Caption: The PACA Warriors Faced the Graded Eagles at their home court on Tuesday, September 10. [by Dr. Cristina Meier]
by Miguel Ribeiro
The September 10 Varsity basketball game was a real roller coaster of emotions for both teams. The cheers for the teams were very special and many points were made. Many people, like freshman Amanda Azevedo, who was playing on the Varsity girls team Varsity now, were extremely excited about this game.
“I always admired the varsity girls and tried to do my best to be like them. Now that I am starting my journey in varsity, I am happy to help and hopefully inspire the new girls,” said Azevedo.
During the first quarter, the girls were behind with a score of 13 – 5. The girls were trying their best and, after a long conversation with Coach Zuercher, the Warriors had a stronger start into the second quarter. The girls made incredible progress at various points in the first minutes until 8th grader, Mari Yagui, fell and rolled her ankle.
She was replaced by sophomore Ysabel Flurry who made an outstanding three pointer, followed by senior Julia Fernandes who had great opportunities for opening up the game. The second half was quite difficult for our Warriors as they were 20 points down at that point. It was quite a struggle for the Warriors and PACA lost the game with a disappointing 44 – 22. However, girls continue to train hard and will hopefully win a game in the near future.
“In all games, there are pros and cons in performance,” said Azevedo. “I think we could have improved our defense, trying to keep the other team away from the basket with some boxing out. I think the team played very well, of course we could’ve done better, but we kept our heads up during the whole game. I am sure we can bring a good amount of points to the scoreboard, and hopefully a victory.”
The Varsity Boys played after the girls, and it was one of those suspenseful and thrilling games to watch. The PACA cheerleaders provided a lot of school spirit and energy before the start of the game.
It began with a lack of energy on the side of the PACA Varsity boys team. There was some uncertainty felt in their plays and a sense of loss in the game when Graded made 10 points in the first eight minutes of the game. However, in the last two minutes of the 1st quarter Alec made an incredible three pointer which was the first time that PACA made a basket during the game.
With an amazing 20 seconds left, senior Felipe Pedrozo made a three pointer to raise up the team morale. This brought the score up to score 10 – 6 at the end of this impressive first quarter.
The second quarter was even crazier with the control of the ball going between both teams faster than ever seen before. There were many baskets made and opportunities missed. With three heart stopping minutes remaining on the scoreboard, sophomore Asaph Santos made another three pointer to tight up the game. The score was left at 11 – 9 at half time.
The third quarter might have made our Warrior boys a little bit comfortable because the Eagles did not back down. Graded fought and made four points after junior Davi Magalhães scored a two pointer.
The Eagles dominated the game and with five minutes left on the scoreboard, Asaph Santos made another two pointer. The score at the end of the third quarter was 27 – 15 for Graded.
Freshman Enzo Viccari, who was at the game as a fan, said, “In general, the boys had an outstanding performance and it was a great game to watch, but still there are many things to change. I think the team needs more focus on the court and much more training.”
The fourth and final quarter showed us a spark of determination from our PACA boys, but they were already too far behind to make any improvements. The final score was 40 – 27 to give the Eagles a solid win. Although the game ended with a victory for Graded, for some of the Warrior fans, a deserved victory in character and resilience goes to the Warriors.
Caption: Moments of intense play between the PACA boys and girls game against Graded. [by Miguel Ribeiro]
