It all comes down to this.
Standings:
Yosef Silver (YS): 24-3
Akiva Poppers (AP): 22-5
Marvin Azrak (MA): 22-5
Oren Glickman (OG): 20-4
Ari Schopf (AS): 21-6
Tier I
YS: TABC blew past their first two opponents before controlling the game against YULA. The Storm have been firing on all cylinders the entire tournament and look to continue their dominance against Magen David. The Warriors are returning to the championship for the second year in a row and are looking to tie the record for most wins at a Sarachek tournament. Ironically, the record is currently held by last year’s DRS squad, also the winners of the play-in game. I think this is a bad matchup for Magen as the undersized Warriors will struggle to contain Eyal Kinderlehrer’s size and TABC’s surrounding cast can compensate even if Eyal gets slowed down. TABC 58 MDY 53
AS: TABC has looked like the best team this whole tournament. What stood out to me about the win against YULA was the fact that Eyal Kinderlehrer did not have a great game scoring the basketball and TABC was still able to generate efficient offense. Magen David will have no answer for the big man and this TABC squad has enough talent around Kinderlehrer to win the Tier 1 Championship.
TABC 57 MDY 50
MA: TABC has looked like the best team in Sarachek. They’ve dominated, controlled the pace, and showed depth beyond just Eyal Kinderlehrer. However, what happens when a team doesn’t care who the best team is? What happens when a team just refuses to lose?
Magen David thrives in chaos. They’ve been in close games all tournament, while TABC hasn’t truly been tested in a late-game, pressure-packed moment until yesterday against the reigning champions and top-seeded YULA where they passed the test. Both experiences will matter.
Josh Chabbott is the heart of this team, and he’s going to find a way to keep them in this game. MDY will speed things up, hit shots early, and force TABC to play out of their comfort zone. The Storm will fight back, but late in the fourth quarter, with the game hanging in the balance, MDY makes the winning plays. Why them? Because it’s their destiny. The Cinderella run ends with a championship. MDY 58, TABC 55.
AP: An all-NY final for the first time since 2015 (the “get a shot clock” game). TABC is 2-0 against MDY this season. Magen David has won 4 games in Sarachek by a combined 14 points. Eyal Kinderlehrer is a huge matchup problem for the Warriors and we saw what happened to YULA when they keyed in on Kinderlehrer and opened up the floor for the rest of TABC’s weapons. Magen David has far less size than the Panthers and would need even more interior defense and help to slow the big man down. For Magen to win this game it will need to be high scoring, fast-paced, maybe even in the 60s. That is not a recipe for success in championship games. Josh Chabbott is as tough as they come and he will keep the dream run on fumes for much of this game, but the TABC Storm will be your 2025 Sarachek Champions. TABC 53, MDY 44.
OG: Cannot make a prediction. LET’S GO STORM!!!
Tier II
YS: Wow. DRS made it by the skin of their teeth as Joe Aaron’s buzzer-beater will go down as one of the craziest shots in Sarachek history. North Shore is coming off an win against Ida Crown where they seemed to control the game and exploited Ida Crown’s signature 1-3-1 defense. The Wildcats defeated the Lions in their only Yeshiva League matchup this season. The Wildcats have looked off all tournament, but I can’t see this crew ending their four year run with a loss. DRS are back to back champs and Joe Aaron is named Tier II MVP (again). DRS 62 NSHA 46
AS: DRS had the moment of the tournament with Joe Aaron’s crazy shot. DRS will start this game slow after the high of that play but in the second half they’ll pull away to secure the win and the tier 2 championship.
DRS 54 North Shore 43
MA: DRS has looked flat for most of the tournament and I think that double OT win over HA Montreal takes a toll on them. Joe Aaron’s number 42 should be retired in the Greenhouse after the year he’s put together including that miraculous shot in overtime which kept their trophy and repeat hopes alive. Still, Northshore has been steady all tournament and I think it’s their time to shine.
Northshore 52 DRS 48
AP: Shoutout to Montreal for putting up an unbelievable fight on Sunday. Absolute shame for them that DRS lost to Frisch because I’m very confident the Heat would have won Tier II otherwise. DRS is just flat out better than North Shore. They have more weapons and there’s a reason they have owned the Lions this season. This will be the least competitive championship of the day as DRS goes back-to-back and establishes a Tier II dynasty. Wildcats 57, North Shore 44.
OG: Joe Aaron made the craziest shot of Sarachek that I have ever seen. Because they were able to survive the upset, DRS now goes into Championship Monday with a shot to defend their title against North Shore. DRS have had their way with North Shore all year and there’s no chance Joe Aaron finishes his high school career with a loss. Give me the Wildcats. DRS 61 North Shore 48
Tier III
YS: Valley Torah is coming off a miraculous comeback win vs Maimonides. The Wolfpack looked terrible through most of the game but turned it on at the end and eked out a one point victory. Fuchs was neck in neck with a familiar foe in Farber but also emerged victorious. I think Fuchs’ ability to lock-in, both offensively and defensively, makes the difference here. The Wolfpack seem a bit too inconsistent on both ends of the floor and if we get a repeat of Valley Torah’s first half performance, this won’t even be a contest. Jacobs leads the scoring with 20+ points and Fuchs outperforms their seed for the fourth straight year. Fuchs 52 VT 42
AS: Fuchs Mizrachi has shown to be much more consistent on both ends of the floor than Valley Torah. I expect Fuchs to establish an early lead and maintain the lead the whole game. Jacobs will lead all players in scoring and finish with at least 4 made three pointers. Fuchs captures the Tier 3 championship a few years removed from winning the tier 2 championship.
Fuchs 56 VT 44
MA: Something bout Valley Torah feels different. Teams that survive the impossible start to believe they’re unstoppable.The Wolfpack will have to weather some early punches from Fuchs, but if Meir Dan takes over again and can hang around long enough, they’ll find a way. Valley Torah 55, Fuchs Mizrachi 53.
AP: Something is off with Valley Torah. Seems like they’re ready for next year already, although they did show fight with just enough time left against Maimonides to get into this game. Fuchs just cares more right now than Valley does and they will win this game. No need for any X-and-O analysis here. Fuchs Mizrachi 48, Valley Torah 40.
OG: Valley Torah gave us one of the craziest comebacks of the weekend against Maimo to punch their ticket into Championship Monday. Fuchs Mizrachi are not Maimo with all due respect. The Mayhem have played real solid throughout this weekend even in the loss they had against Katz. A Tier III title is their reward. Fuchs Mizrachi 44 Valley Torah 37
Comments