The Frisch junior varsity basketball team recently took a break from their season to participate in the Emunah/Rubenstein JV Basketball Tournament. The tournament is a wonderful tzedakah and chesed opportunity for participating schools, and offers schools a JV basketball competition across division lines. It is dedicated in memory of Rabbi Jacob and Mrs. Deborah Rubenstein, z”l, who died in a tragic fire in Scarsdale, New York. The funds raised benefit the Bet Elizraki facility for children operated in Israel by Emunah, a favorite cause of the Rubensteins.
This year’s tournament included many different teams from the New York/New Jersey area. Frisch opened against TABC at home. The Storm stuck with the Cougars keeping it a close game for the first half, but Frisch held them off and pushed their lead in the second half. The final score was 55-35.
The next game for the Cougars was against the MTA Lions, and if the Cougars won, they would advance to the championship. The last time Frisch faced MTA, it resulted in a 10-point game in the Cougars’ favor, so MTA was looking for some revenge.
The fierce competition was a relativity close game in the first half, but the Cougars came out with an aggressive and explosive third quarter to seal the deal and make the push for the championship game.
The Cougars were set to square off against the SAR Sting in the championship game of the tournament. This is the first time the Cougars played the Sting since their championship win last season, and SAR was hoping to pick up a win this time.
It was a close game, with the teams neck-and-neck before an excitable crowd with many screaming fans on both sides. The game all came down to two fouls shots for big man Sammy Sokol, with 1.4 seconds left on the clock. Both shots rimmed out, sending the game to overtime. In overtime, the Frisch Cougars pressured and applied their signature press against the Sting and took control of the game in overtime. Thanks to monster showings from Asaf Miller, Moshe Shoenfeld and Jack Stepner, the Cougars were able to take a 61-55 win over the Sting.
After the game, the Cougars celebrated with their championship trophy and had their fun, but they know that there is much more work to be done and a lot more to come for the Cougars.
By Stevie Paul
