The boys’ basketball team ended an up-and-down preseason feeling ready to take on the best of the El Camino League.

The team lost its first preseason game to Soquel 54-41 on Nov. 28. Despite the large margin of defeat, players were not concerned, as the game had no bearing on league results or CCS qualification, and could be considered a warm-up.

“In our game against Soquel, none of our shots were going in and we weren’t physical enough,” senior power forward Salmaan Javed said.

The team turned its fortune around during its next game against Live Oak on Dec. 1, an easy 49-35 victory.

“Against Live Oak, our defense was improved and our offense clicked more,” Javed said.

Javed, 5 feet 11 inches, is a big man on a very small team. Saratoga’s starting front line includes junior Stevie Berman, 6’1”, and senior James Huang, 6’2”, a duo whose collective height will be outmatched by most teams they play this season. Due to this height disadvantage, Javed said that the big men would need to be able to move their feet quickly and improve their agility in order to beat taller teams.

The Falcons’ preseason standouts included Berman, who scored 26 points against Live Oak, and junior shooting guard Alex Wang, who began the season as the team’s sixth man, but played his way into a starting spot.

“I’ve improved by contributing more on defense as well as offense,” Wang said. “I communicate with my teammates more on the court and always want to compete to win.”
Although preseason games often have no effect on a team’s season, players hope that they can improve before they must play more important games such a Dec. 23 home showdown with Los Gatos.

“We definitely did not play our best in the first two games,” senior captain and starting point guard Brandon Pak said. “But now we have an idea of what we need to work on the most.”