Tuesday, December 4 was the last game of the semester, and JCU basketball team had to face a very tough opponent, Honey Sports City (HSC), one of the best and strongest teams of the UISP tournament.

Unfortunately, JCU came up short at HSC, 82-94, but our Gladiators fought hard and were able to shorten the score difference quarter by quarter.

A few errors in defence in the first quarter allowed the opponents to take a clear advantage over JCU, letting HSC to pass ball around with more continuity. Plus, the rush of our Gladiators in trying to tie the result did not give JCU the chance to precisely shoot the ball and score.

Overall, our Gladiators knew how to fight well on the field and reacted. In particular, in the third quarter, JCU was able to retrieve the efficiency in defence. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to win the game this time, but we saw that our Gladiators gave their best on the field and never gave up until the end.

Last-night game was very exciting and intense, and we all saw a very good basketball level. So congratulations, Gladiators!

A special thanks goes to Michela Ciulli who, last night, was very helpful to the game as she helped UISP staff and referees to mark the scores and report the different fouls.

Last night was also the last game with JCU jersey for most of our basketball players who will soon head back to the United States to continue their studies. We cannot thank you enough for all your passion, hard work, and enthusiasm both on and off the field.

Coach Francesco Serraino also congratulated and thanked the entire team, “This team was composed by many talented people with a great passion for the sport. They all proved to be a very cohesive team with a huge ability to adapt in many different situations. They are very creative, smart, and determined people, and they all played a very qualitative basketball, standing out in more than one occasion.”

Thank you, Patrick, Elliot, Gabriele, Michela, Armand, Matthew, Andre, Luke, Victor, Ben, Justin Sobelman, and Justin Wong.

We could never be more proud of each one of you, and we hope that this experience and friends you made will stay with you for the rest of your life. We enjoyed seeing you playing in every single match whether you won or lost, and we will definitely miss you next semester.

Gabriele, Luke, Andre, and Michela will stay with us for Spring 2019, too, and we are extremely happy about it.

“The goal now is that of using the students who will play again with us next semester in order to create a new competitive team like the one we had this Fall, even though we are all going to miss those who leave both on and off the field,” Francesco pointed out.

#GoGladiators