Both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams made the drive to the Phoenix, Arizona, to play in the 23rd annual Cactus Jam taking place between Dec. 26 and 31.
“Just a wonderful experience,” San Marino boys’ basketball coach Mihail Papadopulos said. “It’s nice to travel and go as a family. We had a lot of parents that came out. So, it was just a wonderful experience for us to go play out in Arizona.”
Both squads played three games against teams from across the country, and both came away with third-place finishes. Each squad came home with a customized basketball with the tournament logo for their efforts.
The trip was especially sweet because circumstances had not allowed the teams to travel the last couple years.
“Because of COVID we weren’t able to go on our trips the past two years, so this is my first trip as a junior,” Titans junior Kailey Woo said. “It really allowed us to bond with each other and get to know each other better, which, of course, translates onto the court.”
The boys and the girls traveled and stayed separately. The boys stayed in a hotel and the girls all stayed in a Airbnb, which received glowing reviews.
“Our Airbnb was really nice,” Titans senior Sophia Papadopulos said.
The time playing on the court was the point of the trip, but possibly equally important was the chance to bond off the court.
“It was a really good experience to get to bond and form more team chemistry,” Titans senior Malia Yu said. “We hadn’t had much non-basketball bonding [previously]. We stayed in this big house. We all stayed together. I think it was a good experience for us to just get closer.”
The two squads were able to support one another along the way.
“We invited the boys over and our parents one day for lunch and games, so it was cool,” Titan girls’ basketball coach Elizabeth Reuter said. “[Also,] we were able to go to two of their games and they were able to go to one of ours.”
The boys finished with a 2-1 record in Cactus Jam play. The Titan boys opened with a 64-52 win over Bainbridge High from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Their second game was against Sumner, a 3,700-student school also in Washington. The Titans fell 62-53 in that contest.
The third game was a 72-55 triumph over University Laboratory School from Honolulu, Hawaii, which the Titans were told was the “fourth-ranked team in Hawaii.” In the that final game, Bobby Reyes led the way with 21 points.
“It was just a good team bonding experience,” Titans senior Jack Fuerst said. “It was fun to see how other states play basketball.”
The girls finished with a 1-2 record in the Cactus Jam. The Titan girls kicked things off with a 45-23 victory over Scottsdale Christian of Scottsdale, Arizona. Chloe Lin led the way with 15 points and five rebounds. Yu had 10 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and five assists.
“I thought in the first game, we came out as the tougher team,” Reuter said “We were the team, if you look at it on paper, we should have won and we did that.”
They then ran into a buzzsaw against Lutheran South of St. Louis, Missouri, and were felled 76-26. Woo had eight points, while Lin and Lily Mata each had six.
“[Lutheran South] was a really, really good team,” Reuter said. “I thought that we were undersized. They were a little bit faster than us and we could have rolled over, and I thought we did a pretty good job of trying to stand our ground. We were down 12 at half and then they just went on a crazy run in the third quarter.”
The Titan girls finished play at the Cactus Jam succumbing to Kelso of Kelso, Washington, 44-33. Woo had 15 points and six steals in the finale. Lin had eight points, three steals and three assists. Mata had seven points and six rebounds.
“We did a really good job overall, even in our last game, fighting through being tired and just pushing through no matter what,” Reuter said. “So, I was really proud of the girls’ efforts.”
Each team had a player named to the all-tournament team. For the boys, it was senior Jayden Tse.
“For me getting all-tournament was a good achievement,” Tse said. “But [it happened because] my teammates really believed in me wanting to pass first game, second game and third game. The other teams didn’t know who I was, so I had to make my presence [known].”
Tse was hot from beyond the arc throughout.
“He was awesome,” Papadopulos said. “Jayden went, I think, 3 for 5 [from three] in the first game. In the second game against Sumner, he hit four threes in the first quarter and ended up with seven threes in that game, and he hit three in the last game. He just had a wonderful tournament.”
For the girls, it was senior Chloe Lin.
“She just had a phenomenal three-game stretch where she was just the player we know she can be,” Reuter said.
A highlight of the trip for both teams was a chance to see an NBA game. They watched the Phoenix Suns beat the Charlotte Hornets 133-119 on Dec. 29.
“We got to see the pros,” Reyes said.
The trip will not soon be forgotten.
“I think for the girls, it was just a great trip that they are going to have a lot of memories from, and that is what travel is really about,” Reuter said. “The games are great and super important to compete, but it is about the experience and I think they had a great experience.”
First published in the Jan. 11 issue of the San Marino Tribune
