With only one practice before the game, the Varsity Basketball team had their first game of 2015 on January 15th against Kanto League Champions and Far East finalists, the American School in Japan (ASIJ) Mustangs.

ASIJ had strong players with great skills for offense and defense, posing a challenge for the Symbas. The Symbas started off with a man-to-man defense trying to stop tall Mustangs from scoring an easy shot off the backboard. Signe (10) blocked many of them from scoring; however, soon the Mustangs had players aiming shots out of the free-throw line giving them a 6-point lead. Coach Cervantes changed the defense to a zone defense, trying to prevent players shooting from the low post and the high post. With the defense improved, the Symbas levelled the scores.

The Symbas started off with a basket from Joyce (10), stealing the ball and easily scoring a lay-up for the team. This improved morale and shortly afterwards the Symbas were only 4 points behind the Mustangs at  13-9. However, the Mustangs soon put a stop to the Symbas’ comeback by adding the starters back into the game and extending their lead to 39-11 by the half time.

During the halftime, Coach Cervantes told the team, “Ease up a little. Think of the game as if it’s a practice.” This eased some of the players’ pressure and calmed them down.

The Symbas had a great start in the third quarter with shots from each of the players on the team, bringing the score to 39-25. However, with constant pressure from the Mustangs and their easy-lay ups, the Symbas were soon down by 45-25.

By the fourth quarter, the powerful ASIJ team were far into the lead, dominating the court. In the end, the ASIJ Mustangs trampled the Symbas with a score of 55-29. Signe (10), one of the power forwards of the team, scored the most with 8 points.

Anna (11) recalled the game saying, “ASIJ has always been a tough school to beat. They really tested our teamwork and skills. They were a great team to play with. I hope we’ll be able to win against them next time.”

The next home game for the Symbas basketball will be on Tuesday, January 27 against Seisen International School Phoenix.