New Jersey (North): Jerusalem (D2)

Power Ranking Trend

Power Ranking By Week
WEEK RECORD RANK COMMENTS
Week 5 3-2 9

Tough loss (61–70 vs. Mombasa), and it highlighted the margin: you can’t win every week off grit alone. Mahrooz “Point God” Qaderi tried to steer the tempo, and Michael Knight + Mohammad Masri had moments, but Mombasa’s physicality erased second chances and easy paint touches. Jerusalem is still dangerous, but they have to clean up late-game turnovers and manufacture more “easy offense” through Fares to live near the top.
Week 4 2-2 9

Tough loss (61–70 vs. Mombasa), and it highlighted the margin: you can’t win every week off grit alone. Mahrooz Qaderi tried to steer the tempo, and Michael Knight + Mohammad Masri had moments, but Mombasa’s physicality erased second chances and easy paint touches. Jerusalem is still dangerous, but they have to clean up late-game turnovers and manufacture more “easy offense” through Fares to live near the top.
Week 3 2-1 4

Signature win: 79–73 over Cairo, and they earned it with pace + toughness. Sufian Abbasi brought the toasty edge without the butter, and Mahrooz “Point God” Qaderi dictated tempo and got them into the right actions when Cairo started making runs. Michael Knight and Mohammad Masri hit timely shots, and the defensive identity was back — hands active, bodies in the lane, pressure on every catch. Next step: clean up late-game execution so the finish matches the fight.
Week 2 1-1 8

Jerusalem came back to earth in a tight loss to Lahore (64–66), and it showed how thin the margin gets when the offense stalls. They’re at their best when Mahrooz “Point God” Qaderi is controlling tempo, Michael Knight + Mohammad Masri are knocking down clean looks, and Fares is anchoring the paint. To stay near the top, they’ll need more consistent half-court creation — especially late — when the game slows down.
Week 1 1-0 1
 
Jerusalem kicked the door down in the Game of the Week (83–46 over Dhaka). Captain Sufian Abbasi had them locked in from the jump—Mahrooz “Point God” Qaderi controlled the tempo, and Michael Knight + Mohammad Masri knocked down shots to bring that grit-and-grind identity to life. Defensively, they made every catch tough for Ty Jackson and Ian Felix, turned every drive into a crowd, and with Fares anchoring the paint, they looked like a team nobody wants to see late in a close one.
Preseason 0-0 6
A very experienced, gritty, defense-leaning team that makes opponents work for everything. If they can find reliable scoring from Mahrooz Qaderi, plus Michael K’s contribution and the exceptional shooting of Mohammad Masri—especially in the half court—Jerusalem is built to outperform expectations.