Caption: A JV player sinks a practice shot during the warm up prior to the boys’ basketball game against Graded. [by Arthur Lobato]
by Arthur Lobato
The ninth and tenth grade athletes who form the newly organized JV team as part of the AASB league in Brazil, played their season opener on the 14th of August at the Pan American Christian Academy (PACA). In this first game of the season and school year, they faced off against the Graded Eagles, and the games were both grueling and beautiful. Both of our PACA teams came out victorious.
A JV Girls defensive player, Rebecca Pavanelo, has been working on specific skills to help her team.
“My role was to be the best teammate I can be, passing the ball and even scoring when needed. I think I played my role well,” said Pavanelo.
The girls game came first, and it was a total domination for PACA, as was evident in the lack of baskets scored by the Eagles team. It wasn’t until the second half of the game that the Eagles were able to sink even one basket. The opening point was a layup scored by sophomore, Aline Dobashi, after she stole the ball away from a Graded player.
The Warrior girls’ tenacious defending only allowed a total of five points from the Eagles by the end of the half, and they only suffered two more points throughout the second half.
The final score for the girls game was 21-7.
According to the boys coaches, Josh Greve and Matheus Ratke, they were very confident that the team would do well in their first game based on specific skills they had been showing during their daily practices.
One specific advantage shared by Coach Greve was that they had “very good chemistry and hustle.”
Both coaches expressed that they were not worried about how they would play because their skill was evident in their performance.
“Not worried about them,” said Coach Ratke, “[They are] just gonna do what they’ve been doing.”
The boys’ game was much tighter as they started the first quarter. The fans shouted and held their breath along with the cheerleaders as the score stayed fairly equal throughout the game.
The JV players who took the spotlight during the game were Lucca Machado, Micah Greve and Benjamin Oliveira.
During the last quarter, fans saw a close match up in baskets between the two teams. It was still a consistent and steady lead for our Warriors throughout playing time. Both to build each other up and to resist Graded’s impressive comeback.
The final score for the boy’s game was 30-28 for PACA.
