Varsity Boys’ Basketball Faces New Season, New Challenges
Junior point guard Cesar Gomez jumps into the air to lay the ball up
as he evades an opposing defender.
Photo Courtesy of TEVIN VOONG SIMEON LAM
Staff Writer
With the season coming in full stride, the Moors varsity basketball team is pushing to compete with every team in the Almont League. Head Coach Bryan Gonzalez and the players believe that they are a top-three team in the league and have a shot at winning the coveted championship.
However, the Moors have started the league season with a record of 0-2, including a close loss at Bell Gardens in overtime, resulting in a score of 69-70, and a loss at Mark Keppel. The squad includes one freshman and an even mix of juniors and seniors.
“With only two returners [coming] back this year and essentially my core from JV that moved up this year, we [are] a fairly new group,” Gonzalez said. “We struggled with chemistry early on and struggled defensively too, but I feel that we were able to put it all together just in time.”
With a fairly new squad, the Moors have seen their strengths change from last year’s team to this year’s. They have changed to a more offensive approach, as opposed to last year, due to several skilled shooters. According to Gonzalez, he has seen more leadership roles and much more hard work.
“We struggled early [on] playing with one another and trying to come together as a team, but we never gave up,” captain Ryan Gerardo said. “We put our losses behind us and work hard every practice.”
On the other hand, the team would like to improve on the defensive end. They stated that they need to become solid, push each other harder and not slack off. Lastly, Gonzalez and his players believe that success will come from be minimizing mistakes and turnovers during games.
“The only way we can win is just to play hard and play defense,” junior shooting guard Matthew Aguilar said. “We can accomplish [this] with the players and coaches we have.”