The Agudath Israel Men's Club Basketball Team ended its 2009-10 campaign with a 61-46 loss to B'Nai Shalom in the first round of the B Division Playoffs on March 1st.CAI, which never led in the game, found itself down 8-0, but put together a 5-0 run early to close the gap to three points. But B'nai Shalom's hot shooting kept CAI at bay, in spite of a 22 point night from David Kerner and a stifling man-to-man defense in the 2nd half. Guard/Forward Greg Adelsberg tore a calf muscle early in the second half. The loss of Greg certainly could have made a difference. We wish him well in his recovery.
The 2009-10 season was a bounce-back year for CAI. The team redeemed itself for last year's 0-8 year and broke a 13 game losing streak by winning its last three games to finish 3-5. "We had to learn how to win again -- with new players and without some of the guys who helped us win the championship the first two years," said general manager Adam Shandler. "Other teams are worried about playing us again, but all the teams in our division have gotten better over the last three years so we need to continue to improve to stay competitive."
Some of those new players included newcomer of the year Greg Adelsberg and backup center Stu Markon. Israel Mazjner, an off-again, on-again player for CAI in the past, made a bigger committment this year and his presence paid off dividends. Congrats to all members of the team on a great season: Greg Adelsberg, Richie Dicker, Steve Eitman, Rich Gilbert, Israel Mazjner, Jay Lubetkin, David Lurie, David Kerner, Stu Markon, Adam Shandler, and Captain Marc Weinstein.
