By Laura Guillen
The Cooperative Jaguars boys basketball team managed to find their way to the Cambridge gym Thursday afternoon for the Varsity semi-finals – they had been no-shows at the previous game scheduled between the two teams -- but the Knights claimed victory by scoring more than double the Jaguars, 76 to 33.
It was sweet revenge for the Knights, who lost to the Jaguars 42-40 in the first meeting between the two teams at the Jaguar gym. In that game the Knights were playing without their center, Luis Mercado, or their best defensive player, Gabriel Alonso.
The Knights started out strong, and kept going. After baskets by Gustavo Roca and Mercado, Andres Hurtado seemed to really set his team off as he took a chance, stole the ball, drove to the basket, made it, and was fouled in the process. He made the free throw to complete a three-point play.
Spectators present had been looking forward to seeing how Milan Marinkovic, the Jaguars big senior center (and recent track and field record setter), would match up against the Knights even bigger ninth grader Mercado, and it soon became apparent that Mercado was simply too . . . . tall!
Marinkovic had run amok in the first Jaguar-Cambridge game, scoring 32 of Cooperative’s 42 points. He got some baskets on some fine plays in this game, but was held to 17 points, while Mercado tallied 25, several on artful fade-away jump shots that no one this side of the NBA could have stopped.
Further into the game it was seen that, although they forfeited a couple of games and had probably missed some training time, the Jaguars sure can make some well execute plays, but their efforts were not enough to stall the Knights, who kept scoring ferociously.
Almost at the end of the first half, Knights were still on fire. At one point Juan Carlos Paniagua made a shot that didn’t make it, but teammate Mercado got in fast to catch the rebound and make the put-back. This happened time after time.
Sometimes it took Mercado several tries – he seemed to have more trouble with the easy shots than the hard ones – to get the ball in the hoop, but these were entertaining moments for the Knight fans as no Jaguar seemed to be able to stop him.
The teams left the floor at halftime with the score 43 to 15 for Cambridge, a 28-point advantage. Though it was obvious that Jaguars would be unlikely to catch up to their opponents, they made a great effort to close down the difference in the third quarter -- with very little success. The Knights widened their margin by two, to 30 points.
While the Cambridge team took advantage of every chance they had, and they had plenty, to steal the ball, or get a rebound shot, the Jaguar team didn’t seize such opportunities quite as well when they had them.
By the final quarter, Jaguars were far behind and would be ever farther as Knights replenished their spirit to make another 21 points, while holding the Jaguars to eight. There was one occasion that seemed to capture the essence of the game – Cambridge’s success and Cooperative’s frustration.
Mercado got another of his multiple chances to score, out- jumping Marinkovic to pull down several rebounds. When the ball finally went in Marinkovic jumped up as if trying to push it back out again. Late reflex or pure despair? Who could say.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, junior varsity Knights Masa Ueno, Santiago Hurtado and Nando Boller took over the game and showed everyone that Cambridge Knights will continue to be a power when the current varsity starters graduate (which, by the way, won’t be for several years in most cases).
Cambridge fans were proud to see the JV’s play against the varsity Jaguars and cheered even more enthusiastically than they had for the starters when the younger Hurtado swished in a two-handed hook shot, and Biller hit on a long set shot from the right-hand side.
Still the Jaguars never gave up. When the buzzer went off, Jaguar senior Nicolas Suarez was streaking for the basket. It wouldn’t have made much difference, though. The game ended with the scoreboard showing Cambridge on top 76 to 33.
Still the Jaguars never gave up. When the buzzer went off, Jaguar senior Nicolas Suarez was streaking for the basket. It wouldn’t have made much difference, though. The game ended with the scoreboard showing Cambridge on top 76 to 33.
For the Knights, Luis Mercado had 25 points; Gustavo Roca and Andres Hurtado had 15 points each. (Hurtado's total included a three-pointer.) Juan Carlos Paniagua had 11, Gabriel Alonso 4, while Nando Boller, Santiago Hurtado, and Paul Blades each had two.
For the Jaguars, Milan Marinkovic had 17, Giorgio Rodrigamo had eight, while Andres Shin and Nicolas Suarez had four each.
Cambridge Knights achieved victory yet again – they are now 6-1 on the season -- but will they be able to claim it again in the championship against the Christian Learning Eagles as they compete for the gold medals Tuesday at Cambridge Learning?
Some things can be predicted with certainty: The stands will be packed and the noise will be amazing. It will be basketball the way it is supposed to be.
(Laura Guillen is a senior at Cambridge and managing editor of the website for that school.)
Eagles Overpower Griffins and Advance to Finals
By Jesse Mann
The Eagles successfully advanced to the championship game the varsity basketball playoffs with a 63-16 win against the Griffins, playing an energetic, fast-paced game that was enjoyed by both teams Thursday at Christian Learning.
SCCLC starters Josiah Canviri, Haziel Martinez, Wesley Ordoñez, and Cesar Flores established an unbeatable 16-point lead by the end of the first quarter, firmly taking control of the ball and driving aggressively past International's defense.
Although clearly outmatched by the dynamic Eagles, the Griffins put up a good fight and competed fiercely with their foes for ball possession. Daniel Hanley defiantly dribbled down the court three minutes into the match, slipping behind the Eagle defense and scoring two points for International off a smooth lay-up.
But the Griffins simply could not stop the offensive advances of the Eagles, and soon resorted to launching long passes down the court in an attempt to catch the Eagle defense off guard. The Eagles responded in kind, and soon the game became a high-speed dodge ball competition as members from both teams began to intercept passes in mid-air.
The ball flew quickly from one end of the court to the other as the players fought for possession. At one point a ball streaked out of bounds and narrowly missed the scorekeeper. Game play (as well as scoring) slowed down considerably in the second quarter, as the Eagle bench swarmed onto the floor.
Despite a large number of turnovers, the Eagles maintained their lead, with eighth grader Luke Phillips scoring four baskets during the quarter and Griffin Arturo Barrientos scoring one.
The Eagle starters resumed their work after the halftime intermission,, and the game picked up again, though not as lively as in the first quarter. The Griffin's spirits were revived somewhat when Erik Takayama scored two three pointers in a row, putting SCIS into double digits with ten points.
But ultimately the Griffins fell victim to the ruthless efficiency of Canaviri, Flores, and Ordoñez, who made good use of teamwork to drive the score up. Canaviri and Flores each scored twelve points, and Ordoñez made ten.
The Griffins only managed two more baskets, one by Sergio Rojas and the another by Daniel Hanely. Eagle superstar Andre Larsen, suffering from a hurt wrist, scored eight points that contributed to the final score of 63-14.
On the whole, The Eagles played very well, but free throw percentage is a handicap that could potentially ruin them. The team made only fifteen percent of their free throws, hitting three and missing twenty. Despite this potential Achilles heel, there is no doubt in this reporter's mind that next week's final game against Cambridge will be legendary.
(Jesse Mann is a senior at Christian Learning and managing editor of the website.)
