Muslim Basketball

“Are you not entertained?” After a week’s worth of anticipation and debating whether he is still the goat, I think we have our answer. 32 points on 12-19 shooting is absurd, not to mention the 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Kashgar threw a plethora of defenders at him, but it really didn’t matter. Every Batman does need his Robin, and, on this night, it was none other than, Jehad! Big men added 19 of his own on 7-12 shooting and hit 2 of 5 from three. It was a quiet day for Billal and Kareem, but I think they were just enjoying the Abdelhadi show.

I bet all you so called GM’s regret passing up on Ahmad “Splash” Abdelghani now. Well seems like he is doing just fine after raining in 21 points on 5-8 from deep. I don’t think he could have asked for a better fit playing alongside Zain and Amir, two players who can create for themselves and others and draw the attention of defenses. I am sure Zain also took this game quite serious after being passed up on by Mairaj. Oh, it's petty season baby.

Man was this team fun to watch. A collection of young bucks with an OG in Farhad and it was nothing short of beautiful basketball. Omar Abbassi no longer in the shadow of his brothers, cousins, uncles, and grandfathers, is certainly the “guy” on this team. Hassan did a great job orchestrating the offense and creating for others. This team is a contender.

The final game of the night was a banger. Singer, Shahzaib and Moe Rayyan are a lethal trio as they combined for 54 of the team’s 62 points. Find me a point guard that can lead his team in points and rebounds ….. I’ll wait. Not many. Singer has developed into a star before our very eyes and with a fantastic collection of guards around him, should only continue to excel. Scary what this team can be when Sal returns.

So close, but a valiant effort. Ali Hassan carried his squad with 32 points, as he and Elias were the only members in double figures. Quiet game from Shafic but he did defer to Ali more than I would have like to see. If Elias can complement their two star guards on a consistent basis, I’ll take back what I said about them not having anyone else that scares me.

The final three spots are really a toss-up but Damascus’ best player is playing on one knee. Thanks to their supporting cats they still managed to keep it close, until the closing minutes. Yaqob and Aymen combined for 35 points out of the team’s 56 but they looked extremely ball dominant. Welcome back Yahya Gordon after a bit of a hiatus. If him and Muj can reclaim some of their magic, Damascus won’t be losing many games.

Yes, they got blown out of the water. But they didn’t have Mana. Now is he the difference in a 30-point game, I don’t know, but Ed had 16 points and that’s all that matters. All jokes aside, Islamabad handed it to them and didn’t bother washing their hands after. That’s a good old fashion butt whooping.

Lost by 17 but the game wasn’t as close as the score indicated. They were out of it midway through the first half. Only had 5 turnovers as a group but their shot selection and lack of aggression cost them. Throw in the fact that they were out-rebounded by their opponent 47-28 and that sums up their night. The lone bright spot for this bunch was Amir Hassan ballin’ out with 24 points and 8 rebounds on 55% from the field. Expect a monster game from Anas next time around as 0-8 is very uncharacteristic of him.