In the first Tier I semifinal game in the Max Stern Athletic Center, the #1 seed Magen David Warriors will face off against the #5 seed TABC Storm. Both teams are coming off big wins on Friday, with MDY beating Maimonides 68-49 and TABC beating Shalhevet 39-36 in overtime.
Magen David has had no issues thus far in this year's tournament, dominating both MTA and Maimonides in their first two games. This squad already won the Yeshiva League championship last week, and they’ll be hoping to win their next two games and add another trophy to the case.
TABC beat Berman handily in the first round, but their quarterfinal matchup against Shalhavet was far from easy. The Storm overcame a slow start and was able to force OT thanks to a pair of free throws from Eyal Kinderlehrer with less than five seconds left and then were able to hold the Firehawks off in overtime to advance to the semis.
Magen David is looking to calm the Storm and advance to the Tier I Championship. (Photo Credit: Macslive)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
The Warriors are led by seniors Moses Smeke and Mark Sardar. Smeke is not afraid to shoot and has scored 17 points in each of the Warriors’ first two games in the tournament. Sardar recorded a double-double against Maimonides, and the Warriors will need him to play well Sunday against TABC.
For TABC, Eyal Kinderlehrer has been the go-to guy this season. After dropping 37 points against Berman, he only scored nine against Shalhevet, but without his game-tying free throws, the Storm would not be in the position that they are. Look for the Storm to feed him inside early and often against a Magen David team that has jumped out to big leads in both games they’ve played.