On Wednesday, April 3rd, Yeshiva League Pass held its first annual All-Star Games in coordination with Yeshivah of Flatbush. Wild rain and crazy flooding created a leak in Flatbush’s roof, but incredible last-second logistical coordination just 90 minutes before the first game was scheduled to tip off resulted in a switch to using Magen David’s facility. All 50 All Stars were successfully informed of the gym change, and the games were able to get underway following a short delay.
Every All Star sported a brilliantly designed Nike jersey, sponsored by Camp Seneca Lake; the eastern conference wore red, and the western conference donned blue. The uniforms featured the Camp Seneca Lake logo on the top left, the word All Star, a star within which the Yeshiva League Pass logo was displayed, and “2024” on the bottom, with the Flatbush Falcon logo taking the place of the “0”. Each player’s name and number were put on the back (which led to some confusion amongst the refs, as there were multiple instances of shared numbers)!
The JV game proved to be extremely exciting. The west’s attack was very balanced, while the east was more star-heavy and polarized. There were ties on five different occasions in the first half, but the western conference closed on a small run to head into the break up 29-24.
The east started the third quarter off strongly and regained the lead, but Isaac Stepner (Frisch), who finished with a team-high 12 points, bagged a three to push the west back ahead, 38-37. The east would battle back though, and regained the lead, 44-43, with six minutes remaining. However, the west quickly responded, going on a 10-3 run capped off by a layup from Aharon Rozehzadeh (JEC), who shot 4/5 from the floor and had 11 points in the game.
Down 55-48 with two and a half minutes on the clock, the east’s chances were in dire straits. However, a huge momentum-shifting diving play was made by Michael Solomon (DRS), who also had four assists and took two charges on the night, as he sprawled on the ground to save the ball, leading to a fast break which resulted in two points for his squad. A Gaby Spodek (DRS) triple followed by a Charlie Sassoon (North Shore) layup tied things up at 55 a piece with 1:15 to go.
Out of a timeout, Jesse Reinhart (Frisch) hit a huge three. Spodek responded with a deuce. The east fouled Stepner, who hit one of two from the line. The east then had two opportunities for the win, but the west shut down both plays drawn up, and survived, 59-57.
In the Varsity contest, the west got out to a quick 5-0 lead, including a rare three-pointer from Eyal Kinderlehrer (TABC). The contest was back-and-forth to start, with six lead changes in the first quarter. One of the times the advantage swapped hands was on a phenomenal alley-oop thrown by Milan Kushner (Ramaz) to Ayden Gurin (TABC). However, the final lead change of the period would prove to be the last of the game, as Josh Chabbott (Magen David) put the east up 18-16 after one.
The west would keep it close until mid-way through the third, as Kushner replied to a beautiful up-and-under layup from JoJo Alfasi (Waterbury), who finished a game-high 18 points, by nailing a trey, cutting the east’s lead to 49-43. At 52-43, east coach Ike Dweck of Magen David implemented a lineup consisting solely of MDY and Flatbush players and began to run the famous Warrior press. In the span of 1.5 minutes, the lead had ballooned to 61-43, essentially putting this one out of reach. The east would go on to win 109-87, with the final few minutes of the game seeing numerous players attempt wild dunks.
Following each of the games, an MVP award was handed out to one player on each of the four teams. In the JV contest, SAR’s Evan Goldberg was recognized for his seven rebound/six point/six assist stat-line, as was leading scorer Elie Mouhadeb of Flatbush, who notched 16 points on 8/9 shooting! The Varsity MVPs were Jordan Zarka of North Shore, who shot 5/7 from 3, and Ohr Yisroel’s Reuven Rozehzadeh, who scored 13 points on 6/10 shooting and grabbed four rebounds. All four of the MVPs will receive a trophy to commemorate their performances.
The event was a very successful one. Thanks to Magen David for their last-second accommodation! Yeshiva League Pass, Yeshivah of Flatbush, and Camp Seneca Lake hope to continue the partnership in the coming years.
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