Muslim Basketball

We got a new #1 in the league, who were down at the half but everyone kind of knew the outcome of this one. Mattias put his squad on his back with 29 points on 9-14 shooting, not to mention being 11-18 from the line. Sami Butt continues to show out with 15 points on 5-9 shooting. 

Am I eating crow? Does blowing a 16 point lead, but still getting the win against a team missing arguably their best player take you out of fraudwatch? Beats me. Anyways, a really nice game from POTW Zion Hammond (27pts) and Ahmed Ismaeil (22pts, 12reb). I’d like to see Arjun play his game a little better, 5-25 is rough. Regardless, 5-0 is 5-0. 

No Musa Yanes this week, and the rest of the squad decided not to show out either. Jokes aside, Ismail Shah had 10 points, but that’s really it. Can’t do much when you’re out rebounded 31-15. 

A good win for this Isdud team who continues to climb up the ranks. Ammar Saymeh (6pts, 11reb) and Mohamed Albana (12pts, 8reb) are a tough duo down low and are also valid scoring options. Anas Ani and Omar Abuattieh also scored in the double digits, and continue to remain consistent. 

5v4 and barely, and I mean BARELY winning. Shafic had 22 points while Amir Hassan had 10 points, 21 boards, and a lot to say to a team pushing them to the limits. Did I mention the team they played only had 4 guys? This is a game they need to forget. 

Took the W without breaking a sweat… sort’ve. 

Beit Jala with Abdurahmen in attendance: 0-2. Without him there? 3-0. To be fair, they were playing without Mohamed Amin and Daishon. But a really good day from Ronny (20pts, 12reb), who looks really nimble lately. Subhan and Mohamed Sakar both helped with 11 points each. Hopefully everyone’s back to face a raging Ramla team next. 

No Omar Singer or Mahrooz, so I was interested to see who here would step up. The answer? Salman Khan, having 27 points on 11-21 shooting (5-10 from 3). With him, Ameer Koyas logged 14 points and 12 boards. I’m sure they’ll be happy to have their two starters back next game. 

Down 16 at the half and missing their best player, Bir Seb’a climbed back to tie the game behind Mohammad Bashir’s 20 points and 16 rebounds. Husan, Humza, and Aaron all put in 11 points, with Aaron having 17 rebounds. 0-12 from 3 is rough for Mohammad Popal, but even with a decent shooting day from him, this game was theirs. 

Coming onto the court with 4 guys and they gave last years finalists a run for their money. Elton finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds while Desar notched himself a double-double (17pts, 16reb). I want to live in a timeline where Lindi’s (13pts) last shot didn’t bounce out the rim. This game was all heart, and the boys deserve to keep their heads high after this one. 

Al-Bireh is back on track with a win against a good Beit Jala team, while missing Mike and Shayan. Iyaad had 23 points, while Faizan Ahmed had 14 for himself. Nadeem Khan brought in 10 boards. They simply handled business. 

To be fair, I had zero faith in Yazur going up against Ramla, so props to them for the fight they gave. Yazur is easily one of the most talented teams out here, and they’re slowly starting to act like it. 

I’m going to sound like a broken record, but this team is wasting another year of Messiah, who has 55 rebounds in 3 games played. Aaron LaPlaca (14pts, 7reb) is a good compliment, but no one is using anyone right on this team. 

Forfeited

Winners of the toilet bowl! Congrats! Omar Hadid with a nice day with 17, and Abdul Traore with 14 boards. Let’s build off this. 

Rough day when you *checks notes* score 8 points in a 20 minute half.