Varsity Boys Basketball defeated Santa Clara High School 88-51 on Friday, Jan. 31. The Matadors started out strong, ending the first quarter with a substantial point difference, leaving SCHS to close the gap. However, MVHS maintained the steady rhythm of strong offense and morale, driving the point gap even further, finishing every quarter stronger than the last. By the fourth quarter, MVHS held an insurmountable lead, which the team attributes to the synergy displayed by each member.

Senior and point guard Vibhav Pata says that the team chalked up this unusually strong momentum due to the countless hours of training. He adds that the team works hard to maintain this level of consistency, which requires a large amount of dedication and passion.

“We don’t normally come out strong, but our improvement over the entire year has led us to coming out on this game really strongly,” Pata said. “Our team performance was just absolutely amazing.”

Junior, shooting guard and small forward Kendrick Wong agrees with Pata and notes that his 3-pointer during the game was a personal highlight for him. Wong believes that the core reason for such a strong beginning and finish is due to teamwork, which is something the team strives to improve after every game.

“The teamwork was immaculate, and it couldn’t have been better,” Wong said. “Team spirit was at an all-time high, morale as well, and it allowed us to get going.”

Wong adds that the crowd cheering gave them extra confidence to push forward as a team, leaving them with high energy when they’d usually be already exhausted.

“It gives [the team] more confidence if they know that the ball is going in the basket,” Wong said. “Everyone just begins to start getting excited, which leads to more steals, and the defence becomes great.”

Overall, Pata and Wong both agree that these wins drive them to train and push harder, which fans the flames of motivation for them. Pata says that in these moments, the love and passion for the game is strong and noticeable by the team.

“Catching the ball and then scoring felt really refreshing, and made me more confident in myself,” Pata said. “We all played to our full potential today, and this is what we train for.”