Mesivta Basketball Association Crowns YFR Tigers 2023 Champions

By Noam Trager

On Tuesday, May 23, HANC High School’s 11 teams of engineering students participated in The Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE) Innovation Day. Students from across the country were tasked with creating Capstone Projects that help to solve a problem by using an Arduino to engineer their designs and create a final product.

“Following the engineering design process is key to completing any innovation or invention. I taught my students how to effectively track the plans for their projects and complete the requirements,” explained Professor Amrit Singh, HANC High School’s engineering, physics and math teacher.

HANC High School seniors Avi Ba- ruch and Shmuel Woznica placed first for Best Pitch by describing a system they developed using LED lights to display the chances of rain over an 8-hour period to be used specifically for Shabbos or yom tov.

In the category of Engineering for School, HANC High School sophomores Menachem Adler, Elana Max, Zahava Speiser, and Noam Traeger placed second with “Homework-Helping-Hand,” a time-management organizational innovation to assist students in navigating their time and resources while completing homework.

A challenging and rewarding experience, the HANC High School Engineering teams are grateful for the opportunity to participate in The Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE) Innovation Day 2023.

This past Sunday marked the Championship Game of the Mesivta Basketball Association’s Varsity Division. From the ten yeshivos that fielded teams in this year’s season, in the end, in front of a sold-out crowd, the number one seeded YFR Tigers took on the number two seeded YST Stars in what some have already called the greatest game in MBA history thus far, with the YFR Tigers secured their repeat championship victory, 48-46.

The game started with YFR taking an early lead. Taking advantage of the Stars’ star center Freddy Alkada being forced to sit the bench due to an injury suffered in the first few minutes of the game, the Tigers, led by point guard Pinny Lowy and small forward Simcha Klein, maintained control of the ball and the scoreboard for most of the first half. However, the Stars regrouped, and, by halftime, they had tied up the game, 20-20.

In the second half, with Alkada rejoining his Stars, the game was back and forth, two championship teams giving it their all. With just seconds left to regulation, Alkada hit a dagger 3-pointer to tie the game 44-44 sending it into overtime.

The 3-minute overtime was a defensive onslaught from both teams holding the scoring to a minimum. The final nail came from the Tigers, with Lowy and Klein setting up a screen play, Klein dishing off beautifully to Avi Neuman who hit the mid-range buzzer-beater giving YFR their victory.

The MBA congratulates Coach Ephraim Lowy and his YFR Tigers on winning the 2022-2023 Varsity Championship!

Rabbi Yossi Bennett, Administrator of the League, remarked, “The novelty of this League is the camaraderie and community spirit it engenders. Boys from other schools often come early or stay late to watch the other games being played that day. It’s really an amazing outlet for the boys in our community.”

The Mesivta Basketball Association thanks all the participating schools –players, coaches, administrators and fans – for helping make this season so successful.

For more information about Mesivta Athletics, visit their website at mesivtaathletics.com.