19-20 Apr 02. Bonifacio Sanchez Tournament. We are the defending Champions.

14 Apr 02. Caguas Tournament.

12 Apr 02. Benjamin Harrison Tournament.

5 Apr 02. Colegio Radians Tournament.
The toughest school in that bracket will be Gautier Benitez that this year reached the semifinals in the McDonalds Tournament. Team B will be representing the school.

5 Apr 02. MMM Seniors Tournament. Tournament was cancelled due to construction of the University Track that is across our school.
21 Apr 02. Gautier Benitez Tournament. Team B lost in the first round against Bairoa 3 by only 3 point. If this team improves a little bit more it will be a great contestant next year. There are 10 players in the team 2 seniors, 4 juniors and 4 sophmores.

20 Mar 02. Caguas Regional Tournament.
Team B will be representing the school after benching the Varsity. Our B played Salinas in the second round after Patrana HS failed to show up. The team lost by 15. Have to say that this was only the second game this team plays.

14-15 Mar 02. Vocacional de Cidra Tournament.
Our A team plays at 1:15 againt Gandara HS and team B plays at 9:00 against Ana J. In my opinion, if both teams play basketball we should win the first round games. Team B lost in the first round in overtime by 1 point in the mean time the Varsity was beaten really bad against a poor team.

After the performance of the Varsity in this tournament I decided to pull the plug on the Varsity. Their performance on previous tournament was not what was expected. Team B will finish the season.

5 Mar 02. McDonalds Tournament.
First Round. Another heart breaking game. This time we played Jose Campeche. Although we were losing the game by more than 20 points in the first half my team came up from behind to only 1 point deficit at the end of three quarters. William missed an easy lay-up and Campeche sprinted down the court for a 2 pointer. Then Campeche stole 3 consecutive passes to opened up the game. We lost my 12 points and Campeche beat us in the fourth quarter 17-6. We should have won the game but the team quit playing. That was the second time they did that this year so I decided to bench the whole team for 3 tournaments. Now Team B will be representing the school at the Regional competition and possibly at our local tourmanent. Egos are the cause of the lack of performance at key times of the games and I am going to deal with that.

1 Mar 02. Colegio Bautista (CB) Tournament.
It was no match from start to end. Bautista was just... big and mean. Allow me to compare the rosters. CB's center 7'2" MMM 6'5", CB's Power Forward 6'9" MMM 6'2", CB's Small Forward 6'4" MMM 5'9. As you can see they dominated the rebounds almost 4 to 1. It was what I expected. My kids played well, I told them after the game, we played a giant and you should feel proud of yourselves for the job well done. We ended lossing by 40 points, but it was worth the experience. We grew a lot.

23 Feb 02. Colegio Notre Dame Tournament.
This was College Board weekend (SAT in the states), therefore, only 6 players showed up for the tournament. I guess that all games won this season will be via confiscation. Colegio Maristas was the no show this time. The second round we played Santiago Apostol (SA). This team is good but we can defeat them with the full team. The obstacle was playing with only 6 players, 3 guards and 2 forward, 1 center. We did the best we could but ende up losing by 8. Adjustments are necessary if we are to win a tournament this year. I will not assessment the team this time because of the situation. R. Ortiz is going to receive a 1 tournament suspension for not showing up to the game this Saturday nor will be practice this week. I want to congratulate the Female Varsity team for WINNING the Notre Dame Tournament CHAMPIONSHIP.

15 Feb 02. Instituto de Banca Tournament.
This was the firt shot at playing teams from our Region. First round the team from Juana Colon HS in Comerio did not show up. Second Round was against Vocacional de Cidra (VC). Looking at the history between this two schools the record against them (6-2) the last 3 seasons, this team is totally different from last years. It is a more powerful, running team I have seen the last few seasons. My team is still adjusting to the system and did not play well against VC. We never had control of the game and the closest we got to them was by 6 points early in the second half. The final eight minutes lasted an eternity. They pressed and ran so hard that my team could not hold on the 6 points deficit therefore, they rally to beat us by 24. Things to IMPROVE, rebound effort, breaking the press effectively, and taking advantages of opportunities. Things to SUSTAIN, Diony played a superb game, the was the only player picking up rebounds and stealing balls.

7 Feb 02. First tournament of the season.
Exciting game from start to finish. However, we could not hold on to win it. Mental mistakes was the main factors in the defeat. We should be able to overcome those mistakes and play better in the next tournament. The other school controled pretty much the game but with a deficit of 21 points and 6 minutes remaining, we set up a press that they could not broke out. With 9 seconds and ahead by 1 the other team attempted a shot that they missed. We got the rebound and my small forward thinking that the game was played under NBA rules and not FIBA pretended to call a timeout with the ball in his hands. In FIBA the coach can only call a timeout when the ball is dead. When he realized that he was not getting the timeout he made a baseball pass to the point guard which made the shot at the other end without any time left. Therefore, the basket was not good. Hopefully the team learned a valuable lesson, to stay focus and concentrated in the game. Lets see what happens next time.

Expectations for 2002 Season

We had a great season last year. We won 5 championships and although we did not win the most important tournament, Department of Education Caguas Region, our focus is to have a better performance this season.
The composition of the team changed dramatically when 5 out of 12 players graduated last year. Only 2 starters return from last season so the rebuilding task has already begun. However, in my opinion, we have a good posibility to win small tournaments this season.
My goal for this season is to finish above .500, win our local tournament and perform better at the Regional Tournament. 22 Dec 01. All the positions have been filled out with the exception of a freshman guard. We will have out basketball intramural starting in January and hopefully I will be able to recruit a guard then.
22 Dec 01. We are on X-mas recess. Our scrimmage games begin the first week of school on the 15 of January.

3-30-01
Seniors Tournament
Three outstanding games played by my team to achieve our third championship in a row. Although the road to victory was not easy, our kids pleased the fans that gathered to watch them performed and did not disappoint them. The first game was against Vocacional de Cidra (VC), VC has improved dramatically since the last time we met at Torneo Eloisa Pascual. They played a strong first half winning it 26-24. After a half time pep talk our kids came in the court agressively and showed VC the reason why we are better. Strong rebounding and good offense. We ended winning 62-56. The second game was easier. Ana J Candelas (AJC) did not show any resistance in the first half and ended losing it by 10 points. AJC gave a final push in the last minutes of the game but was not enough to win the game. Final score 66-58. The championship game was a repeat of last tournament's championship game. We faced again Bonifacio Sanchez (BS). It was a repeat in all senses. BS came up strong in the first half to lose it by 6, but in the second half after some adjustments and a good half court press we were able to open the score and eventually win the game by a score of 54-41. The tournaments MVP was Oscar Cuevas which scored a total of 71 points. J. Franqui was dismissed from the team for not showing up to the championship game today. Press Release (Spanish)

3-24-01
Bonifacio Sánchez Tournament
Mr. Meléndez and Mr. Arroyo were my assistants for this tournament. Our team played Gandara in the first round, it was an easy game which we won by 18.
In the second round we faced Complex St Croix, a high school from the island of St. Croix. Complex has a super team and played outstanding against my players. However, my players played the best game ever. We scored first. The game was tight, there were about 3 lead changes and it wasn't until the last 2 minutes of the game that Complex had the first lead in the game by stealing the ball and scoring an easy lay up and then in the next posession a NBA 3 point shot that gave them 1 point lead. We overcame that 1 pt deficit by scoring consecutive baskets and free throws. With seconds left Complex went to the free throw lane to score the game at 63. With 4 seconds left in the game Franqui was fouled and went to the free throw lane, he scored the 2 shots to have the lead by 2. Complex came out and try a last second shot that missed ending the game. Needless to say, Complex is a great team and I congratulate them for a game well played.
In the championship game we played Bonifacio Sanchez. This was revenge for eliminating us in the second round of the McDonalds tournament. Bonifacio did not take the lead in the game. It was a hard fought game. We ended winning the championship by 10 points.

3-23-01
Mayors Cup
We played easy games today. There were 4 high schools, 2 publics and 2 privates, in addition the 2 public high schools were able to bring 2 "B" teams. We took a bye in the first roung and in the second round we played Benjamin Harrison B team. We beat them easy by 49. For the Championship game we faced our B team which defeated Benjamin Harrison varsity in their second round. We won by 16 winning at the same time my first Cup as a coach. The beauty of the tournament w asthat everybody in the team got to play.

3-19-01
Regional Tournament
We played Gautier Benitez. Our eternal rivals. This is a team in which we have failed to defeat 4 years and counting. Today was our best opportunity. It was a close game. The half ended our way by 2 pts. Gautier started the 2nd half on a 8-0 which we overcame with a 7-0 run. However, like happened with AJC we failed to score in the clutch. With 10 seconds left our kids failed to score the winning field goal, Gautier stole the ball and we fouled to avoid lossing. Now with the game tied at 57 and 5 seconds left in regulation we ordered the kids not to foul because now we were in foul trouble. However, a player forgot about it and fouled their best shooter with 1 second left. He scored the 2 points and we could not stop the clock. In this game we lost due to lack of leadership on the court, same story as with AJC on Friday.

3-16-01
Benjamin Harrison Tournament
We suffered a disappointing loss to Ana J. Candelas (AJC). Our players did not come to play, the game was in our hands with about 9 seconds left and the score tied. Torres had the ball and when started to drive to the basketball, lost the ball and the opponent took the ball all the way for the winning score. Like I said, the kids did not respond to pressure and thought it was an easy game.

3-15-01
Regional Tournament
We played the first round today and defeated Vocacional de Cidra easy. I brought 2 guards from the Jr. Varsity because 2 of my regular guards, Franqui with the cold and Melendez with a mild ankle sprain. However, the 2 kids I brought up from the JV played really well. The tournament continues next week. Melendez is on the DL with sprain ankle, he wont be back until the Bonifacio Sanchez Tournament.

3-13-01
Benjamin Harrison Tournament
I coached the JV team today in the absence of the head coach. It was a fairly easy game eventough I had not seen them play together as a team. Benjamin Harrison JV team did not put a good fight and we were able to capitalize on big mistakes. The JV team plays again on Friday at 1:30pm.

3-9-01
McDonald's Tournament
We played rival Jose Gandara in the FIRST ROUND. It was a good game and we came up victoriuos. Free throws again hurt us, only shooting 50% from the line. However, they could not match our press defense in the second half. The history repeated itself in the SECOND ROUND as it happended in the Gautier Benitez Tournament. Melendez (G) was out with a ankle sprain he suffered in the first round. We played Bonifacio Sanchez. They did not play in the 1st round because rival Conchita Cuevas did not show up. My kids were tired because it was a physical first round. We trailed all the time and the little effort we put the last 3 minutes was not enough to overcome a 7 points deficit. This was really our chance to advance to the sweet sixteen because tournament favorite Colegio Bautista lost to Josefa Patrana, which we beat in the Bairoa III Tournament.

3-2-01
Bairoa III Tournament
I will not be coaching the Saturday game due to personal reasons, however C. Melendez, Sr. will be in charge of the team. For results see the results page.

2-22-01
M. Arroyo was dismissed from the team yesterday due to disciplinary problems. J. Franqui was suspended from this tournament for academic reasons.

Gautier Benítez Tournament
They played the best game of their lives. Our opponent this time was Conchita Cuevas. In the first half we played bad, losing by 9 with about 2 minutes before the end of the 1st half. After a timeout and reorganization and a good full court press, the kids reacted not allowing a point and scoring 9 consecutive points to the end of the half. The half ended tied at 33. In the second half we continued the full court press and did not allow a point for the first 6 minutes of the game. We played 2 16 minutes halves. We ended winning the game by 27, Conchita Cuevas was only able to score 8 points in the 2nd half. The tournament continues tomorrow when we face Manuela Toro at 2:00pm (AST). We should be able to win this game...

2nd Round was one hell of a round. We faced Manuela Toro. This game was open and easy for us until the last 5 minutes of regulation when Manuela put a full court press with no mercy that reduced the winning marging from 12 to 3 in 2 minutes. However, we were able to overcome that comeback and score key free throws that gave us the lead and the game.

3rd Round was the toughest. Had we won that game we would have faced Gautier Benitez for the Championship, but Pastrana was better than us. We only had 2 hours rest while Pastrana did not play at all Saturday, so they were fresh and we were a bit tired. The half ended tied at 29 but with about 7 minutes to play Pastrana showed the superiority on the court. They played a perfect half and we could not overcome that. However, need to know that Franqui (G) that was suspended, Muszynski (PF) was out with a mild ankle sprain and Gutierrez (PF) had to leave due to personal reasons.

2-16-01
Notre Dame Tournament
We played a great first half against San Ignacio, won it by 10 point. In the second half San Ignacio came with a half court press that my kids could not overcome. The kids felt the pressure and could not get anything done. At the end of the game and with a minute left we came back from a 8 points difference but the kids did not take advantage of the turnovers and did not rebound effectively. Poor decision making process in the part of the kids caused us to lose that game.

2-2-01
Defensores de la Fe Tournament
First game of the season. We played Bayamon Military Academy, one of the best teams in the country. We played the first half with guts and fought to the end, eventhough we came as close to 2 point difference our players were overwhealmed by the court pressure they put. Their point guard was 6'2 and ours was 5'8. They were a superior team in all aspects of the game. We did the best we could.
Our second came was against Mercy Soto, a big ten team. This game was lot closer than the first one. Our team did not rebound and did not pressure their guards. That was the difference. However, it came down to the last 20 seconds of the game in which we had the opportunity to make free throws. With 6 seconds left we were down by 1 (43-44). Torres was fouled and went to the FT line, he missed both shots. We came up with the rebound and Torres again went for the score getting fouled. He went to the line again and again missed both shots we fouled the other team until one-on-one but their shooter made both throws. With 1.3 seconds left we inbounded the ball from the other basket. I gave instructions on how to handle the inbound pass but the players got confused letting the ball roll out of bounds to end the game. This was our game to win, however, lots of mistakes caused us to lose the game.

1-31-01
Vocacional de Cidra visited us today. This game was important for us because it set a tone early in the season. We will see them again in the first round of our local tournament and in the first round of the regionals. We won 96-93. Our next pre-season game is next Thursday at Vocacional de Cidra. Our first official tournament is this Friday at Defensores de la Fe Academy.

1-25-01
We played a practice game against last year's Regional Champs, Bonifacio Sánchez. We won 75-70. Some of the players played the best game yet. All the players contributed in one way or the other to the victory. My kids overcame a sudden charge with 5 minutes left in the game. I had to switch players around because of foul trouble but were victorious at the end. Next game is on 31 Jan 01 vs Vocacional de Cidra at our school.

1-19-01
We had the high school teachers meeting today and we set a date for the regional basketball tournament for 15 march 2001. This is a great opportunity because our invitational tournament will be the last tournament before the regionals. We will play in Salinas. The first game of the regionals is against Vocacional de Cidra HS at 10:35.

1-12-01
Practices will resume on Tuesday, 16 January 2001. Practice will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30pm to 4:00pm at our school and on Wednesdays from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at LIBCAY.

12-29-00
We played a great game vs. Defensores. Eventhough we lost by 11, I consider this defeat a great victory because Defensores is one of the Top 10 high school teams in the island. However, we need to improve our free throw shooting and execute the plays we practice. Another area to consider is the rebounding, we were outbounded by them. Nevertheless, it was a great team. Our team will recess for new years celebrations and hopefully play next week against Campeche. Check out the stats to see how my players are doing.

12-28-00
We have played 3 practice games. The record is 1-2. Our only victory is again Benjamin Harrison High School with a score of 78-77. The next game was against Gautier Benitez High School, we lost 61-70. The 3rd game was against Campeche High School, we lost 59-74. The results don't show the reality of the game my team played. In the last two games we were ahead by the end of the third quarter. We just ran out of fuel in the fourth. Also, notice that we are playing all the players in the team. My objective is not whether we win or not, the objective is to let the players practice all the plays we have been practicing. Our next challenge is tomorrow against Defensores de la Fe. This is going to be the toughest game we will play this season. This is because Defensores is a rank team that have been National Champions in years passed. My goal is to play a good game. The outcome of the game may have already been decided, but I am focus to play the best game thus far. Let's see...

12-12-00
Our team is already formed. I have 4 guards, maybe the best guards in the region at this time. The rest of the players have the abilities, potential, and heart to defeat any team we face. My expectations this year and with the team I have is to win the Regional Championship and be one of the best 10 teams in the Department of Education Public League. Also, to win out Invitational tournament and maybe win 2 Invitational tournaments. I am confident in the ability of my players and I know we will fight hard on the court to win games. At this point I am planning to play 7 practice games to fine tune the team for the start of the season in mid to end January. Therefore, my objective is give all the kids on the team playing time, winning is optional. As long as the kids give their hearts out on the court and do the plays we practiced for I will be ok. I will try to set up practice games with teams from Universities and more powerful private school teams. The hardest we practice in games the easiest is going to be to defeat teams in our region. Let's see about that...

9-22-00
Comenzaron los tryouts para estudiantes de Grado 10 y 11. La continuación de los tryouts serán el 11, 13 y 18 de octubre a las 2:10pm en la Cancha LibCay.