(1) Bachem – Last season’s champs haven’t quite kicked it all the way into gear yet, but they are still showing their championship DNA after retooling around their core from last season. They may have lost key piece Zain, but new acquisitions Shaikh and Khalil are making up for the lost production, putting Bachem in 1st position for our first power rankings of the season.
Team MVP – So far, the team has been led by the scoring of Khalil. A known sharpshooter, he has kept his team afloat with all the revolving pieces around him.
(2) Mamas Boys – The masjid Hamza bunch have played up to par from last season (with the caveat that they have faced some of the lower seeded teams thus far). Safwan has led the way thus far with last year MVP Luqman taking his team to get it going this season.
Team MVP – Safwan keeps getting better and better every season and this season has the highest scoring game of any player in the league. I wouldn’t bet against him in the overall league MVP race either!
(3) Opportunity – One of the newer teams in the league, this team has come out and played well thus far. Even their one loss was in an overtime game that they potentially could have pulled out. They are a solid group 1-8 and are a legit contender to win it all.
Team MVP – Blesson and Hamza have led the team from a scoring and leadership perspective. It’s hard to say which of the 2 is the MVP of the team yet so we’ll call this one even. Both guys are monsters in their own right!
(4) Fly Boys – So far, I would say the Fly Boys have not played up to their full potential. They are loaded with talent, but attendance has been an issue (as it has for a bunch of teams). They are still positive in the win loss column but with a negative score differential. If the entire team starts showing up every week, watch out for this squad.
Team MVP – It is none other than Nick himself. The man does it all on the court and showed it with his monster 20 pt, 14 rbd, 11 ast triple double in week 2.
(5) Jellyspotters – It’s not often a team in first place is this low in the power rankings. The reason why: we haven’t seen enough of this team to say what’s what. One game was played by some subs, and the other was a non-convincing win against Mamas Boys coming off a full day tournament. Once we get some of this team in action, we will be able to better judge the squad.
Team MVP – Jay has been the steady member across the 2 wins for this squad. He was the MVP a couple seasons back from the cbl-i summer season, so this kind of impressive play does come as a surprise.
(6) Imaan – The members of Imaan have one question: Where is ZIAN? Arguably the best player in the division (who along with ZQ, carried his team to the finals last season), Zian has yet to show up and help his team which has led to a lost of scrambling. Once they get the entire roster on the court, they will be another dangerous bunch.
Team MVP – Omar Abrahim is not quite the star he was back in the day, but he is still the steadiest player on the team so far. He has showed up to all games, played his usual excellent defense, and tried his best to keep his team in the game.
(7) Brooklyn Lakers – This team is made up almost like the real Lakers: 2 guys carrying most of the load and the rest tagging along. Fahad and Josh (as has always been the case for this team) continue to try to do their best to carry the squad but to no avail. The team is struggling on both ends.
Team MVP – As we stated above, take your pick between Fahad and Josh. Honestly, the person who will become the MVP is the 3rd guy who steps up and helps the team progress to the next level.
(8) Rim Reapers – This team came into the season with high hopes after a few new players. However, it has not come to fruition and the team has continued the struggles from last season. It has gotten so bad; they took a forfeit last week. We hope they will have a resurgent 2nd half and pick things up.
Team MVP – You gotta feel for Amad at this point. His team came in tough the first season, but they have been on a downhill trajectory since then. This is to no fault of Amad, who continues his steady play.
League MVP Race:
(1) Safwan – 34 PPG, 9 RPG, 3 APG, 1 SPG
(2) Nick – 13 PPG, 12 RPG, 5 APG, 3 SPG, 1 BPG
(3) Jay Pal – 21 PPG, 7 RPG, 3 APG, 2 SPG