(Ramaz) Each year, Ramaz hosts the Sam Gyenes Memorial Basketball Tournament in memory of Sam z”l, who tragically passed away at age 16 in the summer after his sophomore year at Ramaz. It’s always very meaningful for us to come together in memory of someone who was known as an incorrigible optimist, a team player on and off the court and a true mensch. But something about this year’s tournament felt different. Perhaps it was the revamped format of the tourney taking place over Shabbat, or that it started on the last night of Chanukah, or that we are in the middle of a war. Most likely all were contributing factors, punctuated by a constant reminder of a person who would have encouraged us all to spread light in dark times and try to build a better world, together.

The tournament took place from December 14-17 and brought together over 100 students from four Jewish day schools: Magen David (boys and girls), HAFTR (boys and girls), North Shore (boys) and the Hebrew Academy of Montreal (girls). The stage was set for competition and connection!

The games kicked off Thursday night, and before the action began, fans were treated to Ezra Sholes playing Hatikvah on the saxophone, Ari Goralnick and Aviva Weinstock singing and Mona Dweck and Ben Davidovich playing the keyboard. It was then onto the courts where HAFTR girls defeated the host Ramaz girls and Magen David girls defeated the HA Montreal Heat. The boys’ games saw Ramaz handle HAFTR and Magen David defeat North Shore. After the games were completed, we had our opening dinner, Chanukah lighting and welcoming words from Ramaz junior Bobby Sigoura, as well as a video presentation on Sam Gyenes z”l.

Amid the fierce competition on Friday, our teams were visited by family members of Israeli hostages captive in Gaza. After a powerful presentation to Ramaz students and parents, our guests entered the gym to the teams singing ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ and scores of cheers for them. Following the tefillot for the hostages, our guests watched the games and had some lunch.

Between Thursday and Friday, each team played the preliminary games and the seeding was set for the semifinals on Saturday night:

Girls

1 HAFTR vs. 4 HA Montreal

2 Ramaz vs, 3 Magen David

Boys

1 Magen David vs. 4 HAFTR

2 Ramaz vs. 3 North Shore

While the teams showed their varied skill sets on the court, Shabbat was the true equalizer. With tefillah, words of Torah by Dahlia Henkin and an inspiring message by Israeli Sam Zussman (CEO of BSE, the parent company of the NBA Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, among others), students made new friends and connections over Shabbat and enjoyed some down time together. Shabbat really highlighted the warmth of our community and we can’t thank our host families enough for their gracious hospitality.

Motzei Shabbat, the games were set for action all night and the crowds at the RAMDOME provided standing room only. The Ramaz girls defeated Magen David and HAFTR girls defeated HA Montreal. The boy’s games saw Magen David defeat HAFTR and Ramaz defeat North Shore.

The finals were set for Sunday and the host Ramaz Rams were represented in both championship games. The girls would battle against HAFTR in a rematch of the tournament’s opening game and the boys would look to avenge their only loss of the tournament vs. Magen David. The girls’ championship was a classic battle of two strong teams with both vying for the title. In the end, Ramaz girls won by double figures and secured the illustrious Sam Gyenes championship. The MVP went to Rae Kaplan and other notable strong players were Leila Sakhai, Molly Hiltzik and Lindsey Feit.

The boys’ championship saw a battle of two great teams, but ultimately the standout play of the Magen David Warriors secured the victory. The MVP went to Mark Sadar from Magen and noted players for Ramaz were Milan Kushner, Evan Glasberg, Isaac Ohayon, Bobby Sigoura and Nate Sugar.

In between the games, our “older” alumni played against our most recent high school grads. Not important who won that game, but suffice it to say, it was very entertaining.

The tournament could not have happened without the warmth and generosity of the entire Ramaz community. A special thank you to the Ramaz dream team of Alia Turitz, Lindy Dembowitz and Kenny Rochlin, and to all the student ambassadors and the Ramaz Sports Network for live-streaming the games. And much gratitude to the Gyenes family for their legacy gift that sponsors this tournament.

The strong sense of community, sportsmanship, and menschlichkeit was felt by all and was a true testament to the legacy of Sam Gyenes z”l and his parents Maeve z”l and Andrew Gyenes z”l.