Muslim Basketball

Muhanad deeb, “the mana killer”, with a game winning hook shot and double double. This team is deep, while versing the one seed missing their best defender, they held moe rayan to 8 points. With hobby this team becomes scary allowing shazaib to focus on offense. With Ahmad showing towfeek how to win with one knee, and kahled proving that he can lock up mana. This teams a huge contender and not to be slept on. 

Is Muhanad Deeb the Mahrooz stopper we’ve been waiting for? Hard to tell because we were watching them play in the dark with Shahzaib’s LIGHTS OUT shooting going 8/12 from the deep. Oh and he would casually walk back with confidence having his back towards the basket as the ball smoothly swishes in between the net. We do need to see more from the rest of the team on offense with him being the sole double-digit contributor.

Last week I mentioned how Muhanad needs the ball more and oh wow look what happened…. They won. You’re welcome, I accept cash, venmo or zelle. Speaking of money, Shahzaib’s jumper is pure cash. I think Timbuktu can pull the upset next week against Kabul.

Were they missing players? Yes. But when you have the best player on the court and arguably one of the better scorers in the league, this is a game you simply can’t lose. 19 points is great and dandy but in order for Timbuktu to be a tough outcome the postseason, Shahzaib needs to be that 25 ppg scorer. Muhanad Deeb needs to be the second option and assert himself down low but that’s easier said than done with Istanbul. 

     Let’s start with the positives: They got back Mr. Edriss Froogh, Shahzaib and Muhanad are our new favorite 1-2 punch and they almost pulled off the upset. As for the negatives, they were down big early and despite a colossal collapse by Lagos, they came up just short. Not sure how I feel about Ahmad Chaabane taking 1 shot but he did get injured. Shahzaib may need to help get the rookie some of his confidence back, but they need his outside presence.

Tough game and tough loss. 34.5% from the field as a team, top dog Shahzaib with an uncharacteristic 3-14 night, and Ahmad Chaabane struggled to get it going. Nice game from Muhanad Deeb as he continues to make a nice contribution with his new squad, but they need to find a way to have a full squad in attendance in order to remain afloat. Never easy to play without subs, no matter how good your players are. I do expect a 30 burger from Shahzaib next week, you heard it here first.

Another team that improved immediately after the trade deadline. Adding Muhanad Deeb is a major difference maker, as he is almost guaranteed a double-double every week (last night being an exception). Shazaib with an efficient 14 points, Ahmad with 12 and Amir Hassan with 10. Not to mention, getting 8 and 5 from Khaled and Humza, respectively is icing on the cake. They have taken down both Jeddah and Medina thus far, so can’t say they will be sneaking up on teams anymore.

Honestly, not much to say here. They were missing 5 of their guys, picked up 2 guests, and played with 5. Ahmad and Shahzaib did combine for 35, but without their guys alongside them, it’s tough to gauge how this team will pan out, but they have proven in previous weeks that they have what it takes.

HUGE UPSET! Yes, it was an upset because no one expected this team to win and there is nothing wrong with that. Shahzaib is a BAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDD MAN! 29 points and it was nothing but clutch basket after clutch basket. Ahmad Chaabane added 15 points and Layth hit the go ahead shot in overtime. I formally apologize for the previous ranking; I was not familiar with your game. 

They kept it close, but it just wasn’t enough down the stretch. Shahzaib had 21 but on 20 attempts from the field. Affan had 13 points but on 12 attempts and the next highest scorer was 4 points from Humza. 1-20 from distance isn’t going to cut it.

     Let’s start with positives. Shahzaib, Affan and Ed are three talented guards and Shahzaib will probably lead the league in scoring. But I just don’t know about everyone else on the roster. Some solid veteran players but no one that strikes fear into opposing defenses outside of the big three.