Chosen Healthcare battled hard to win the MGBL 5th and 6th grade championship in a game that was close until the very end. Chosen jumped out to an early 14-10 lead with MVP Josh Orlinsky’s 11 first quarter points. Jacob Feigenblum poured in 8 for the Cool Kippahs to keep the game close.
In the second quarter the pressure continued. Despite being double-teamed all night, Harry Orlinsky had 8 second quarter points, and 10 at the half to make sure Chosen went into halftime ahead. Fighting off the double and sometimes triple teams, Harry found Matty Dreyfus for 6 big points as Chosen led 34-28. Netanel Eckman’s strong second quarter play of 9 points along with the sharp shooting of Jack Greenfield’s 6 second quarter points kept the Cool Kippahs within striking distance.
Cool Kippahs attacked the basket early and often in the third quarter, cutting into the Chosen lead, and at the same time putting both Orlinskys in foul trouble. Josh picked up his fourth foul halfway through the third quarter, shortly after Harry had picked up his third. A strong defensive effort by Eitan and Ezra Haselkorn helped keep the momentum on Chosen’s side.
Feigenblum’s strong moves to the basket resulted in 8 third quarter points and helped cut the Chosen lead to 2 midway through the quarter. Set up by his brother Harry, Josh Orlinsky answered with 7 third quarter points of his own to help stretch the lead to 47-40 after three.
With one quarter to go to decide a championship, both teams picked up the intensity. On a strong move to the basket by Eckman, Harry Orlinsky picked up his fourth foul, and suddenly Cool Kippahs had the lead cut down to 4. Keeping his composure, Harry sliced through the Kippah’s defense and laid it in to push the lead back up to 6. Eckman, battling hard, made his way to the basket for consecutive layups to cut the Chosen lead down to 2.
With two minutes to go and the championship on the line, Josh Orlinsky cemented the MVP honors with two spectacular moves to the basket. Chosen pushed the lead back up to 6, and all Kippahs could do was foul to try and stay in the game. Josh calmly sank 3 out of 4 free throws and the championship belonged to Chosen 61-54.
Eckman had 21 points to lead the Kippahs, while Feigenblum contributed 18. Jack Greenfield had 10 big points to help keep it close.
Josh Orlinsky dominated the boards and finished with 29 points, while Harry Orlinsky had 15 and close to 10 assists to lead Chosen. Matty Dreyfus contributed with 10 huge points, while Eitan and Ezra Haselkorn helped with their strong defense.
Both teams played at a high level all night and competed hard until the final buzzer. It was a great season for both squads.
