SPHAs Basketball Team, The. The South Philadelphia Hebrew Association was a dominant professional team from 1918 to 1959, winning 12 league championships. During its heyday in the 1930s, the team was all Jewish. Owner/coach Eddie Gottlieb was a seminal figure in the establishment of the NBA. Instrumental in the growth of pro basketball in its formative years, in later years the team toured with the Harlem Globetrotters. Home games were played here at the former Broadwood Hotel.