Eagles determined to reach Valley championship

As the cool air and winter season rapidly approaches, the basketball team begins preparing for the upcoming season. The FC varsity boys basketball team officially started practice on Nov. 1.

The Eagles finished last season with a disappointing record of 8-23 and a league record of 1-9. Despite the little success that the team found during the regular season, playoffs told a different story. Entering the CIF Central section division 5 playoffs the Eagles were in the 14th seed spot or last place.

Upset after upset came and the team made it to the Valley championship game in Selland arena against the No. 1 seed, Kern Valley. After leading by as many as five points in the 4th quarter, the Eagles cinderella story was too good to be true as they lost by 3 points, 57-54.

That loss hurt the Eagles players, motivating them for the season to come. With a team that has 13 seniors and one junior the expectations for this experienced team are high. 2nd year varsity player Tyler Vanderlinden, ’17, is confident in the team’s ability to make it back to the championship this year.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/293541871″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

“Losing at Selland arena last year was terrible,” Vanderlinden said. “Everyone underestimated us and looked past us. We worked so hard to get there and we lost it in the last few minutes. This year we are determined to get back there. We have the athleticism, basketball skill, and the heart. Now all thats left is to go out and accomplish what we have set out to do.”

Making it to the Valley championship gave last year’s team a build up of confidence. Nick LeBlanc, ’17, led the team in scoring during the championship game last year with 14 points. After reflecting on the team’s loss he believe they still have momentum heading into this season.

“Selland had such a great environment,” LeBlanc said. “It was awesome to compete for the Valley championship. As a team, it gave us a huge boost of confidence. Despite the loss, I think the team has some of the confidence heading into this season.”

Following the championship the basketball team did not let up. They have been practicing ever since the loss in many different ways. From having open gyms to competing in summer leagues, they have stayed on the court. Damien Boyce, ’17, enjoyed playing with his team over the summer.

“This past summer was great for us,” Boyce said. “We played at Fresno City and had a tournament down at San Diego State. Throughout the course of the summer we found a good rotation that matched up the skills of our players nicely. Another awesome thing that happened over the summer was the team bonding. We are all a family and love each other. You’ll be able to see that when we take the court together.”

With most of the team being returning players, there is a sense of family. Matt Muniz, ’17, transferred to FC this year after attending Clovis North. Muniz previously attended FC in the 8th grade where he was a part of the junior high basketball team.

“I came back to FC because I wanted to play with my friends,” Muniz said. “I am excited to encourage them and become a better player at the same time. I hope to provide the team with consistent shooting and hard defense. Playing at FC is a lot different from other schools I’ve been to. The team is a lot smaller and personal. Everyone here is like a family.”

In his third season as head basketball coach Jonathan Penberthy is excited to prepare his team for the upcoming. He encourages his team to be ready for the upcoming season. This season the Eagles schedule is loaded with schools that are much larger than FC. Knowing this, Penberthy has changed a few things in his coaching philosophy.

“This season I want our team to compete,” Penberthy said. “Our schedule is full of division 1, 2, and 3 opponents. If we aren’t prepared, theres a high possibility that we will get blown out. I wanted our preseason schedule to challenge the players, getting them use to play at a high level. This season I am delegating a lot of the responsibilities between the coaches. I want all of our coaches to implement something into the team so their skills can benefit the team, rather than just coaching everything myself.”

The basketball team will host their first scrimmage, Nov. 19. The Eagles will be playing against Orange Cove High School and Sierra High School. The first scrimmage will start at 10 a.m.

To read another winter sports promo read, Boys soccer enters season with high hopes, expectations

This writer can be reached via twitter: @Phillip11499 and via email: Phillip Christopher