The Hebrew Academy girls and boys varsity basketball teams were fortunate enough to travel to Los Angeles to participate in the 8th Annual Glouberman basketball tournament from Wednesday, November 2nd, to Sunday, November 6th. Eighteen teams competed in the tournament hosted by Shalhevet High School. The following editorials feature firsthand accounts from three student athletes, Lily Reinberg (9th), Eliana Wolfson (9th), and Spencer Lehmann (12th),who represented our school in the annual event.
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Eliana Wolfson (9th) and Lily Reinberg (9th)
Participating in the LA Glouberman Tournament was an amazing and unique opportunity.. For many students on our teams, specifically freshmen like ourselves, it was a brand new experience. The Lady Warriors fought hard against tough opponents while bonding as a team, and the van rides and outings created many strong friendships, further unifying the team and allowing us to get to know each other better.
Both teams arrived in California on Wednesday morning, November 2nd. Although the cold weather was very unusual for us Floridians, we embraced it. The girls team hung out, ate pizza, and were dropped off at our host homes, where we prepared for our game in a few hours. On Wednesday night, we played our first game against the YULA girls. Although we were tough, we fell short and lost by a few points. Afterwards, we watched the following games, ate dinner, and returned to our host homes to get a good night’s rest.
Thursday morning, we played the earliest game of the day against the Frisch girls, but despite our strong performance, the Frisch girls’ constant aggression and energy ultimately beat us. We then watched the following games, including our very own varsity boys’ game. Later that evening, all tournament teams met at Shalhevet for an annual barbecue, where the student-athletes socialized and listened to speakers. After this, the boys and girls Hebrew Academy teams went out to a delicious and exciting dinner together.
After all of the teams’ seeds were calculated, the playoffs began on Friday. Our girls’ team played YULA again but couldn’t secure the win despite our efforts. Throughout the rest of the day, we watched other games, ate, hung out with each other and kids from the other schools, and prepared for Shabbat.
Shabbat was very exciting, as we first got to eat dinner as a team at one of the host’s houses. After dinner, all of the participants of the tournament made their way to the Young Israel of Century City (YICC) for a social Shabbat Oneg. Finally, we headed to our host homes for the night. Shabbat day began with davening and lunch at the Hillel school, and players then had a few free hours to socialize and rest for the games taking place Saturday night.
Our Lady Warriors played our final game against SAR, and although we fell short by three points, we realized our strength as a team, the effort we devoted to playing, and what to fix for the upcoming season back in Miami.
Many players, including us, later went to a fully packed Shalhevet gym to watch the very exciting and nerve-wracking boys championship game, Shalhevet versus Torah Valley. After a crazy game, and ultimate defeat by Shalhevet, we headed to our host homes to shower and pack for our return to Miami. We feel very lucky to have been able to participate in this incredible tournament, and are looking forward to the season ahead.
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Spencer Lehmann (12th)
Last Wednesday, the varsity boys and girls basketball team traveled to Los Angeles, California, for the 8th annual Glouberman Basketball Tournament. After a long day of travel, starting with a 4 am wake up, we played Valley Torah as the last game of the first day of the tournament. It was a tough fought game with multiple lead changes, but ultimately, Valley Torah won by 6. The same day, the boys team had the pleasure of eating at the famous kosher restaurant Jeff’s Gourmet Sausages. In general, I enjoyed the delicious meals at kosher restaurants, but Jeff’s specifically was a special treat because it’s my favorite meat restaurant in the world. Over the next few days, we played Ramaz, Valley Torah (again), and TABC, beating Ramaz but losing the other two. Ben Farkas was selected for the All Tournament Team because of his great performances in our games.
What made the trip so much fun was hanging out with the team and coaches. Although disappointed when we lost a basketball game, we’re a team of good friends with the same end goal, so we maintained positive vibes, rallying with jokes and good conversation. On shabbos, we got to branch out and visit the homes of kids from the LA teams. The LA trip was a great bonding experience to strengthen our already strong relationships, and it included some awesome food and basketball games.