Livingston—From February 4 to 8, Montreal’s Hebrew Academy hosted the 20th Annual Oren Grunbaum Hebrew Academy Invitational Basketball Tournament. Attended by the Hebrew Academy, École Maïmonide, Bialik, Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, and North Shore Hebrew Academy, the tournament strived to unite top high school players for five days of friendly competition.

In addition to the tournament, players spent Shabbat together at a lively Shabbaton. The U.S. participants also attended a local college basketball game between the McGill Redmen and Concordia Stingers. The Kushner players visited the McGill University Hillel where they ate in the glatt kosher cafe and heard a talk given by one of the student leaders about Jewish life on campus. Despite the frigid temperatures of Montreal in February, the Cobras braved the cold for a walking tour of downtown Montreal.

In the tournament, the Kushner Cobras won the first game of the competition, fighting hard but falling short in their other games. The tournament culminated on Sunday with a banquet and award ceremony, where Bialik was presented with the top trophy.

Freshman Jonathan Kirsch said of his experience, “It was really cool touring another country with my teammates. We were able to get to know each other in ways we can’t do at school. Playing six games in five days was tough, but a lot of fun.”

By Jill Kirsch