Muslim Basketball

Coming off a 60-point blowout, Safad continued their dominance with a huge victory over a fierce Haifa squad. The ball was certainly moving as five out of their seven players went for double digits in points. Overall, the team shot an astounding 49% behind the arc with Ehsan hitting five of his own, leading the pack with 20 points. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but I am waiting for my tickets to watch Safad play for it all.

You won't fear too much when your starting roster consists of Gagan and Devin. When these two are playing, good luck. Another dominating performance all around from these boys as the scoring was plentiful against a very defensively sound Nazareth team. Shoutout to Mohamed Eladl (13 points, 3 rebounds) and Mohammad Bashir (19 points, 5 rebounds), who have certainly fulfilled their supporting roles to the fullest this season. At 6-1 in the standings, it's going to be very interesting to see who between them and Safad go the farthest.

If I were on Tiberias, I would want to fade this game from memory. Them losing probably wasn’t anyone’s predictions, but that's just how the chips fell. Ronny and Mahrooz had big games with 15 and 16 points respectively, but the team collapsed late in the 2^nd half after leading for most of the game. Costly turnovers, getting outrebounded, and Hassan Saleh were the foes of this game. I think they can shake off this loss for Week 8 and hopefully gear up to go back-to-back.

Omar Hussein. MVP Loading? We shall see. This game wasn’t all him though as Ahmed Ismaeli led their scoring with 29 points with Omar right behind him at 26 points. Sitting 2^nd in the league in total PPG at 59.2, Jenin continuously pours it on each game. It also helps when you have Aymen, who leads the league in rebounds and blocks. Aymen added 22 of his points with 15 rebounds. This is a trio that had a lot of criticism, but they have clearly proved many wrong.

No Ibraheem or Towfeek this game, leaving the squad with only five players against Al-Khalil. Kasey and Shaharia absolutely stepped up as they combined for half of their team's final total with 24 points. Overall, they stayed very composed despite being down big early in the game. They are comfortably at 4-3 in the standings and should be a team to look out for in the playoffs, especially with their full roster together and healthy.

Certainly, a tough loss after winning three in a row. All around it was a solid game against one of the best teams in the league with both their superstars playing. Atef has put on a very intriguing campaign for most improved this season as he has increased his scoring by roughly 10 PPG and has even earned a POTW this season. Also, we love to see a career high for anyone. Big respect to Marawan for putting up 24 points on 11-15 shooting.

A free agent team beat the defending champs. Yeah, you read that right. Not to mention, it was a comeback victory after being down by close to 20 points. POTW Hassan Saleh scored 23 points and dominated the glass with 11 rebounds. He has truly been the anchor for this team and has given them a spark each week. There is not much to say about everyone else on the offensive side of things, but you have to give them a hand for their defensive effort to hold Tiberias to only 13 points in the second half.

If I had to condense their issues into one word, it would be availability. This is the sole reason why they haven't won more games. They had four players once again this week in their loss to Jenin. Anas claimed his second 30 ball of the season, but in the end, there is only so much he can do.

Coming into the season, Haifa was a team on everyone’s radar. With only one more game to go, it's surprising to see where they sit on the standings. They had no answer for Safad, which most teams do not. Overall, a quiet team performance with Hamzah tallying in 12 points. Iyaad and Husan added 14 points combined. They have Al-Khalil for Week 8, which is a massive seeding game for both teams entering the playoffs.

Probably not the best game to take a forfeit loss on considering their opponent and the tight standings. Mattias and Luthfi are among the league's top scorers and have paired to be a great backcourt for Nablus, but it seems they haven't figured things out as a unit. Let’s see what Week 8 brings.

This was a must-needed win for Al-Khalil, who once again couldn't close it out. Elton played very well with 22 points and 7 rebounds as he kept this game close. It was a back-and-forth game, but their season-long weaknesses eventually caught up to them as they couldn’t stop some clutch buckets from Bethlehem.

Added +1 to the win column this week through a forfeit. Hey, a win is a win. Rough season for these fellas, but hopefully this could give them a confidence push into the playoffs.