(TABC sports) The TABC Storm JV basketball team played their first playoff game in front of a big home crowd on Wednesday night, February 21, against the Ramaz Rams. The Rams still had revenge on their mind after losing to the Storm last year in the JV finals and dropping a close game between the two teams in a regular season game a few months ago on the Upper East Side. The first quarter saw some sloppy play from both teams and it took three minutes for either side to get a bucket. Toward the end of the quarter, the Storm were able to force some points off turnovers via a full-court press and led by five heading into the next frame. The second quarter saw TABC’s outside shooting come to life, with sophomores Naftali Hochstein and Yonatan Faber hitting a pair of treys. Coach Ari Kaminetzky had to dig deep into his bench at various points, with Hochstein and sophomore Shlomo Wenger both in deep foul trouble. Freshman Natanel Bromberg put up big minutes in Hochstein’s place and sophomore Jack Nordlicht did a great job filling the void of Wenger’s absence and making himself a significant inside presence.
The Storm were up by six heading into the game’s final eight minutes. Ramaz kept cutting the gap to one point per possession but were unable to get that big shot that would give them their first lead since the beginning of the game. TABC always had a response thanks to the ultimate closer, sophomore Akiva Borgen. Borgen scored six consecutive points, making big bucket after big bucket when the Rams kept knocking on the door. Ramaz played the foul game toward the end and sophomore Shimon Segal went perfect at the line hitting all his foul shots to put TABC in the driver’s seat. Ramaz attempted one last desperation shot at the buzzer to try and force OT but were well off the mark. The Storm won by a final score of 55-52 with Borgen and Faber leading the pack with 15 and 13 points respectively. Fans and players erupted in celebration as Coach Kaminetzky earned the W in his coaching playoff debut. TABC now moves on to the quarterfinals to face the DRS Wildcats in the Five Towns.
