This week’s spotlight game takes us to Yavneh Academy, the home of the Redhawks. The Net@work team was facing off against the Tilem & Associates team. Seconds into the game, Net@work’s forward Eva Kaminetsky took an elbow to her mouth and was forced to sit out the remainer of the first half. Net@work seemed to be fueled by Eva’s injury and got off to a quick lead behind the sharp shooting of Kira Solomon and Remi Erber, giving them a 10 -4 lead midway in the first quarter. The Tilem & Associates coach, Michael Graber, called a timeout and switched his girls to a man to man defense (woman to woman to be more accurate). The move paid immediate dividends, as Tilem & Associates started to chip away at the deficit, narrowing it to two points at the half, 20-18.

Eva was able to rejoin the Net@work team in the second half but was not able to quell the Tilem & Associates offense. Tilem & Associates was led by Eliana Tilem’s double-double, 18 points and easily 15 rebounds, giving them a 44-36 victory as the final buzzer sounded.

The Mitch Gross Basketball League commemorates Mitch Gross, a”h, while serving as a high-caliber recreational basketball program for Bergen County boys and girls in second through eighth grades and high school boys. The league focuses on teaching basketball fundamentals to players at all levels and the value of working together as a team. The league is an enthusiastic and affordable program open to residents of Bergen County including Bergenfield, Englewood, Fair Lawn, New Milford, Teaneck, Tenafly and other surrounding Bergen County towns—and also includes participants from Passaic County, Manhattan, Riverdale and Rockland County. After general expenses, all profits of the league will be donated to local charitable organizations in memory of Mitch Gross, a”h.

Registration is now open for the boys league, set to tip mid-December. https://www.mgbl.org/SignUpPart1.php. For more information about the league or to sponsor a team please email [email protected]. You can a follow us every week right here in the Jewish Link of New Jersey and on Facebook @MitchGrossBasketballLeague. We would love to print pictures of your stars, please send pictures of your MGBLers in action to 

[email protected]