It was not a good night for our JCU Men’s 5on5 Soccer and Men’s Basketball teams, yesterday, who both fell to their respective opponents, Polo Didattico Bambin Gesù (PDG) and ASD Barracudas (ABB).

MEN’S 5on5 SOCCER
The last regular game of the Universities of Rome Championship did not end well for our Gladiators who lost against PDG, 1-5.

With this result, JCU will start with some handicaps in next-week game. Therefore, our Gladiators will have to double their effort in order to try to win the last crucial match, which might allow them to gain access to the play-off.

The first half immediately saw JCU taking the lead thanks to our defender Solano who scored an amazing and very difficult goal with an extremely technical air-kick. However, JCU advantage lasted shortly since PDG was able to score back twice, overturning the result. The two teams went halftime with a partial result of 1-2 for PDG.

The second half was a total chaos. JCU lost the every inch of focus and determination and let the opposing team running away with other 3 goals, closing the game 1-5 for PDG.

“I really don’t know what to say,” coach Franceschi commented. “There was so much confusion on the field, tonight. It’s true that in last two/three weeks, we didn’t have the chance to train properly due to exams and vacation, but I didn’t really see a team tonight. There was a general lack of focus and willingness to win – and to win together. I hope this game opened their eyes, and they start playing how they know how to play in the final phase.”

We hope that, too, Gladiators! Teamwork is really important, and you always have to support each other in every circumstance. This is the key to win! So work hard, and go get that victory next week!

MVP – Andrea Monzani

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Bad news also came from Virgilio court where our Men’s Basketball team lost 50-71 against ASD Barracudas Basket (ABB).

This game was part of the UISP Tournament, an external Roman tournament, which we play together with the Pamphili Ballers (PB) as one team. This was, indeed, one of the main reasons of our last-night defeat. JCU and Pamphili, unfortunately, did not find the perfect way to coordinate together in the field since the beginning of the game.

The first three quarters saw a clear dominance from ABB who immediately was able to exploit JCU/PB difficulty in organize its defence to score, closing each quarter with a solid advantage [14-19, 27-37; 35-59].

“We weren’t able to set up a good defence, especially in the third quarter,” JCU coach Serraino pointed out. “The offensive side, as well, was really off-focus, and we didn’t create a type of game that would have allowed us to throw and score.”

In the last quarter, instead, both JCU and the Pamphili were able to find a more cohesion and played a better game. JCU/PB won the last quarter with a partial result of 15-12, even though this was not enough to make up for the previous score-difference. The game, then, ended with ABB victory for 50-71.

“Unfortunately, we struggled a lot to coordinate with the Pamphili Ballers, and that definitely penalized us. This was the first time we actually played altogether, and the players didn’t know each other really well, so it wasn’t easy. I hope that next time our teams can match up better and win,” Serraino concluded.

MVP – Wilfred Audley because he played really well both on the offesive and defensive sides even though he was sick.

CHEERLEADING
Last but not least, we want to thank and congratulate with our Cheerleading team that, last night, made an incredible performance at Trastevere Stadium before the Men’s 5on5 Soccer game.

“We were really excited to support our Gladiators before the game. We believe we did a great performance, and we can’t wait to perform again at the other JCU upcoming events,” our cheerleader Caroline Liquit commented.

It is a pleasure for us to see how much this team is growing and improving day by day. Congratulations, ladies!

Don’t miss next cheerleading performance on Tuesday, March 26th at the Basketball game at Virgilio @9:30pm and on Saturday, April 13th at our JCU Open Day @3:30pm.

Below, you can watch the full performance from last night: