On Sunday December 28th the Varsity Storm Basketball team made the trip to the Sephardic Community Center on Ocean Avenue to take on the 5-5 YDE Warriors.
The game was fast paced from the opening tip off as the 1st quarter ended with a 14-10 score in favor of TABC, Brum leading the way with his signature baseline jumpers. The 2nd period saw more of the same as new addition to the team Dovid Margoles added a spark off the bench along with the continued excellence of Brum and the tough play of Solo Shulman and Dan Poleyeff. The half ended with the score 31-24 in favor of the Storm.
The 2nd half saw more of the same as Tai Gerszberg took over with multiple fast break baskets and outside shots. The 3rd period ended with the score of 49-39. YDE came storming back within 4 points of the Storm, however defensive stands and a few timely hoops clinched the win for the Storm by the score of 72-55.
The Storm was led by Brum with 18, Poleyeff with 17, Shulman with 14, and Gerszberg with 12. The Storm improved to 7-2 in league play.
Two nights later, on Tuesday night December 30th, the MTA Lions Varsity Basketball Team came to the Weather Center to take on the TABC Storm. The first meeting between the two led to a double overtime thriller that the Storm eventually pulled out.
In the 1st quarter it seemed to resemble their first meeting as MTA rushed out to a 14-11 lead, while the Storm was paced by the shooting of Brum and the fast break offense of Shulman and Gerszberg. In the 2nd quarter the Storm amped up its defense which led to steals and easy fast break layups for the Storm. Additionally, Dan Poleyeff caught fire for the Storm and scored 15 points in this quarter including three straight 3-pointers. The Storm went into the half with a comfortable 28-15 lead.
However MTA would not go away, and kept on chipping away at the lead during the 3rd quarter which ended with the Storm still leading by 7. In the 4th MTA kept on fighting and got the lead down to 4 at one point, but it could not complete its comeback as Azi Fine erupted for 8 straight points followed by another 5 straight points for Solo Shulman. The Storm went on to win 52-40 led by Poleyeff with 18, Shulman with 13, and Fine with 10. The Storm improved to 8-2 in league play and clinched a playoff spot in the victory.
By Azi Fine
