Written by Joseph Elbaz

Last week, Rabbi Semmel happily announced the 3v3 basketball tournament that would be taking place on the Valley Torah Sports Court at lunchtime over the next couple of days. Many friends prepared to team up with each other, and excitement stirred in the school. In addition, many students were eager to start the competition as the winning prize included lunch from the restaurant Lenny’s Casita. The event united the students who joined each other on the Sports Court, watching the games and cheering their friends on. The majority of the games took place last week, but on the 11th of April, the championship game took place. 

In the beginning stage of the tournament, many good teams were eliminated. Varsity star Nehoray Edri and future Varsity player Adam Bouzaglou paired up alongside Joey Vivante but sadly lost in their first game. The junior Yonatan Studnik played with the freshman player Gavriel Masud and upset the freshman stars Nathan Bouzaglou and Ethan R’Bibo who added Nehoray Edri to their team as a substitute. Despite all of the expectations, both the underdogs and the predicted winners won and lost games.

In the semifinals Meir Dan and Emmit Victor two varsity players faced off against each other. This game was intense, with Meir displaying his scoring by hitting the first three points of the game. The game went back and forth, but Dvir Assayag scored multiple 3-pointers and thus scoring all of his team’s points. After hitting a tough layup, the game was tied eight to eight in a game up to nine. With everything on the line, Meir went up for another challenging layup but missed, giving Dvir a chance to put the game away. After slowing the game down, Dvir went up for a mid-range shot over Meir’s teammate Ariel Cohen, and he drained the shot and shouted in excitement. Dvir will surely be a player to watch out for in the championship game and many tough shots are expected from him. 

On Wednesday morning Mr. Kleinman announced that a twist would be made to the tournament. Instead of only students playing in the championship game, the championship game would be played during breakfast and the Grand Finale would be played against some of the faculty during lunchtime. Players in the tournament were a little bit upset as they had worked so hard to get to the championship game, and now they were brought to the attention of another fatiguing game taking place. On the contrary, students were excited about another game to display their skills against their own teachers and Rebbeim. The championship game started on a cold Thursday morning and Emmit Vuctor faced off against his twin brother Joey Victor who had cruised through his games with Jordan Shimoni and Eitan Sadeighan at his side. Many had bets on Jordan Shimoni’s team, but Dvir and Emmit did not go out without a fight, losing a very intense game. Eitan Sadeighan ended the game with a deep 3-pointer to advance in a battle against the Valley Torah staff.

 At about 12:45 P.M. Mr. Kleinman walked onto the Sports Court with Mr. Jonathan, who was wearing a white t-shirt which was surprising to see as his normal attire includes a tucked-in button-down shirt. Mr. Kleinman walked onto the basketball court and announced that the final game was going to begin, and many students quickly rushed onto the sidelines to watch the game guaranteeing a thrilling experience. Coach Lior, Mr. Jonathan, and Rabbi Segal stood up against Jordan Shimoni, Joey Victor, and Eitan Sadeighan. The game started quickly, as Rabbi Segal hit a mid-range shot to put the staff up one. This lead was not held for long, with Jordan Shimoni firing back with a shot of his own. This back and forth went on for quite some time, with no team being able to grasp onto a lead due to the scorching sun tiring them very quickly; however, with the students tied with the staff, Joey hit a deep 3-pointer. The shot sank to the bottom of the net and gave Eitan Sadeighan the confidence to end the game by scoring a tough layup over his coach, Coach Lior. With sweat dripping down their faces, all the players wanted was the Lenny’s Casita they earned.