[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Boys Varsity Basketball team had a successful start to its season with four wins and three losses. The Rams lost against Maranatha and Northview, but rebounded back with a 28 point victory against Gabrielino on Dec. 5.
With their minds set on clenching another win, the players defeated South Hills on Friday, Dec. 7 by a narrow margin of three points as the boys executed aggressive defense and hit crucial shots near the end of the game.
“The momentum changed in the second half,” Senior Eric Olivas said. “South Hills took the lead, but we still managed to hit our shots and play good defense at the end to win the game.”
The Rams’ skills were put to the test once again, as they participated in the Azusa Tournament from Dec. 10 to 13. The boys came up short in the first game, losing by 12 points to Covina. However, the team was determined to bounce back from its defeat when the Rams played South El Monte the next day.
Hungry for a win, the Rams came out playing intense defense and executed a quick tempo, winning by 18 points against South El Monte. Then, the boys defeated El Monte by 28 points on Wednesday, constantly changing their defensive set-ups and running a variety of offensive plays, keeping their opponents on their toes.
“Overall, we learned a lot from these past few games. Even though we lost our first game, we figured out what we were doing wrong and fixed it,” Senior Brandon Lee said. “I believe the tournament helped us come together and become stronger as a team.”
The intensity and skill level was not as expected for the Rams during the first few games, so they focused on improving their defense and watched films on their recent games to help them address their problems as a unit.
“I think the film sessions really help,” Junior Andrew Pau said. “It allows us to slow the game down and analyze why we lost our games. This helps us prepare for our upcoming games.”
This year the team consists of five seniors and seven juniors, as returning varsity members tried to help new players become comfortable with the higher level of play.
Throughout the summer, the Rams gained valuable experience and worked on essential fundamentals as they played in two leagues at Don Bosco and Maranatha. When school started the boys began to lift weights, do running workouts and implemented a few P90X workouts to get in shape.
“We worked hard this summer because we want to finish first in league,” Senior John Nghiem said.”It’s time we perform at a high level and come together on the court so we can continue winning games.”
TCHS School Newspaper