At the end of this month, the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will attend the Israel Becker Basketball Tournament, hosted by The Anne & Max Tanenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto (TanenbaumCHAT) in Toronto, Canada.
At the tournament, they will be joined by seven other Jewish day schools, including three schools from Israel.
“We are so excited to compete against international teams,” said Golan Silverman, HBHA varsity girls’ basketball head coach. “It’s an opportunity to show the team the trust we have in them and that their hard work pays off. I could not be prouder. This is the first step in growing HBHA’s basketball program and showing what we can do.”
Over the course of the four-day tournament, HBHA students will have the opportunity to compete at a high level, connect with dozens of Jewish teens from around the world and represent the Kansas City community abroad.
“The tournament is an experience I could never turn down,” junior starting guard Avital Mullokandova said. “There’s a special connection you make when bonding with peers over Judaism and basketball, and I can’t wait to do so in Toronto.”
HBHA varsity basketball players and coaches are glad to be welcomed to the 2025 edition of the tournament and hope to bring back some hardware to show off in the HBHA trophy case.
Sophomore shooting guard Naftali Tilove is determined to bring home a win. “It would bring back the school pride in HBHA because it has been a while since we have contributed to the trophy case,” Tilove said. “It would reinvoke a passion for HBHA sports.”
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Israel Becker Basketball Tournament. The first tournament was held in 1995 as a tribute to the memory of TanenbaumCHAT alumnus and varsity basketball player Israel Becker.
