Will the boy’s varsity basketball team be able to top their 20 plus victories and league title from last year? Their coach, Jose Gil, certainly thinks so. He said, “The players will be contending and competing for another title because I believe in the work they have put since last season.”

The team were MBL Gabilan Division Champions last year, a feat they’d like to repeat in the newly formed Pacific Coast Athletic League (PCAL). This being Gil’s 19th year of coaching, his goal for this season is to, “compete and enjoy the competition coming our way.” Returner Josue Gil said, “I’m looking forward to all games this season because we have to treat each game the same by putting the same effort.”

While the victories from the season before keep increasing, so do the challenges of trying to keep up. Gil thinks his team can overcome the upcoming challenges by keeping the team healthy mentally and physically. He said, “The biggest challenge this season is staying healthy.”

There are eight returners in this season. Three of them are guards – Junior Pulido (2 years on varsity), Vincent Gonzalez (4 years on varsity), and Josue Gil-Silva (4 years on varsity.) Gonzalez is confident his team will do good in league this year and said, “I think my team will do very good because this a tough team with a lot of experience.”

The four returners who play the forward position are Israel Corona (4 years on varsity), Ronaldo Enriquez (4 years on varsity), Josh Vuong (3 years on varsity), and Ulisses Mendoza (4 years in Varsity). The last returner is Sebastian Reynoso who plays center and has been on varsity for one year. The new players are Richard Solis, Danny Martinez, Shawn Vuong, and Alex Maravillo. All of them will have their first year in Varsity this season.

Gil thinks the team’s strength is that they’re united. The players have known each other for a while and have gotten used to playing as a team together. Reynoso said, “Each one of us has been putting in the work since this summer.”

The team has each set their own goals to do well in this upcoming season. Josh Vuong said that he hopes to “get more assists and make things easier for the guards.” Corona said, “My goal this season is to win CCS.”

The team started the preseason strong winning their tournament the Jose Solis – Vantory Miles Varsity Boys’ Basketball Invitational, beating Christopher High for the title. Gonzalez, Ulisses Mendoza, and Gil-Silva were All-Tournament. Gil-Silva was also named MVP of the tournament. Gil says, “We’re looking good despite missing two starting players, Ronaldo Enriquez and Sebastian Reynoso, because of injuries. We hope to do better with them.” Through five games the team was 4-1.

The team already has new opportunities for this season. They have been invited to the Martin Luther King Jr. showcase. All showcases are invitation only, but this showcase will be televised. This showcase will be in American Canyon high school with other competitive teams like Concord. Another showcase they were invited to this season is the Valley Christian showcase in San Jose on the 22nd of December where they will play Palo Alto high school.

With this tough schedule, Coach Gil says, “Our tough schedule is going to help us in the long run for CCS. It’ll be a good test to play tough competition.” Josue Gil says, “I expect us to have a great season. We will have a tougher league schedule this year because we know every team is out to get us, but we are up for the challenge.”