JV Boys Basketball Semifinals

Little Knights beat Griffins handily, 61-7

    The Cambridge junior varsity boys basketball team easily dispatched International, 61-7, in the semifinal contest played Tuesday at the Cambridge gym, though International kept fighting until the end.

     The bigger, older, more experienced, and better skilled Knights moved quickly to a 23-2 lead in the first quarter, and added 18 unanswered points in the second quarter to make the score 41-2 at halftime.

     The Knights eased up on both their offensive and defensive pressure in the second half as they substituted freely, as did International. Both teams used all ten of the players they had dressed for the game. Cambridge added 20 points in the last two quarters, while holding the Griffins to five, four in the final quarter.

      Considering that the last time the two teams met Cambridge had won 100-4, this game represented progress for the Griffins of a sort, and one had to admire the way the team from International continued to fight right up until the end.

     The fact that they had ten players suited up for the game was a tribute to the way their coach, Reyes Gil, has apparently managed to maintain morale and discipline on a team that has had to absorb some terrible poundings this year by all three of its League opponents.

    At the same time one had to admire the defensive intensity and offensive coordination -- not to mention the shooting accuracy -- of the Knights, who exploited any mistake made by the Griffins, while often rescuing themselves from their own miscues, and even turning them to advantage.

     The Knights were particularly adept at stealing passes, seeming to sense where the Griffins would throw the ball next. By the end of the game the Griffins were resorting, on in-bounds passes, to what would be called “Hail Mary passes” in North American football.

      You could almost hear the play-by-play: “He’s fading back, looking to throw . . .  He has a man open at the 20-yard line . . . , but . . . IT’S INTERCEPTED.”

      One hopes that the young Griffin team is undergoing a learning experience and will emerge stronger in future years, able to move competition in the League back more toward competitive parity. They don’t lack spirit.

     For the Knights,  Horacio Cespedes had 20, Masayoshi Ueno 15, Nando Boller and Santiago Hurtado nine each, Daniel Cortez six, and Christopher Cespedes two.

     For the Griffins, Leonardo Melgar  Melgar had four, and Jesus Ojeda three.

Eagles Barely Squeeze Past Jaguars, 32-30

By Javiera Alipaz

     The SCCLC JV boys basketball team once again managed to come out on top against the Cooperative JV boys. Both teams played with an excellent display of talent and promising abilities that will most likely lead them into the varsity teams of their respective schools.

     The first quarter proved to be the start of what would be a fast paced game- evenly fought the whole way through. With the ball being dribbled and passed throughout the court constantly, the defense on both teams proved to be well put. Half way through the first quarter the score was still tied at 0-0. Jaguar Raul Valle surely didn’t like the look of things and decided to shake up Eagle fans with a free throw that left the score 0-1. Two minutes later, Valle was fouled once again and managed to score both of his free throws, granting the lead to his team- 0-3. Eagle Regan Janzen, the match’s superstar, scored a basket of his own- only to be followed by another Jaguar basket by Eduardo Ustarez. The first quarter then ended with a score of 2-5, in favour of the Jaguars.

     The second quarter started with a throw in by Eagle Claudio Sandoval to his teammate Andres Cruz. Janzen then gifted his team with another shot- moving the score up to 4-5. The Jaguars fought hard, and dominated with another basket and one free throw, though they were immediately counteracted with another shot by Janzen. However, Jaguar Rodrigo Chavez concluded the first half of the second quarter with another basket, positioning the score with a four point lead for the Jaguars. During the last 4 minutes of the second quarter, Eagle Abraham Lopez attained 3 points for his team, and Janzen 2 more- settling the score for the 1st half at 11-10.

     With the Eagles being only one point ahead at the start of the 2nd half, the tension could be felt- not only among the players, but amidst the spectators as well. The third quarter began with Jaguar Luis Peredo eloquently passing the ball to his teammate Raul Valle. One minute into the game, Eagle Brian Lara added another point to the scoreboard for his team. Three minutes of intense play passed and the scoreboard was static until Eduardo Ustarez scored a free throw moving the score up to 13-11, still in favour of the Eagles. Not even 15 seconds had passed when Eagle Luke Phillips gained control of the ball and passed it up to Sandoval, who then constructed an impressive shot. In the following two minutes, Ustarez piloted his way through the Eagle defense, adding a layup to his repertoire. The layup by Ustarez was closely followed by another point by Janzen, leaving the score at 17-13 with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. In these final 4 minutes, the Eagles amounted 2 points by Phillips, while the Jaguars handled the ball into their basket with four more points, two by Rodrigo Chavez and two by Eduardo Ustarez.

     The Eagle gym was filled with an anxious audience awaiting an emotion filled fourth quarter. In the first minute, Eagle Claudio Sandoval had already succeeded in snatching up another basket, however Jaguar Raul Valle also brought up his team’s score by one more point because of a free throw. The scoreboard read 21- 18, the Eagles only having a three point lead on the mighty Jaguars. More fast-paced passes and undeniable talent on display went on in the Eagle gym as a pass by Eagle Regan Janzen to teammate Claudio Sandoval granted the Eagles a wider lead because of Sandoval’s shot. Valle then amassed another 4 points, granting his team a glint of faith of finally beating the Eagles. With only 6 minutes left, the coaches’ called a time out. Only nine seconds later did Ustarez acquire another basket for his team, bestowing the one point lead to the Cooperative Jaguars. Twenty seconds later, Eagle Regan Janzen tied the score 24-24 with a free throw. Luke Phillips, an Eagle superstar who was particularly absent during this game, managed to score 4 points in a row moving the score up to 28-24. In the short span of a little less than two minutes, the score was altered by four Jaguar points that had the Eagle audience in despair- the Eagle lead was now void, as the score was tied 28-28. 

     Thirty-eight seconds were left in the final quarter of the JV boys semi final when there was another time out. Anxiety, desperation, dismay and trepidation were all common symptoms of any bystander that happened to be watching this evenly faced match. With twenty-one seconds left, Phillips carried out an outstanding free throw in which the crowd exploded and cheered on. To their disgrace, they did not know that, with only twelve seconds left, the Jaguars would then score once again- gaining a one point lead. Disappointment and sorrow read all over the Eagle fans, while triumph and victory were smudged onto the Jaguar’s faces.

     With only 4 seconds left in the whole game, Phillips got himself fouled, thus being granted 2 free throws. The dread and horror were to be seen all over. Jaguar fans were worried about Phillips scoring, while the Eagles were in distress due to the fact that Phillips might not score. But Phillips did score. Twice. By making the first free throw the crowd burst into applause, knowing that the score was now tied 30-30- but then fearing the possibility of over time, just as the previous game these two teams had played. Phillips actually then missed the 2nd free throw, granting only more excitement as he then rebounded his own shot just as the buzzer sounded, leading the JV Eagles to the final game on Monday.