CHS Girls Hoop To Play at Medford Jan. 2
The Chelsea High girls basketball team will swing back into action this coming Tuesday, January 2, when coach Ben Jette and his crew trek to Medford. The Lady Red Devils then will travel to Lynn English next Thursday.
Although the Chelsea girls came up short in their most-recent contest with Revere last Thursday, Jette lauded the play of senior Alessandra Campos. “Alessandra kept us fighting with many rebounds and defensive stops,” said Jette.
CHS Boys Edge Revere, 52–51, in Final Seconds
The home-and-home contests between the Chelsea and Revere High boys basketball teams have seen many epic battles since the schools renewed their long rivalry about a dozen years ago, and last Thursday’s nail-biting finish proved worthy of that legacy.
This time, it was the Red Devils’ — and their fans’ — turn to bask in the glow of victory after a clutch three-pointer by Brauli Quezada Tineo in the waning seconds gave Chelsea a 52-51 triumph at the Merullo Fieldhouse at Revere High before a large crowd of fans from both sides.
“We like to call it the Battle of Broadway,” said second-year CHS head coach Cesar Castro, who himself partook of the fierce rivalry when he was a star performer on the hardcourt for Chelsea. “We already know what is expected with that type of game. It’s a rivalry in which both teams always play tough against each other. The game was back-and-forth the whole way — we would make a run, and then Revere would make a run.”
The final minute proved to be decisive with both teams turning in clutch plays. Chelsea held a three-point lead with 1:08 to go when Revere missed a shot and the rebound became a loose ball with players on both sides diving for the ball. A Patriot managed to tip the ball to a teammate up top from where he sank a trey to tie the score with 1:08 to go.
Chelsea turned the ball over on its next possession and Revere took full advantage, hitting the go-ahead bucket with 33 seconds remaining. The Red Devils pushed the ball up and a Revere player blocked a shot out of bounds under the Red Devils’ hoop with 16 seconds to go. Revere called its last timeout to set up their defense. However, that also gave Castro an opportunity to draw up a play — and in a contest in which the last true possession would prove decisive, it was the Red Devils who made the most of that final opportunity.
“I told our boys that we were going for the win,” said Castro. “I drew up a play that we never had run or practiced before. They executed it and Brauli sank the game-winning three.”
Chelsea passed the ball inbounds, swung it up to Quezada-Tineo, and Brauli swished a deep three-pointer for the game-winning shot. Revere pushed the ball up, but a desperation shot at the buzzer came up short.
“Brauli made the clutch shot, but our player of the game was Edwin De Jesus,” said Castro of the junior guard who got hot down the stretch, making a nice layup and two three-pointers to put the Red Devils ahead by three with 1:48 remaining in the game.
“Edwin gave us a huge spark off the bench with 15 points. Without him we wouldn’t have been in the position to help us win the game. He’s a player who is getting better everyday and who works extremely hard. He plays hard, flies around, and finishes at the rim. Edwin also can also knock down the three. I’m very proud of him.
“We were a very-inexperienced team last year, but the guys this year know what is expected and they have a great feel for the game,” Castro continued. “We have a group of guys who can be anyone’s night. That’s what I love about this group. No one complains. We just get better as a team. As we say, we are going to continue to stack days and keep building our foundation, brick-by-brick.
Castro mentioned some of the Red Devils who have been playing key roles thus far this season.
“A player to watch out for is sophomore guard Moe Osman, who can guard opposing teams’ 1-5 and average about 20 points per game right now,” said Castro. “Abdi Mohamed is a senior guard who controls the offense and is a menace on defense. Justin Toro is another senior guard who is our knock-down shooter and heart of the team. David Wright, also a senior guard, has the mid-range game and gets into the passing lanes and finishes at the rim. JD Arias is a senior guard who is real scrappy and who plays with so much heart. Brauli Quezada Tineo is a senior guard who is a knock-down shooter and who can create for others.
“Key guys who do all the little things on the team include Christian Colon, and Felipe Franco Garcia. And, when their time comes, junior forward Michael Fortune and sophomores Moses Kerenzo and Noordin Abdi are going to be huge assets to the team.”
The win over Revere boosted the Red Devils to the .500 mark with a 2-2 record. Chelsea has topped Somerville, 52-46, and dropped a pair of tough ones to Everett, 51-61, and Malden 57-51.
“We missed a lot of easy bunnies in that Malden game and also missed 11 free throws,” noted Castro. “But last year against those two opponents, we probably lost by a combined 35-plus points to them.”
Chelsea will be competing in the Cambridge Legends Classic today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) at Cambridge Rindge and Latin. The Red Devils are scheduled to meet Woburn today at 2:00 pm and will face either Georgetown or Cambridge tomorrow in either the consolation (12 noon) or championship game (4:00).
Tickets on Sale for CHS Boys’ Game in TD Garden Jan. 14
The Chelsea High boys basketball team will be competing in the annual Andrew James Lawson Invitational tournament on Sunday, January 14, in the TD Boston Garden. The Red Devils will be meeting Cambridge Rindge and Latin for a 4:00 tip-off. The annual event features boys and girls high school teams starting in the morning and continuing through the evening.
The Red Devils need to sell 400 tickets which are available at $25.00 each. Tickets may be purchased with the promotional code CHELSEAB on the tournament website.
The tournament is a fundraiser for the Andrew James Lawson not-for-profit organization established in Andrew’s memory by his family to advance and improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by funding, developing, and promoting programs, projects, or individual scholarships that encourage and support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and help foster inclusion in their community.