Muslim Basketball

I don’t feel comfortable putting mana here but after the game this team had they deserve it. Mana had his usual stat line of a double double, along with most improved player Reid an absolute beast dropping 15. But I think the blame falls on moe rayan and Ahmad saleh, to advance through the playoffs mana needs a reliable shooter and guard that he can find while he’s getting doubled. This team is not to be slept on though.

And with that gentlemen we have a new 1st seed after a stellar 5 game win streak. Ahmad Saleh making strong case for GM of the year here with this squad’s performance led by none other than Mr. 20/20 himself Omar Mana. Supporting cast Moe Rayyan and Raied Saleh continue to contribute consistently with 18 and 17, respectively. This squad has always had things going for them in the right way and I think they’ll finish the season off 8-2.

Moe Rayyan is that how you feel sir? 33 points on 12-19 and 8-13 from 3? We finally got to witness a Sarajevo have a more impressive stat line than Omar Mana this season. And speaking of Mana his 10 points and 19 rebounds must be a career worst or something. Jokes aside, Sarajevo’s role players are meshing very well with their star center. 

If Omar Mana was in a video game, I wonder how many broken controllers would exist? Just when you think you placed great defense against Sarajevo and contest their shooters, here comes this mammoth grabbing the offensive rebound, playing taps with the backboard until he decides to finally lay it up. The MVP candidate had 19 points 20 rebounds 5 assists 3 steals and 4 blocks. Moe Rayyan followed up last week’s performance with 15 points and Ahmad Saleh chipped in 12 of his own. This team has shooting, size and Omar Mana, so yeah, they will compete.

Kudos to Sarajevo for pulling this one out despite 4-17 from Omar Mana. Moe Rayyan with 5-11 from the field for 18 pints and Ahmad Saleh had 13 himself. The box score doesn’t paint the entire picture but Raza and Raied were key contributors in this one and helped keep Sarajevo afloat during the stretch. Ironically this may have been the first game all season that Sarajevo has lost the rebounding battle, but I am sure they are content with the W. 4-2 after six weeks, they have nothing to be upset about. 

After the first half this game was a blow out! Omar Mana continues his MVP dominance with 12 points and 26 rebounds. Just imagine if he could make half his FT’s as 4-11 did not haunt them this game but come playoff time, the hack-a-shaq may come into play. Moe Rayyan led all scorers with 24 points, but it did take 23 shots to do so. I hate to reiterate myself over and over but this team will only go so far if Raza doesn’t return to form. It didn’t matter this game but when the games are tight, Raza needs to be the engine that drives this team. 

Wow only 16 and 14 from Mana? That’s underwhelming. All jokes aside, Mana needs help, and it has to come from their guards. Their shooters have shown a propensity to be inconsistent this season, and without anyone being a threat, teams will just continue to double and triple team Mana. Nice to see Raza back in the mix, but 0-1 is not very “Raza like”. 

Are you kidding me Mana, 31 and 21?!?!?! Mana is easily the early MVP frontrunner, single-handedly willing his team to blow teams out. It is a little concerning that it’s basically been him alone, but we have still yet to see Raza finally make an appearance. Their schedule thus far has been fairly light, but the fact of the matter is Mana is just dominating, Raza hasn’t shown, Moe Rayyan hasn’t found his rhythm (which he definitely will), and Ahmad and Raied are great compliments to those aforementioned. Nonetheless, I couldn’t put this team any lower than 6 the way Mana’s been playing, but <span s

Death, taxes and Mana having 20-20’s. 26 rebounds are a season total for some players while he totals that on a weekly basis like its nothing. They had 4 scorers in double-figures. Oh, and they were without Raza. Ahmad Saleh continues to prove he is a stellar GM. 

Me personally, I think they are fine. They just happened to run into the baddest dude in the league. Omar Mana with an absolute monster double-double with 30 and 12, although he did account for almost half of the team’s FG attempts. I would like to see more out of Amir Hassan and Raza, but they need the ball in their hands to do that. Not stressing this one.

I hate that I have to rank them this low, because Ahmad was GM of the year last summer, but some teams are unfairly ranked at the moment.  Mana will lead the league in rebounding, while Raza will orchestrate the offense and expect Moe Rayyan and Ahmad to space the floor and knock down perimeter shots.