Muslim Basketball

Haifa got in a big hole early but after switching to man, they dug in defensively to set up the comeback. Shahzaib was incredible, not only finishing with 32, but impacting the game everywhere. This has been his best 3pt shooting season, with 3.1 per game on 46%. Moe Rayyan was huge off the bench as well hitting 3 big threes. This game had a playoff level intensity and Haifa looks ready.

A win is a win for Al-Khalil, especially missing 3 players. Mahdy took over, looking for quick shots and finding his teammates after drawing the help. He finished with a wild 32-10-10. Elhindi came alive with 17 pts and 3 threes. Moatze also chipped in 14 with some flashy moves. The defense was concerning but with the high pace and no bench, it seems like more of an anomaly than issue.

27, 18, 15, 17: Safad’s margin of victory the last 4 games. Season high 81 points, 21 assists and 5 players in double digits. The defense is holding opponents to under 50 a game. Al-Bireh next week will be a bigger challenge but Safad has handled what’s in front of them well. There’s still room for improvement with 3pt shooting and turnovers but this veteran group knows better than to get complacent now.

The issues from last week came up again but Jay Wiggins cranked up the intensity and turned it into a track meet. By the end, both teams were playing sloppy and Bethlehem took advantage on the glass and at the FT line. Omar Hussein had a massive game, as the most consistent shooter vs zone and matching up with Mahrooz in man on both ends in crunch time. Great performance overall.

It was great to see Mahrooz back and he made his impact felt with a well rounded 22-5-6. The offense looked really good in the first half and Ali looked unstoppable in the paint vs the zone. It felt like Areeha really suffered on the boards when Sal was on the bench, which was a big key coming into this game. Against the top teams, defense and 3pt shooting will determine the ceiling for Areeha.

A strong season for Luis continues with a monster 29 and 15. The frontcourt with him and Larry are the driving force of this team. Their zone looked solid as well, forcing many deep 3s from Haifa, who can hit those but you live with it if they do. This isn’t a team that will make it rain on a weekly basis but they’ve found other advantages that make them a legit threat to beat anyone.

This game felt over very quickly as Rafah jumped to a huge lead in minutes as they piled up points in transition. It was great to see Joey looking especially sharp, both shooting and finding teammates. The ball was moving very well and the 3s were falling, two concerns for a lot of the season. This team could easily be ranked higher. They have a chance to add their best win of the season vs Bethlehem.

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.

After finally putting together a nice offensive performance, the defense let Al-Bireh down in a loss. They played a good game against a tough Tulkarem team but it’s definitely frustrating to miss a good opportunity to pick up a key win. With all the missed games, this team is still hard to judge. They’ve got a great opportunity next week vs Safad to give themselves some momentum before playoffs.

This offense could not hit early and Jenin went down but they came back as Wajdi dominated the inside of the zone and Zubair hit a few 3s. Akrum did his thing as usual, finding gaps to attack and hitting super deep 3s. This team will live and die by their defense, which switches into lots of bad matchups and was slow later in the game which squandered their 16 point lead. They’ll be scary to face in the playoffs.

Tiberias put this one away quick and the way they did it was very promising. On one end, they played strong man to man defense which gave Yaffa problems driving the ball. On the other end, they were able to put slower bigs in PnR and get space to hit 3s, especially from Ali Hassan. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to send them up the rankings but they handled what they were dealt as best they could.

It’s going to be impossible to win games if Jerusalem keeps giving up over 70 points. There’s nothing threatening about their zone and the transition defense, especially late in the game, has been bad. On the positive, Mo Masri has looked great in consecutive games. Nick had a tough time with the strength of Raied and Wajdi. They’ll need him, Masri and Mike clicking at the same time.

Baysan had some success in the first half hitting threes which kept them within reach. Over the course of the game, Baysan was always second to the ball, on the glass and with turnovers. Their depth showed as they were able to get good shots against lesser defenders. However, defense and hustle are lacking and those are the qualities that help win games when the margins are close.

Amazing offense for Gaza, starting with Ian Felix who finished with 34 on 14-23 shooting. Splash and Jehad had key contributions from 3. They’re a different team when they have all 5 starters. As always, the defense was lacking and cost them the game. They would all collapse when Mahdy drove, leaving Al-Khalil wide open for shooting practice. Someone needs to step up as a primary defender.

Unlike a lot of their other losses, this game never felt close. It was uncharacteristic of Yazur, as they let Rafah outrun them and take advantage of numbers on the break. It has been a frustrating season but they have different pieces to work with and they need to keep on looking for a way to put it together in a win.

Another loss in a rough year for Yaffa. Shoutout Derek McKnight with a season best 26 on 10-17 shooting. It’s frustrating to see this team lose the rebounding battle 42-22 given the size and rebounding ability on the roster. They’ll look to end the regular season on a higher note.