The Shoresh Basketball Tournament this past Motzei Shabbos and Sunday was a huge hit! Mesivta of Philadelphia, Chofetz Chaim of Brooklyn, Heichal HaTorah, Shoresh Mesivta, Yisodei Yeshurun were among many of the yeshivas represented in the Tournament. Games were played at courts throughout Bergen County at BPY, Yeshivat Noam and Frisch. The event also doubled as a Camp Shoresh reunion for grades five through eight, with their own mini-tourney, T-shirts and trophies! Everyone enjoyed some pizza, and the event was filled from start to finish with great camaraderie, basketball and lots of fun. Special thanks to Avi Epstein for helping to organize another fantastic tournament.
The varsity championship game was a nail-biter between Chofetz Chaim and Heichal HaTorah. Pre-tournament, Heichal was ranked the no. 1 seed. As the tournament began, the Hornets came out very strong, quickly picking up two big wins on Friday and Motzei Shabbos. Sunday morning things changed as they faced Chofetz Chaim of Brooklyn. Chofetz Chaim, known to be stacked with great shooters and big men, came to play. The Hornets played hard but were no match for Chofetz Chaim. To make matters worse, the Hornets’ star point guard Eli Spivak rolled his ankle and found himself sidelined for the rest of the tournament.
Heichal headed into the elimination round as the no. 2 seed and faced off against Ohr Reuven. Both sides played hard, trading baskets all game long, with Heichal led by forwards Ephraim Sheinbein and Avi Sudwerts. In the finals, the Hornets had a rematch with Chofetz Chaim. Exhaustion was setting in, as this was Heichal’s fifth game of the weekend tournament, but they continued to fight. Heichal’s staple defense and timely baskets were key to the game, as was the MVP performance from Nachi Schwartz, who finished the game with 20 points and 20 rebounds. Captain Eli Fogelman was clutch when it counted the most with his intense play. Sheinbein had lockdown defense throughout the entire tournament. Sudwerts was another key piece to the Hornets bringing home the trophy. Last-minute points by Schwartz and Yaakov Davidovici brought Heichal the win over Chofetz Chaim in a double-overtime nail-biter.
