The Yeshivat Noam seventh grade boys basketball team had two back to back nail biters, clawing their way back from huge deficits to win both the semi-final and the championship games.
In the semi-final game against RYNJ, The Jaguars, led by big men Donny Book and Doni Wolk, quickly took an 11-2 lead. Noam was already short-handed, when small forward Yitzchak Hagler broke his wrist and was out for the playoffs. Luckily for the Knights, small forward Josh Orlinsky went on a shooting run, hitting five out of six shots in a row to bring the team ahead by one basket.
In the second half the Jaguars tried to rally, however it was not easy due to the hard core defense put on by small forward Yis Kaminetzky, point guard Joey Zelig and big man Tzvi Naor. Harry Orlinsky poured in 16 second half points, and led the team with 18, while contributions from Elijah Mosberg, Sam Ashendorf and Nate Mohl helped guide Noam to the 44-30 victory.
That set the stage for the championship game, where Noam would go head to head with the only team to hand them a loss this season—the SAR Sting. A jam-packed TABC gym was filled with large supporting fan-bases and a large crowd, generating intensity and drama throughout a closely contested battle.
The game did not begin well for Noam, with SAR quickly racking up six points by Lior Rebibo and three by Max Wolff to Noam’s single basket scored by Eli Saks, and one free throw by Harry Orlinsky to end the first quarter. The second quarter started with Zelig, Josh Orlinsky and Naor brought in to help support Noam. Noam was able to score an additional nine points, however the half ended with a score of 23-11, SAR Sting.
It was in the second half that the Noam Knights really showed their heart. Coach Forman had brought his team into the locker room for a half time pep talk and told them that the game was far from over. The Knights came out ready and determined to make up the huge deficit and turn the game around.
The Knights started strong, with Matti Cohen leading with the first basket, a fading shot off of a rebound and assist from Eli Saks. That basket was followed up by three more points in the form of a fast break left handed three-point play by Harry Orlinsky. Noam Siegal was the next to strike for SAR, with a steal and layup. Once again Cohen stole the ball for a fast break layup— but the play wasn’t over. A sharp thinking Harry Orlinsky, who would finish the game with a leading 15 points, saw an opening when SAR inbounded the ball, and stole it for another three-point play, shortening the lead with the score now at 25-21 SAR. The Noam Knights team was fired up, and Sting Coach Singer called a timeout.
SAR came soaring back with a Rebibo jump shot and Wolff layup. The quarter ended with four more points for both teams.
The fourth quarter started with a free throw from Cohen and an aggressive two-two-one full court trap for the Knights, which led into a steal and a layup for Saks. Both teams took a few minutes to score until Kaminetzky, whose six steals led the comeback for the Noam defense, broke the ice by scoring a pair of free throws. The next basket was another Cohen layup which put the score at 33-32 SAR. The Sting called another timeout.
When the play started again, Siegal scored with two wild short jump shots to take a five-point lead. Joseph Mann had the next basket off a rebound from a short Kaminetzky jump shot. With 2:23 left in the game, Harry Orlinsky threw a long pass to Mann who was fouled attempting a layup. Mann sunk the first foul shot and missed the second, but a quick acting Cohen, in one of his game high 13 rebounds, hit a layup to tie the game. SAR had another turnover to Mann where he was fouled on a fast break. He was able to convert one point and give Noam the lead with 1:35 to go.
SAR worked to find a good shot to regain their lead, but before they could, Saks stole the ball and was fouled on a fastbreak layup. Saks missed the first and hit the second to give Noam a one basket lead over SAR with only 1:22 left. With 22 seconds left, SAR regained possession and tried to inbound the ball. However, Josh Orlinsky was playing hard defense on the in-bounder, which forced a bad pass that was intercepted by Mann. Mann was fouled and went to the line hitting both shots which put Noam up four points with 20 seconds remaining. SAR rushed the ball up court and Netanel Hyman took a crazy spin shot that went in. This basket shortened the lead back to two with 12 seconds left. Harry Orlinsky inbounded to Kaminetzky who made a quick pass to Saks and then back to Orlinsky who threw another long pass to Mann for an and-one layup to clinch the game.
The final score was 43 to 39, as the Knights proved that the key to being back to back champions is teamwork and heart.
By JLNJ Sports Desk
