After a hard-fought 56-45 home loss to Valley Christian on Feb. 26, members of the boys’ basketball team pointed to their 10-2 record in the El Camino League and knew they had accomplished much.
The team has improved hugely from last season, when their record was 1-11. Senior point guard Michael Cole, who averaged about 20 points per game, was also chosen as co-MVP of the league, along with Alex Gill of Gunn High School.
The season was filled with memorable moments for the team, including Cole’s half-court buzzer beating game-winner during a pre-season game vs. Lincoln High School.
The team’s most significant victory was against Gunn, which was supposed to be one of the tougher teams in their league.
Junior power forward Jatin Mohanty attributes the team’s winning record to strong team chemistry, along with hard work.
“I’m proud of our team’s effort,” Mohanty said. “It was really fun to play with my teammates, [and] I think that really helped us win a lot of games because we really enjoyed being in each others’ company. Even when people got different playing time or switched out of lineups, we stayed really close and didn’t get mad at each other.”
However, now that the season is over, returning players are already looking forward to next season. They have seen that the team can compete with strong teams, and will use the loss to Valley Christian as motivation to work harder to go further in CCS next season.
Players will participate in the summer league and will practice together and individually during the off-season.
“I’m going to work out, practice with my trainer, lift weights and try to improve my athleticism,” Mohanty said.
Seniors small forward Gino Caloiaro, power forward Aditya Chetia, center Brian Chun, Cole, center Kevin Lee and shooting guard Joey Medeiros will be graduating and unable to help them next season.
“I love the basketball program here at Saratoga. We are never a team to intimidate the other with our size and athleticism,” Cole said, “but we execute and win games that we probably shouldn’t. We play as a team, and almost every year have a very successful season.”
With the off-season beginning, the team is planning to work hard in order to be successful next year and to continue their growth as a talented team.
“[We will need] better composure with pressure,” said junior Joe Eschen. “It’s going to be hard to get a team better than the one we had this year.”
As Cole looks back on the season, he says that the team couldn’t have done a better job.
“I was proud of our play. I couldn’t have imagined my last season going any better,” Cole said. “I think as a team we played together, we trusted each other, and we had each other’s backs.”