Boys Varsity Basketball

Eagles Overwhelm Griffins 55-17
By Sergio Gonzalez

     The quick-paced game started as Larsen dominated the toss up, and the Eagles refused to shy away from aggressive playing. Yet, the Griffins seemed to have both confidence and momentum over the first minutes of the game. Both teams seemed eager to compete against each other and displayed skill as well as boldness. Haziel Martinez, a notable player for the Eagles, showed his talent by scoring a beautiful three-pointer on his first shot. Wilcke, his coach, gave a start at this and seemed to proudly enjoy this feat as only coaches can. The line up of both teams seemed solid, yet however quick and skillful the Griffin defense was, the unity of the Eagles proved superior in sync and efficacy, which continued to show throughout the game. The quarter ended with the Eagles in the lead with a score of 16-nil. The presence of Eagle superstar Andre Larsen seemed scarce, but understandably so, as he was being targeted by a worthy opponent, Sebastian Velasco of the Griffins, a young man of similar stature and build, who was not afraid to battle it out with Larsen. He displayed leadership amongst his peers and proved to be a most valuable asset for his team. The first and second quarters were distinctly refreshing as both teams continued to fight ardently, but the Eagles pulled away quickly with the lead. The zest came in the form of beautiful play: Cesar Flores, who proved his talent in previous games, continued to shine, showing limber ape-like movements and fluid plays, not complicated in nature, yet efficient to the max. On the Griffins side of the fence, the player Eric Takayama showed great talent, yet he was clearly unable to make use of it due to lack of communication amongst the team.

     As a player carrying the legacy of his eldest brother, Danny Canaviri (another excellent athlete), Josiah Canaviri showed an incredible amount of skill and confidence, successfully living up to the expectations of the Canaviri name. This young man freshman is already setting himself up nicely into becoming the next CLC superstar. Furthermore, both Martinez and José Aldana got opportunities to showcase their skills by proving back-of-the-hand knowledge of the backboard and powerful confidence in their free throws. Larsen surfaced as well, despite his rival Velasco, and was determined to make an impact on the scoreboard. With the home crowd cheering enthusiastically, the Eagles ended the second quarter at 43-4. The third quarter brought in a slight change as some of the B-team was inserted by Wilcke, causing the Eagles to lose footing and the Griffins to outscore their opponents 8-6. The fourth and final quarter started with a score of 52-10, but it quickly lost zest as the Eagle B-team was placed in completely. However, they were later substituted by some of the starters with 3:58 remaining on the clock. The starters looked refreshed, but continued to play both carelessly and artlessly while being opposed in much the same way. It was clear that the period of competition was over and therefore much passion was shed wastefully but the fun of the game remained. With 1:34 remaining in the final section of the game, Sebastian Velasco, the Griffin superstar, left with an injury to a chorus of nervous yet well-deserved applause. The player injured his wrist as Canaviri accidentally hit him on a jump. Much time was wasted, yet Velasco proved to be O.K. as the buzzer announced (finally) the ending to the game at 55-17. The game was another well-earned victory for the Eagles, and as the playoffs approach, the much-expected Eagle-Knight championship game looks more promising than ever. 

Jaguars Forfeit Game Against Knights
By Laura Guillen
   

     The Cambridge Knights were disappointed when there wasn’t a Jaguar team present for their match Thursday afternoon. Another forfeited game for the COOP. So, why did the Cooperative Boy’s team have to back off from a game yet again? According to Cambridge officials, Cooperative’s athletic director had called earlier that day claiming that they did not have a full team as two players were ill with Dengue, one in danger of a relapse, and two others suspended from the team due to academic performance, thus leaving the team incomplete. But could they really not put together a complete team, or did they not want to show up with second string players to an assured loss? The Cooperative boys varsity team is being heavily questioned, as not only are they slacking off, but their further participation in the basketball playoffs is in doubt, though no one is sure if withdrawing a team is actually possible in such a small league. There’s much to wonder about the Jaguar’s varsity team this year. As for the Knights, they had been meaning to go for the big one-oh-oh Thursday afternoon and were only put out with such easy win. Juan Carlos Paniagua summed it all up and said “Guess it’s good for them that they didn’t come, we were going to beat them anyways”