Muslim Basketball

At this point, Damascus feels like a fixture in every Game of the Week matchup. They’re playing some of the best basketball in the league, led by Husan Zakir, who continues to dominate with a league-leading 27.7 PPG. His 24-point outing this week earned him Player of the Week honors and further cemented his status as the league’s top scorer. While Iyaad had a quieter game statistically, his energy and hustle remained valuable. Abdoul Traore also deserves credit for stepping up in place of Mo Amin, showing flashes of a stretch big and making a strong impact on both ends of the floor.

Talk about the underdogs right now—this team is turning heads! What a performance from Abdul-Ghanee with 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Xavier Pulla, who added 14 points. This is a group fueled by nonstop energy, and you can’t afford to get comfortable for a single second against them. Their quickness, hustle, and smart playmaking are what really set the tone, and they’re starting to look like a team nobody wants to see on their schedule.

In Kevin Durant fashion, MB is excited to welcome Shafic back to Central—and into the fold of the former champs. This matchup against Istanbul was a terrific display of team basketball from start to finish. The ball movement was sharp, the shots were falling, and the defense never let up—even after building a 50+ point lead. It was a complete performance on both ends. Special recognition goes to Omar Elnajjar, who was simply unstoppable, shooting an incredible 90% from the field while also grabbing 8 rebounds. When role players step up like that, it makes this team even more dangerous moving forward.

Looks like these guys shook off that disappointing Week 2 loss to Mombasa and got right back to business against Beirut. The trio of Omar, Joshua, and Jamall went absolutely berserk from beyond the arc and never took their foot off the gas. Omar Hussein led the way with 18 points, while Jamall added a strong double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. When Islamabad is moving the ball and finding each other like this, they look every bit like a top team in MB.

The electric backcourt tandem of Towfeek and Omar “Lil O” Abbassi came through once again, powering their team past Tripoli in a hard-fought battle. Towfeek stuffed the stat sheet with a dominant double-double, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Lil O chipped in 18 points of his own. When these two get rolling, they’re a nightmare matchup for any opponent—and the scary part is Omar still hasn’t fully found his rhythm from beyond the arc. Once his three-point shot starts falling consistently, this team has all the pieces to establish itself as a serious playoff contender.

Captain is here! Hassan Saleh delivered a 23-point return performance and led the charge in a comeback win. It didn’t come easy either—Kabul actually trailed by nearly double digits at halftime before flipping the switch in the second half. While Gaza was without Mattias, this was still a strong resilience win worth appreciating. Akshay also continued his strong form, putting up another solid outing and firmly working his way into Most Improved Player conversations with averages of 16 PPG and 8 RPG.

Missing Mattias always stings, but Gaza still showed strong control in the first half before losing momentum after the break. With just five players available, fatigue and depth clearly became factors down the stretch. In games like this, it really comes down to balance and composure when things tighten up late. Still, no real concern for Gaza—the talent level is there, and this group remains one of the deeper teams in the league. 

Two early losses for Jerusalem? That’s probably not what anyone expected as we approach the halfway point of the season. If there’s one issue holding them back right now, it’s their three-point shooting, which has been far more of a problem than in previous seasons. Ehsan Popal is one of the key players who needs to find his rhythm again, and once he does, this team could start looking a lot more like the squad everyone has come to respect and fear. Jerusalem was also without Big Moose in this matchup, but given their depth, it was still surprising to see them playing from behind for most of the game. The talent is there—it’s just a matter of getting it going like before. 

This was a tough loss for Tripoli despite showing signs of a second-half comeback. What makes this team so exciting is their relentless effort—no matter the score, they battle until the final buzzer. However, their shooting woes once again came back to haunt them. Another lingering question, now a third of the way through the season, is who will take control of the offense when it matters most. Even without star big man Marawan in the lineup, there were flashes. Hicham bounced back with a strong 16-point performance, while Alaa Belhadj added 10 points and finished several smooth drives at the rim. Tripoli has the heart and energy to compete with anyone; now they just need another win to build some momentum and confidence moving forward.

Forfeit this week. What looked like a fairly manageable matchup for Amman never even got off the ground, though it still would’ve been fun to see the Anas vs. Alex matchup play out.

First win in the books!  

A 14.8% shooting game says it all. Some games the shots fall, and some games they simply don’t—and this was one of those games where nothing would go down. The absence of Ahmad Kasana this week certainly hurt, especially on both ends of the floor, but this loss felt like more than just missing personnel. The offense never found any rhythm, and the team couldn’t recover once the shooting struggles set in.

The growing pains continue for Beirut, who actually had more than five players available this time but still struggled badly on the defensive end. Islamabad took full advantage, turning the game into what felt like an extended shooting drill at times. On a brighter note, it’s great to see Elias back on the floor after a long-awaited return—he didn’t miss a beat offensively, finishing with 18 points while shooting 4-of-7 from deep. If Beirut can build some chemistry and consistency moving forward, they have the pieces to be dangerous. It just comes down to everyone showing up and locking in on both ends.

After an impressive first-half showing against the mighty Delhi team, Lahore couldn’t find their rhythm down the stretch and ultimately couldn’t hold on in the second half. Still, there are plenty of bright spots for this group—especially Rizwan Khan and Julio Almonte, two aggressive guards who are always attacking the rim and putting pressure on the defense. It may take a few more games for this team to finally break through with a win, but it feels like it’s coming. The key will be getting everything to click in time for the playoff push.