As the season of winter sports comes to an end, so does the boys’ basketball season. Selma High’s varsity team has shown great performance, as their current record stands at 10-15. With their most recent loss against Reedley’s Immanuel High, the score ending at 56-39 , the varsity team still manages to work hard to reach their goals.
Senior Benjamin Menchaca explained his mentality for working towards recovery after a tough game.
“Just play how you play,” Menchaca explained. “Don’t let one mistake haunt you. I know [players] hear it all the time, but it’s true. Keep going and fix it next time.”
Having played basketball for just about nine years, Ben shared that he doesn’t plan to continue sports on the collegiate level and would rather focus on an engineering pathway at a four-year university.
As for junior Abram Arcos, who’s been on varsity for only two years, disclosed his high ambitions for his senior season this upcoming year.
“[My plans for my senior season are] to be better and hopefully be a leading scorer,” Arcos explained.
Both players shared their insight on how the season has gone so far, coming to very similar conclusions.
Menchaca explained, “This season has gone pretty well, definitely a lot better than last year, but there’s still a lot to work on to put it all together come [future] game time.”
Following the same ideas, Arcos shared a bit more in-depth about the team’s bond rather than playing time.
“It’s already gone way better than last year , we already have more wins. The team bond is also way better. We all hang out outside of basketball, so I think we’re a closer team than last year, like a family,” Arcos described.
However, for Coach Vieira, he shared his own goals for his players, both near and away from the basket.
“As individuals on the court, play hard and execute [plays]. Off the court, be good, strong men. I want them to succeed in life, and I think basketball has a lot of those parallels to life. I really just want them to succeed in both.”
Coach Vieira also later explained that coaching this group of young men has become “bittersweet as I’ve seen them all grow up. And I’ve grown up with all of them, too.”
He lastly ended with a few words of encouragement towards his players, both new and old.
“I am proud of our team, very proud. I can’t speak more highly than this group of young men,” Vieira stated.
