WSR clinches back-to-back crowns

Williams S. Reyes Elementary School bagged its second straight championship in the Public School System Girls Basketball Tournament following a 10-6 victory against Oleai Elementary School last Saturday at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

Members of the William S. Reyes Elementary school girls basketball team and coaches Jerry Diaz, left, and Melissa Dickinson, back row, pose for a group photo yesterday at WSR grounds. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Kingfishers successful defended the girls title they won against Koblerville last year despite playing with a depleted lineup in the weekend tournament. Only Sharmine and Shakira Francisco, Angel Salazar, Kristine Itaas, and Paulynn Grace Joyce suited up in WSR’s first two games before Jayce Gilles joined the team in the title match against Oleai. Other team members, Karina Costales, Tricia Salcedo, and Reanna Ramarui, had to skip the tournament to attend the National Junior Honor Society induction.

“We played without subs in the first two games and won over Koblerville and Oleai. We tried our best to let everybody play, but there was a conflict in the schedule, so what I did was tell the players to pace themselves well so they will still have the energy in case we make it to the finals,” said Melissa Dickinson, who called the shots for WSR as her fellow coach, Jerry Diaz, had to attend a seminar on the same day of the tournament.

Each game in the weekend competition was played in two seven-minute halves.

“She texted me right away after the girls won. They really played hard and stayed together. Coach Melissa told me they showed great communication and teamwork. They put into play what we did in practice,” Diaz said.

The back-to-back champions practiced for six weeks, three times a week, to prepare for the short tournament.

“We usually had one to one and a half hours of practice and sometimes the girls wanted more. We taught them the basic fundamentals, like dribbling, passing, and making a layup. We let them practice with our boys team and I think that helped them because they picked up some skills from our boys,” Diaz added.

Majority of WSR’s female players are new to basketball so teaching them the fundamentals was a challenge to both Dickinson and Diaz. However, both coaches commended the players’ willingness to learn and work as a team, while Diaz made special mention of Joyce, who showed some skills during practices.

Joyce scored the bulk of WSR’s points in the three games, but said the victories were products of team effort.

“We worked and communicate together on the court. We focus and did not blame someone if a mistake is made. We helped each other out,” Joyce said.

Diaz and Dickinson also pointed out that before the tournament started they emphasized to the players the importance of communication and confidence.

“We want them to be confident in taking those shots and dribbling and passing the ball. They were also reminded to keep talking to each other on the court,” Diaz said.

Asked if they expected to win last weekend’s tournament, Dickinson said all they wanted was to give their best shot since they knew they lacked manpower.

“But they pulled it off and we won. Next year, we will be ready to defend the championship,” she ended.