Muslim Basketball

A new #1 this week, and the Abdurahmen curse is finally broken. They’re officially 1-2 with him there. I like the way they shut Mattias down with their 2-3 zone, especially with no Daishon or Subhan being there. Ronny Sawwan is really having an amazing year, 23 points and 13 rebounds; take a bow. Abdurahmen might’ve found the missing piece for this squad, and their strength is showing. This is a championship squad, folks. 

Mattias being kicked out of the game towards the end of the first half really killed the momentum of this squad, but that shouldn’t take away from Sami Butt’s (24pts, 9-17 shooting) performance. Before that, a concern is that they start off really slow, and get down in a hole; two weeks in a row now. Besides that, they really pushed Beit Jala hard throughout, and had plenty of shots to win the game. If Mattias played the whole game, I know the outcome would’ve been different.

Continuing their climb up the ranks, Isdud is really getting behind Ammar (20pts, 9reb) being the main scorer on offense. Yea, their defense is a little sloppy at times, but when you see Ammar and Albana down low, you think twice before driving in. 

Forfeit W? Check. Gas wasted? Also check. 

Fraud this, fraud that. They got beat badly, yea, but without Arjun or Zion I’m taking this loss with a grain of salt. Ahmed Ismaeil went back to his MPJ ways, scoring 27 points and going 7-22 on the day, not to mention 11-12 on the FT line. Tough way to lose the win streak, though. They’ll brush this loss off and should be ready for Ramla. 

Forfeit

Somewhere off in the distance, I heard Mike Breen whisper a single “BANG” for Farhan Yousaf hitting a game winning shot; name a better way to get your first points of the season. Omar Singer carried this game with 18 points while Ameer Koyas had 12. Salman Ilyas led the team in rebounds with 13. But you can tell this team falls flat here and there, missing Mahrooz for a second straight game will do that. Let’s hope he shows up this week.  

Little Omar Abbassi is a marvel to watch on the court. 24 points, 9-20 shooting on the day, snatching ankles and losing defenders where he could. But this Akka squad had the win in their palms towards the end of the game. They didn’t secure costly offensive rebounds in the closing seconds which led to more points being scored. I’m not worried, I like Akka and their personnel. 

They beat a depleted Jarrah team pretty easily. Mike Johnson is doing his thing with 16 points and 8 boards. Aymen (15pts) is also doing massive work on offense, though I’d like to see him go harder on rebounds like he has in previous seasons.

Abdul Popal is slowly ramping up as of late, 27 points on 10-26 shooting. He had the other team lost on some drives, and they had no answer for him. Even though this team was missing key players, Bilal Mughal (16pts, 9reb) and Aaron Maskarenas (9pts, 9reb) stepped up where they needed to. 

I’m starting to really be impressed with these JC boys, putting up really hard fought games against Ramla and now Tubas. Hicham (9pts) had massive points and Alaa (8pts) tied the game late. I like how they’ve been using Marawan (18pts, 13reb) more, and his pick and rolls are borderline unstoppable. This is a dark horse squad going forward. 

It’s obvious how hard this teams been fighting week in and week out. Elton Vojka (22pts, 8-17 shooting) has been playing at an insane level, borderline top 5 in Central at the moment. Dasar (13pts) and Lindi (16pts) have been pulling their weight, but you can tell they’re missing Rayyan’s presence on the court. 

I’m not going to say much about this game, but the new additions of Omar Hussein and Abdul Kareem Elsammak, paired with Adam Spengler and the Shabans might be something to keep track of. It’s a new season for this squad with 3 games to go, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they mesh. 

They notched their second win of the season behind Messiah (15pts, 11reb) carrying them to the finish line. I do feel for them, missing Waheed, Aaron, and Yusuf oversleeping doesn’t help. They’re a talented team, and I think could be a top 10 squad if they start playing smarter. 

A heartbreaking loss in a game they could’ve easily won. Costly turnovers in the last couple minutes, paired with a horrible shot selection doesn’t help. 

This team is really capable of being good. I know that, they know that. Missing Kasey also doesn’t help.