Fasman Yeshiva High School (Skokie) Basketball Team Reaches Regional Final Championship, But Falls Short

The Fasman Yeshiva High School varsity basketball team got further than ever before in the IHSA (Illinois High School Association) state tournament.  Seeded 8th out of 13 in their sub-section, the team got a lot of Siyata Dishmaya and exerted lots of Hishtadlut in getting to the third round of the playoffs.

After a first-round forfeit when the other team (CICS/ChicagoQuest) didn't show up, the Fasman Yeshiva team reached the second-round of the IHSA tournament for only the third time in history with what they called a score of 2-0.

In the second round, they played one of their arch-rivals, the Solomon Schechter-affiliated Rochelle Zell Jewish High School (formerly known as Chicagoland Jewish High School), who were seeded at #2, and had a tremendous first half from the Yeshiva players.  Although Rochelle Zell came back strong in the second half, it was not enough and the Yeshiva prevailed, 55-45.

#IHSA BKB/1A Skokie (Yeshiva) 55, Deerfield (Rochelle Zell) 45 @PlaySmartHard

— IHSA ScoreZone (@IHSAScoreZone) February 22, 2017

This was the first time in history that the Yeshiva reached the third round of the playoffs.  And it was a near-mirror-image of the final score 3 years ago when CJHS beat the Yeshiva 57-45 in round 2 of the playoffs.  ונהפוך הוא.

Up next was Douglass Academy High School, a school on Chicago's West side for the regional final championships.  The game was originally scheduled to be played on Friday night, but the IHSA was very accommodating and pushed it off until Motza'ei Shabbat at 8:15 PM, which was enough time for the team to get the game after Shabbat (around a 45-minute drive from Jewish neighborhoods) and get some practice shots in.  After starting the game strong, the Douglass team was just too much for them and the game got out-of-hand early.  The final score was 64-32.

#IHSA BKB/1A Chicago (Douglass) 64, Skokie (Yeshiva) 32 @PlaySmartHard

— IHSA ScoreZone (@IHSAScoreZone) February 26, 2017

Despite the loss, the Yeshiva team showed that they could play with the great teams in the region and win.

Congrats to the Yeshiva team for a great run!