To Life!
SPORTS
E
ven before they bought their charming Cape
Cod-style home, Neal Alpiner figured his wife,
Tobye Stein, was already visualizing the
transformation of ugly under-utilized space into a
library of perfect proportion.
"A library wasn't a must have," she recalled, "but it
was something that would be nice to have."
"Nice" understates the quality of the space the
couple now enjoy after a phone call to Gittleman
Construction got them going on their home
improvement project. Meeting directly with Scott
Gittleman, Tobye shared her goals, among them,
"It had to look like a real library and it needed more
light." And her design criteria, "I got hooked on an
idea of a castle."
Scott came through with well-lit, floor-to-ceiling
bookshelves plus dramatic castle-like arch accents
in a room that exceeds the couple's expectations yet
stayed within their budget.
"We really liked their workmanship," said Neal. "They came when they said and when you
called them, they called you right back."
As to future projects, Neal's certain there will be more, and Gittleman's number is nearby.
So next time you're dreaming of turning unattractive, under used space into something
spectacular, turn to Gittleman for help from start to finish.
JUST ASK NEAL ALPINER AND TOBYE STEIN.
GITTLEMAN
Bear Of A Season
Berkley wants more than
a division championship.
Steve Stein
Special to the Jewish News
B
ack in 1998, Todd Weiner
was a starting senior guard
on the Oakland Activities
Association Division II champion
Berkley High boys basketball team.
It's taken eight seasons and a new
Weiner for the Bears to win another
league title.
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Senior Eli Weiner, Todd's brother,
starts at guard for this year's Berkley
team, which went undefeated (12-0)
in OAA Division IV. The Bears finished
the regular season with an 18-2 record,
one of the best in school history.
Todd Weiner now attends school in
Jerusalem. He and his brother have
talked often on the phone this season.
"Todd has been bugging me all year
about matching what he did in 1998:'
Eli Weiner said.
The current Bears matched their
1998 predecessors because of their
speed, up-tempo offense, defensive
intensity and team chemistry. They've
needed those qualities because their
tallest player is 6-foot-2.
Eli Weiner has provided a major ele-
ment of the chemistry. Berkley coach
Andy Brodi calls his contributions to
the team nothing short of amazing.
"Eli was our main man last season,
our go-to guy. He averaged about 18
points per game Brodi said.
"But we needed him to accept a
lesser scoring role this season. We
needed more balanced scoring to be
successful. He's responded to the chal-
lenge by giving us great leadership,
and more rebounding and defense.
He's also provided a lot of energy, even
in practice. He's been so unselfish!"
In his third year as a starter, Eli
Weiner is averaging 13 points and five
rebounds per game.
Berkley was expected to make
waves this season. Nine players,
including seven seniors, returned
from last year's 11-10 team, and there
was plenty of talent on the roster. Plus,
the Bears had a chip on their shoulder.
They felt they should have won more
games last season.
But Berkley's opener was disap-
pointing. The Bears didn't play well in
losing to Harrison Township L'Anse
Creuse. Berkley regrouped to capture
the Holiday Classic tournament at
Ferndale, beating the host Eagles in
the title game. Eli Weiner says winning
that championship turned out to be
the turning point of the season.
Eli Weiner hopes to play basketball
in college, but baseball also is an
option. The 5-foot-11 Huntington
Woods resident plays shortstop and
centerfield for Berkley, and last sum-
mer he did well in American Legion
ball.
More Hoops
The Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit boys basketball team split two
games last week. Levi Stewart scored
21 points to lead the Cougars past
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 60-
46. Andy Perlow's three consecutive 3-
pointers broke open a 33-33 tie early
in the fourth quarter.
The academy fought back from an
11-point halftime deficit to tie Grosse
Pointe University Liggett, but it lost
48-47. Stewart's off-balance jumper
with two seconds left could have won
the game, but the shot rimmed out. 1-1
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