Muslim Basketball

Is Kazan back? Big victory against the previous #1 ranked team. This is what they needed as they look to head back to the championship with hopefully a different outcome.

This is the Kazan team we all know. Pat scoring at will, and the rest of the team contributing a little something each. Damascus didn’t have anyone that could guard Pat, and it showed as he scored 32 points at will. They play Sarajevo next week, fresh off of a loss. Sarajevo is playing for the number 1 seed, and Kazan is playing to not be .500.

No surprise here, Kazan took an L without their main guy, Pat, who I am told is dealing with an injury.  We hope he gets well soon. This was Kazan’s chance to show MB what we have been talking about nonstop, who is their next go to guy. Unfortunately, after that performance, we are still left guessing. Losing to a very good Beirut squad by 7 without Pat isn’t too bad, but “isn’t too bad” still results in an L in the standings. With the season almost over, Kazan is sitting at .500. I cannot remember the last time Kazan was at .500 this deep into the season. Look for them to take out their frustration on Damascus next week. I predict a Kazan victory by 25+.

I was excited to see Amman take on Kazan. The once powerhouse squad vs. one of the new powerhouse squads. Unfortunately, nobody got to see what we wanted to. Amman only showed up with 4 guys and no Farhad, and Kazan looked very sloppy. I promise this game was not a blowout as it should’ve been. I think Frank is locked in as the second scorer on this team… for now. I think I said the same thing about John H before, and he scored 0 this game. I really don’t know if this team is good or bad anymore. I guess we will find out in the playoffs.

Oh how the might have fallen. No Pat? No win. Who is their second scorer? Is it Anthony? Is it John? Is it Frank? I feel like I have to ask that every week. If everyone contributed a little bit and it resulted in wins then I get it, but that isn’t happening. It doesn’t get easier for them with a matchup against Amman coming up. Next game may knock them out of the top 10. 

Kazan brought the entire roster out and demolished Lagos by 43. Pat shot a super-efficient 16-25, scoring 39 points. After Pat, the scoring was kind of spread out, with Anthony being their next highest scorer with just 14.

Terrible coaching. You cannot have players not wear their jerseys, especially when you are playing a top team like Mombasa. Then I was told one Ozoria brother was wearing the other Ozoria brother’s jersey. Huh? They could have switched jerseys and only been penalized 3 points instead of 6. Tex needs to get his team together. Oh and in case anyone forgot, Pat can still score at will. 

Islamabad just has Kazan’s number. I heard they were up 17 points with 10 minutes left in the game, and ended up losing by 3. A 20 point swing in 10 minutes is insane. Kazan is still great, but with an upcoming game against Mombasa, have we seen the end of them being a top 5 team?

A close win in OT. Huge game from Pat, as always, putting up 30 points, 7 boards, and 5 steals. The impact Kazan thought they got with adding John last season finally paid off, as he was a great compliment to Pat. Week 3 they have a matchup against a team that knocked them out the playoffs last season.

Solid team win with nearly the entire team contributing somehow, and newcomer Anthony contributing in all categories. Did they get better after losing their second best scorer this season?

Patrick and team made a couple adjustments to the roster, bringing in the other Ozoria brother to team up with Frank. Cody adds some much needed defense, but at the end of the day this looks like the same Kazan team everybody dreads playing. They will continue to be a top dog in the league.