically bounce back. 

This was game Bir Seb’a saw on their schedule and probably knew the outcome of, barring a miracle. Ryan Albana, so quickly after surgery (mashallah, mashallah) getting 17 points and 10 boards, while Omar Khan had 15 points. Theres not much to take away, but they did the best they could. 

You have to give it to them, down by 21 at the half, you thought this game would be over. But they came roaring back, giving Safad a good scare. Omar Subhani led the team with 27, going 7-14 from 3. Waheed put in his own 24 points. This team showed a lot of promise, and if they get more than 5 players, and get a consistent showing from Waheed, Omar, and Sami, then they can make these last two games entertaining. It must hurt tho, knowing that with a full team, they could’ve had more wins.

Deir Al-Balah was missing their best player, and Haifa couldn’t capitalize on it. I wholeheartedly believe they could have won this game, but undisciplined shot selection and lazy defense is holding this team back.