Last year the boys’ basketball team went 17-7 overall and finished third in league at 8-4. Since he had really high hopes for the team Coach Jose Gil was disappointed that they finished third place and missed the playoffs, “We were close to winning, but the team had to want it more.”

This year Gil decided to switch it up and do something most varsity basketball coaches would not think of doing; he decided to add four freshmen to the team. This year’s team was quite diverse, consisting of 10 boys: returning seniors Jessy Hurtado and Darwin Ongy;  returning  juniors Rene Hurtado, Jonathan Martinez, and Alfredo Ortega; returning sophomore Steven Castro; and freshman Josue Gil-Silva, Israel Corona, Vincent Gonzales, and Ronaldo Enriquez. “I know that these freshmen have the capability to keep up with varsity since they have experience from GBA (Gil Basketball Academy) .”

These four freshmen aren’t exactly your typical “varsity” players, most of them are under 4’11”,  but that doesn’t define their skills. They have been part of GBA and have used the skills they have gained in every basketball game. This is a major advantage since the team is more poised, confident, and experienced.  “They have been battled-tested, they have so much basketball experience, transitioning was not difficult,” said Gil.

With more newbies than returning players, the coaches put more pressure on returning players since they are the “big brothers” of the team, they know what is expected so they helped guide the younger players. “I’ve been in their position before, I know how it feels to be the new one, so we tried to help them in any way I could,” said Ongy.

The younger players learned from the mistakes and criticism the returning players received. “Being on a team with older players benefits the younger ones because whenever we need help they’ll be there to help us with anything whether it’s about the play or other tips,” said Gil-Silva.

Most would think that having  his or her son on the team would be difficult when it comes to drawing the line between a father and a coach, but Coach Gil’s response was; “Josue is smart, he knows when to treat me like a coach and when to treat me like a dad.” He is just as on tough on him as the rest of the players and his son agreed, “My dad has been my coach since before I came to Alisal, so I was already knew what to expect. I get the same treatment as the rest of the team,” he said.  

After losing a few returning players at the beginning of preseason, the team stepped up and put 110% effort during practice and games.” Their hard work and dedication paid off with the team finishing 20-4 overall, while going 12-0 in league to capture the Pacific Division title. “All my hard work had paid off when we won league champions, all the time and effort had paid off, history was made and I am proud to be a part of that.” said Ongy.

“This was my second year playing varsity, it was different playing with younger players but overall it was fun,” said Castro.

Their hard work paid off for the playoffs, as the team earned the number 9 seed in Division 1, which was good enough for a home game against Andrew Hill in the opening round of the CCS playoffs. The boys performed well, winning 63-48 to advance to the next round.

Unfortunately, the 2nd round matchup didn’t go as well. The team traveled to Sequoia High School and fell in overtime 84-81.

Despite the loss, Gil focused on the positives, going undefeated and winning a league title. “I would give the season two thumbs up and if I had three they would all go up. The last time we won a league championship was fourteen years ago. We made history and I am proud of the kids,” said Gil.