Former USC basketball players lead hoops team into $2 million tournament

Sport has broken language barriers, it’s to down racial barriers, and in many ways sport has been used as a vehicle to change society for the better.

Jackie Robinson did it for baseball, Nelson Mandela boldly brought a nation together through rugby, and Muhammad Ali, well, his impact speaks for itself.

For the Shaare Zedek basketball team, its mission is to “bring peace through basketball and medicine” says team manager Adam King.

How does Shaare Zedek plan to do that?

By competing in The Basketball Touament (TBT) this weekend at Cal State Los Angeles in the West Region of the nationwide touament. The prize for wiing the TBT is $2 million, which Shaare Zedek, if victorious, would donate to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

“Our hospital is multi-ethnic, spiritually diverse, and exclusively works to save lives,” said King, who is the Director of Community Campaigning for Shaare Zedek’s American Committee. “Everyone has a heart, everyone deserves the best help. Through basketball we can bring awareness to that message.”

The Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which in Hebrew reads “Gates of Righteousness,” is among the top medical centers in the world. In comparison to Cedars-Saini Medical Center in Los Angeles, Shaare Zedek’s numbers are hard to ignore, performing 24,400 live births in 2015 and boasting a 1,000-bed hospital.

The medical center is also extremely active in aiding terrorist victims and takes pride in being first-responders to natural disasters like the catastrophic 2011 tsunami in Japan and Nepal’s earthquake last year that killed 8,000 people.

“Many don’t know that Jerusalem means ‘City of Peace,’ and over 70 percent of Israel’s terrorist victims are treated at Shaare Zedek,” said King.

The TBT’s west region will be played on Saturday and Sunday in a single-game elimination format. Shaare Zedek is seeded No. 12 and will play its first game at 9:45 p.m. Saturday against Team Colorado.

If the team is successful enough to reach the touament’s “Super 16” stage, the remainder of the competition will be broadcast on ESPN and its affiliates, including the championship game on Aug. 2 in New York.

Competing on Shaare Zedek’s team are former-USC basketball players David Blu (previously known as Bluthenthal) and Sam Clancy, both of whom were part of the 2001 Trojans squad that reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Touament.

Blu, 35 and now retired, was a two-time Euroleague champion and five-time Israeli League champion, and won the 2011 Israeli Finals MVP award.

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“Our team only has a couple Jewish players, but we are all playing for a Jewish cause,” Blu said. “That goes hand in hand with the good nature of basketball and the medical center. No one is tued away, whether you’re Arab, Muslim or Christian, Shaare Zedek is going to give you aid. Basketball is the same way. Doesn’t matter where you come from, everyone can play together once you step onto the court.”

Clancy was a 2002 consensus second-team All-American before being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 2002 NBA Draft. Clancy is still an active pro after playing in Russia, France and now in Argentina for Gimnasia Indalo.

“There are some nostalgic feelings by being back on the court with David (Blu),” Clancy said. “We’ve played against each other in Europe, but haven’t been on the same team since our USC days. I’m humbled and honored to be part of such a great cause.”

The team’s roots and its cause are much deeper than basketball.

Michael Fallas, who’s on the Shaare Zedek roster, is the owner of Fallas National Stores, a department store that has over 350 locations in 22 different states and Puerto Rico.

“I’m a basketball junkie,” Fallas said. “I’ve been involved with Shaare Zedek for 10 years, and to support such a great cause through basketball is something I couldn’t say no to. The medical center is the epitome of a pure environment when it comes to treating people regardless of color, background or creed.”

All of the West Region games will be streamed live this weekend via Whistle Sports, and can be accessed on thebasketballtouament.com from the bracket page.

To lea more about the American Committee of Shaare Zedek in Los Angeles, which office is located in Beverly Hills, email Adam King at [email protected].