Boy’s Basketball Prep Team Stays Strong

Dima Aboukasm, Staff Writer

Coach Jacque Rivera discussing the game plan with the Boys’ Prep Basketball Team. Photo by Sarah Hoffman.

With the cold winter months wrapping up, basketball season is soon coming to an end at MacDuffie. The Boy’s Basketball Prep team, coached by Basketball Director Jacque Rivera, has had a very successful season with a tally of 17 wins and 7 losses as of February 12th, 2018.

Rivera is quite satisfied with his team’s results this year, which come from their effort, training, and teamwork. Rivera said, “Overall, I’m extremely happy. Playing this game is not about beating yourself up over mistakes and losses, or not making any mistakes. It’s about controlling our own narrative, owning our own future, and I think we are doing that right now by our collective work as a team and our attitude towards the game.”

According to Rivera, MacDuffie will be hosting a few playoff games due to the season’s positive results and numerous wins.

“We have a good chance and opportunity to hopefully add to the athletic success here at MacDuffie,” said Rivera.

One of the factors contributing to the great success of this season and the team’s making it to playoffs is the hard work that was put in. Sophomore and member of the team, Franck Ndjong, explained what went into the team’s rigorous training, “We started preparing for [basketball season] since September. Everyday we had different workouts, including conditioning and lifting.”

Ndjong added, “Coach always pushes us to be the best that we can be in every level. In the court and off the court.”

Although every game definitely held its unique adventure and surprises, Mr. Rivera said that the highlight of the season was “Simply just watching a group of guys come together as a collective unit and work together.”

Next week, the Boys Basketball Prep team will be heading off to playoffs, so if you see them in the hallways, wish them good luck!