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Seven weeks down, three more to go. This season is getting more and more interesting as it passes along. It seems like absolutely no one is safe now as seeds 1-10 are only one game apart with multiple ties involved. A 5-2 team that has a top 8 seed can find themselves in the bottom 8 with a loss this coming week. The margin for error has become extremely thin; every single game, every single point, every single possession matters now as wins, losses, point differential, and head to head matchups can save or sink a team at this point. Week 7 was an interesting one with both Mombasa and Dhaka going down placing Alexandria at the top of the standings with their outstanding point differential that's partly due to their putting up 70+ points for the second time this season. The top 3 candidates of the MVP race seem to be solidifying their top 3 positions with their continuous outstanding play. Who will end up on top? This is the KP MVP Ladder from this week's play in the league 2/19/17.

1. Raza Nassim, Mombasa
Mombasa took a loss this week in what was an exciting game. It was their first loss since week 1 of the season which feels like forever ago. Mombasa has been having their attendance issues in weeks past though and they must look for more stability as the playoffs loom and what better place for stability that the most consistent player on the team, Raza. Mombasa has a ton of role players that have been playing well on both ends of the floor as of late like Sadat, Weiss, and John but Raza continues to lead this team and will need to guide this team especially if the attendance issues continue. He finished the game with 20 points, 7 boards, 2 steals, and a block. His numbers have been arguably the best in the league in terms of consistency and he's averaging a career high 17.3 points through 7 games. He's scored in double digits every game this season and is on a roll. Go Raza go.
Last Week's Ranking: 1

2. Mohamed Amin, Sana'a
18 points, 14 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers. These are the types of numbers we are so accustomed to seeing from Mo in seasons past. He's heating up at a good time for Sana'a and playing like the star his squad needs him to be. He looked really good this week on both sides of the floor and had a lot of open space to work with thanks to fellow big men Raied and AR's great play. Sana'as last two wins have come against teams above .500 and they have Dhaka, Mombasa, and Alexandria coming up next. If Mo Amin keeps up this great play I'd say they have a great chance of winning those games and putting the entire league on notice.
Last Week's Ranking: 2

3. Anas Zubi, Mecca
Fun fact of the day: Anas Zubi has played 4 Muslim Basketball seasons including this one. Anas Zubi has won the scoring title in 2 of his first 3 seasons ;he came in second place to a guy who only played 4 games last season while Anas played 7. He pretty much has the scoring title for this season in the bag with about a 5 point lead over second place fellow MVP candidate Raza giving him his 3rd scoring title in four years. Let that sink in for a second. He finished this week with 29 points, 2 boards, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. Anas is Mecca and Mecca is Anas, this team absolutely lives and dies by him. They came up with a huge win against the defending champs this week thanks to Anas' big performance. Someone put a hand in his face or he's gonna keep making it rain.
Last Week's Ranking: 3

4. Farzad M, Dhaka
Dhaka has dropped two of their last three games. Trouble in paradise for the defending champs? Farzad is out here telling people the magical five letter word. R-E-L-A-X, relax. Dhaka might have lost this week but there was absolutely a silver lining coming out of this loss. Farzad finished the championship game last season with 20-7-3-3. That's the type of game it took from arguable Dhaka's best scorer to win a championship. Fast forward back to this week where Farzad finished with 27-8-2-2. He shot 5-6 from behind the arc. Farzad's getting hot at the right time and Dhaka will need him to be the MVP caliber player he was last season when he helped them to their first championship.
Last Week's Ranking: N/A


5. Mark Oliver, Kazan
What's so special about this 5-2 Kazan team? Where did they come from? Are they for real? To answer all of these questions, let's take a look a long look at this one player they have that goes by the name Mark. Featured in the "Next Up" edition last week Mark has pushed himself into the top 5 conversation with his impressive game this week. As I said last week he has not had a game where he hasn't scored double digits yet this season. He finished this week with 23 points, 15 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. This guy's balling this season! Not to mention the fact that this impressive performance came against a decorated Mombasa team. Mark is the real deal and Kazan is not a team you want to see in the playoffs. They've lost two games this season both by 2 or less points. Do not sleep on this team, 5 teams have already made that mistake. 3 games to go and I have a feeling Mark is just getting started for this squad.
Last Week's Ranking: N/A

Next Five Up:
Anwar Ahmad, Lahore
Shadi Dahduli, Granada
Salman Ilyaas, Dhaka
Shareef Omar, Jakarta
Jason Weiss, Fez

Next Up?
Hosam Karkis, Damascus
Damascus is one of the youngest teams in this league with a bunch of young guys and a lot of rookies. Hosam's playing in his third season and has seen the good and bad that can come with any Muslim Basketball season. Unfortunately, he's seen a lot more bad than good this season from the outcome of his team's games. He finished this week with 13 points and 12 boards notching his third double double of the season. He's averaging a career high 9 boards along with 10.6 point per game. It's clear the young player has talent and if his team was a little more experienced his name would be floating around a lot more in the MVP conversation. His squad faces off against a Suba team that has had their own struggles this season. Might not be the prettiest game to watch but if you want to see a hard working player in action who fights for every possession look no further than Hosam Karkis.

Edited by user Tuesday, February 21, 2017 11:46:47 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified