Cooperative 25, Christian Learning 13
Jaguars snap Eagles' long winning streak
The Cooperative boys junior varsity basketball team jumped off to an early lead and was never headed as it defeated Christian Learning 25-13 at the Eagles gym Tuesday.
The win ended the longest winning streak in league history. It is believed to be the first time since junior varsity competition started three years ago that Christian Learning has lost a JV boys basketball game.
The young Eagles had won two games this year, including a victory over the Jaguars, 22-16.
Several factors contibuted to the turnabout.
To begin with, the Jaguars fielded a stronger team than they had in the first game, adding two big players -- Andres Shin and Nicolas Suarez -- who had not been available for the first game. Shin is the team's top scorer, and both players contributed to the Jaguars' aggressive defense.
Beyond that, Christian Learning was flat, lacking the intensity and focus they had shown in the first game. Although they were the home team, they played as if they were in unfamilar surroundings, launching one bad shot after another. Even shots from right under the basket would not drop for them.
The Jaguars led 12-2 at the end of the first quarter, at which point both teams seemed to go cold, scoring a total of only three points in the second quarter, bringing the score at halftime to 13-4.
"We outscored them two to one" in that quarter, one Eagle fan noted hopefully as the half ended. That trend did not continue, however. Cooperative added 12 points in the third quarter, while the Eagles could manage only four more points. The Jaguars didn't score after that, but they didn't need to.
Cooperative spread its scoring around, getting eight points from Shin, seven from Suarez, four each from Milan Marinkovic and Samuel Melgar, and two from Jonathan Pauker.
Christian Learning got seven points from Pablo Oh, three from Andre Larsen, two from Kenny Krestan, and one from Nicolas Smith.
Cambridge's Ribera hits 49
Griffins finally score, but Knights win 61-4
Led by 49 points from seventh grade phenom Jose Ribera, the Cambridge boys junior varsity basketball team had little difficulty defeating International 61-4 in a game played at the Griffins' gym Tuesday.
Ribera's total is believed to be the highest point total ever amassed in league history by one player in a single game -- boy or girl, varsity or junior varsity.
Almost as remarkable, however, was the single basket made by Griffin seventh grader Ryotaro Saito near the beginning of the fourth quarter. Prior to that the Griffin JV boys team had gone for three games and three quarters without scoring a basket.
Later, Javier Garcia, a sixth grader, would score a second basket, thereby doubling the Griffins' scoring output for the year.
Cambridge, however, had the game well in hand at that point. The Knights had led 34 to 0 at the half.
Ribera, of course, led all scorers. His point total included two three pointers. International tried hard to stop him, and he was frequently fouled while making his way to the hoop, enabling him to pick up three points on free throws.
In addition, Cambridge got seven points from Gustavo Denis, four from Nicolas Dagnoni, and one from David Li Tan.
