This past Monday was the seventh yahrzeit of Mitch Gross, a’h, in whose memory MGBL was founded. Mitch would have enjoyed the competition this past Sunday. Forty children playing and competing in the sport he loved and in which he excelled.
The second grade semifinals and championships took place Sunday, April 19th and the Ben Porat Yosef gym was packed and rocking, filled with parents, fans, and scouts from Duke, Kentucky and UCLA.
The first semifinal game featured an overtime thriller as Youth Instructional Hockey (YIH) overcame a game tying buzzer beater to defeat the Injury Lawyers in overtime.
The second game featured a fight to the finish between undefeated Modell’s and Richards. Modell’s jumped to an early eight point lead, with the showmanship of the up and coming yeshiva star, Max Schachter (who must have inherited his athletic genes from his mother). In an intense game, Richards fought back, tied the game and set the stage for a half court inbound play with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. Point guard Dovid Saks took the inbound pass and dribbled until five seconds remained; he fed Jonathon Billauer, who launched a 25 foot swish (‘and one’) with one second remaining on the clock. The three point play gave Richards a 22-19 point victory and set the stage for a championship game against YIH.
After a one hour break and a healthy dose of Pringels, Gatorade, and fresh bagels, Richards prepared themselves for one more game.
YIH began the game on fire with sharpshooters Daniel Berger, Adam Levine, Ezra Hochbaum, and Moshe Strulowitz hitting shots from all angles; they took leads of 5-2 after Q1 and 13-8 into the half. But once again, Richards fought and came back to pull out a 23-19 victory.
Congratulations to Playoff MVP Jonathon Billauer, top scoring guard Abie Fields who played heroically with a tightly wrapped sprained finger, super defender Netanel Goldfischer, Yonatan Halstuch who sealed the Championship victory with two clutch free throws, the tenacious guard play of Noah Lebowitz, coach favorite Zachary Rothschild for his ruthless rebounding, point guard Dovid Sachs who set up the semifinal clinching shot, Most Improved player Binyamin Shuh who hit clutch shots in both exciting games, all around defensive, passing and dribbling guru Chaim Simon, and the team favorite recovering on injured reserve, Tzvi Papier.
MGBL extends special thanks to all of the volunteers, sponsors, and fans for a great season; the league remembers their dear friend Mitch who watched the games from above and prayed that his neshama have an Aliyah.
By Elliot Rothschild
