The HS playoffs kicked off with four games Saturday night and two on Sunday. In round one games, Duff & Phelps defeated Akari Therapeutics Plc. In the first half, Duff & Phelps maintained a small lead throughout led by Eitan Pfeiffer’s 16 points and Liam Levy’s 14. Akari was led by Shmuli Coates’ 17 points. Duff & Phelps extended their lead to nine in the second half but Coates and Tzvi Motechin (13 total) helped Akari draw even with just under five minutes left. The rest of the way was a close affair with each team holding the lead into the last minute of the game. In the end, Pfeiffer (29 total) and Levy (26 total) were too much for even Coates who had a game high 31 points in defeat. Aharon Tuchman, Dani Pfeiffer and Mendel Hein also contributed for Duff & Phelps as did Yisroel Schmutter, Jordy Sheinfeld, Sam Ashendorf and Azaria Bin-Nun.

MGBL High School League – The Final Four    

In the other round one game, Phil Green Cardiology defeated i-Shine. The Phil Green team had balanced scoring from its entire team. They were led by Yehuda Spivak’s game high 25 points. They had an 11 point lead at the half and went on a huge run to start the second half to pull away despite the efforts of i-Shine’s Avery Stepner (14 total), Shmuel Yablok (12 total) and Yonatan Naor (10 total). Yoni Berg hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the second half (14 total), Eitan Dukas added 11 and big man Charlie Eden scored eight as the Phil Green team advanced.

In round two games the Globetrotters defeated The Jewish Link of New Jersey team with tenacious defense throughout. The first half started as most for The Jewish Link team as they fell behind early but bounced back to end the half trailing by just four points. Billy Krause had 10 of his team high 16 points in the first half. The Globetrotters were led in the half by Avi Proctor’s 12, Meir Koenigsberg’s eight and Nechemiah Gross’ seven. In the second half, Yis Kaminetsky added seven (11 total) and Koenigsberg, four more (12 total) but it was too much. Proctor (28 total) and Gross (18 total), who each added three 3-pointers in the half as they cruised to victory despite the efforts of Netanel Eckman, Noam Kinderlehrer, Yosef Kaplan and Pesach Abrahams.

In the second round two game, Land Rush Title Agency, LLC defeated Chosen Healthcare. Chosen led early and at the half led by Akiva Feit (game high 23 points), Joe Baron’s nine, Ezra Baron’s and Harry Orlinsky’s six each. Land Rush woke up in the second half led by Yoni Mann’s team high 17 points. Balanced scoring also helped as the entire team scored. Yonatan Kaye (13 total), Dani Wolk (eight total) and Joseph Mann (five total) pounded the boards and Aron Skoczylas added two back-to-back 3-pointers.

In the third round two game, it was a battle of wills. Aamatex Powerwashing defeated Duff & Phelps in OT. The pace was fast and furious to start, with teams racing up and down the court scoring from inside and out. When the first half ended it was 44-43. Eitan Pfeiffer had 22 points in the first half for Duff & Phelps with additional scoring from Liam Levy (11 total), Aharon Tuchman (10 total) as well as from Mendel Hein, Dani Pfeiffer and Benzion Rotblat. Aamatex was led by Eli Sudwert’s 15 first half points and Alex Ostrin’s (the birthday boy) nine. Also scoring for Aamatex were Ari Smith (10 total), Joseph Segal (nine total), Eli Saks (five total), Uriel Ostrin (three total) and Donny Book (two total). The second half was a bit slower paced but the game remained close. The game was tied at 53 with 19 minutes left, tied again at 63 with just under eight minutes and once again at 68 with three minutes remaining. In the half, Alex Ostrin added 11 and Eli Sudwerts added nine for Aamatex. For Duff & Phelps, they relied heavily on Pfeiffer who added another 19 points. Down the stretch it was clutch baskets and foul shooting that sent the game into OT tied at 70. In the OT, Aamatex scored two quick baskets from Alex and Smith to put the pressure on Duff & Phelps. Pfeiffer answered with a 3 to close the gap capping a 44 point herculean effort. Then Aamatex sealed the deal with clutch foul shooting in the extra period hitting six of eight, led by Eli Sudwerts who finished with a team high 29 points.

In the fourth and final round two game, Chai Lifeline defeated Phil Green Cardiology 55-49. The Phil Green Cardiology team got off to a fast start taking an early 21-8 lead behind balanced scoring from seven different players. The Chai Lifeline team did not panic and trimmed the deficit at the half to 28-19. In the second half, Chai Lifeline chipped away at the lead with aggressive defense and scoring from most of their team. With 2:58 left in the game, Chai Lifeline took their first lead of the game at 44-43 following two free throws from Pacey Jacoby who along with Yonah Tarzik had a game high 14 points each. They both hit key free throws to ensure the victory. Also scoring from Chai Lifeline were Yoni Rothberg (11 total), four each from Tani Engel, Avraham Glatter and Isaac Rubinstein and a clutch three from Gabi Antosofsky. Yoni Berg led the way for Phil Green Cardiology also scoring 14, hitting key 3-pointers throughout the game. Jacob Lerer and Eitan Dukas each added eight and Yehuda Spivak, seven. Rounding out the scoring were Charlie Eden, Michael Green, Alex Zakheim and Jason Bick.

Off to the semis we go with matchups of Aamatex Powerwashing vs. Globetrotters and Chai Lifeline vs. Land Rush Title Agency, LLC.

As the boys high school season ends we begin preparations for the fall girls season. This fall, we are introducing a girls high school league to be played simultaneously with the younger girls. Stay tuned for the formal opening of registration and please pass the word around as we hope the girls high school league will be just as much fun and exciting as the boys season. For more information, please visit www.mgbl.org or email [email protected].