Muslim Basketball

Best win: Passing the test vs Al-Bireh. When these two struggling preseason contenders matched up, it felt like a must win game to build momentum before playoffs. Tulkarem rose to the top, in part due to Hassan Farhat’s best game. Mana stamps his impact on both ends every game but Hassan’s spacing could be the key to getting the best of Elias and Moayad. This is a tricky team because 2 losses were missing many players and the last was in OT vs Areeha. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Mana led the way with 17 on 8-10 but Tulkarem got contributions all around in a W. The depth of this team is one of their biggest strengths. Good timing for Hassan Farhat to have his most impactful game of the season. Good 3pt shooting would be a huge boost for this team and he is their best shooter. A win to close the season could send them up a few spots in the rankings.

When Tulkarem is able to play their game, they look dominant. Moayad and Anas were running ahead of the defense regularly and Mana was cleaning up on the glass as the defense collapsed on the drive. Defense will continue to be this team’s calling card, as they held Ian Felix to 6-23. If this is their top gear offensively, they’ll need to figure out ways to get into this type of pace more regularly.

After last week, it was nice to see Tulkarem show how strong their team is, winning without Mana or Moayad. The Aglaguel brothers led the way: Elias had 18 on 14 shots and Moad had a North career high 21 on 9-10(!) shooting with 6 steals while looking nonchalant. Would like to see this team build some momentum, especially offensively, to give themselves a chance at a deep run.

Every team is worse without their star, but Tulkarem feels too dependent on Mana. Given the roster’s talent, even just those available this week, it was a winnable matchup if they played well together. The defensive plan was disappointing, with how many layups Mahdy scored deep into the game during important minutes.

Tough to go into such a big game missing so many pieces and also hard to take much away from this game. On the bright side, Anas Ani in his debut got some misses out of the way as he steps into a big role for the rest of the season. Mana continues to look unstoppable but will need support for this team to make serious noise.

Heart breaking loss for Tulkarem against another top team in the league. Mana almost willed them to victory, leading the second half comeback. Areeha’s zone really exposed this team's lack of outside shooting. They’ll need better than 1-9 from Elias and 0-6 from Hassan from 3. The defensive grit that kept them in this game will keep this team competitive all season.

Tulkarem put together an efficient all-around performance, highlighted by Omar Mana’s 20 points and 10 made free throws, giving the team a steady interior presence. Elias Aglaguel added 16 points with sharp perimeter shooting, helping Tulkarem reach 43% from the field and 73% at the line. With a 21-18 rebound edge and solid ball movement, Tulkarem maintained control and matched Tiberias shot for shot from deep to secure the win.