Last night saw three of our JCU varsity teams playing against though rivals in their respective Universities of Rome Championship games.
While the regular season games for our soccer teams is paving the way to the play-offs, the Basketball 3 vs 3 Championship kicked off with the first tournament of the Spring 2018 semester.
BASKETBALL 3 VS 3:
The three teams in action in the first round of the BK3 tournament were John Cabot University, The American University of Rome, and the University of Foro Italico.
Unfortunately, this semester, our basketball team is constantly facing a heavy problem in regards to the shortage in the numbers of players. The team was, indeed, left with only three players who had to battle alone against two well-prepared teams with more team components on their sides and more chances to combine them to find the best tactical solution on the field.
Francesco Serraino, JCU basketball team coach, said at the end of the game, “Despite we only had three players for the game and no chances at substitution at all, they all fought as hard as they could and made some notable defensive plays in each of the four games they played in. Scoring was a bit harder, in part because the opponents were taller on average, but also because our players made some rush plays, especially in the first three games.”
We definitely cannot reprimand anything to our Gladiators who left their heart out on the field and, “played with fun, a good dose of competitiveness, and they also got a good score in the last game,” Francesco added.
The Most Valuable Players recognition goes to Corey Reilly who ran some good plays and found some good solutions in the paint, as well. Congratulations, Corey!
A special mention also goes to the other two players, Giggs Kgole and Constantine Mannov. Corey played with great energy and effort until the very last minute. So good job, Giggs!
Constantine proved to have great teamwork spirit and to be a real Gladiator by helping the team in an emergency situation when he was asked some hours before the game to take part in the tournament and play with the team despite it was its first time ever playing with JCU basketball team. Thank you, Constantine! We were thankful for your help and availability!
Thanks to each one of you, and we hope to seeing you to practice more often and to have more players joining the tournament in the second round.
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SOCCER:
A very similar fate awaited, instead, our Soccer teams who both played the last games of the regular season before the play-offs against the University of Foro Italico. Both Men’s 11vs11 and Women’s 5vs5 Soccer teams ended up in a tie, respectively 1-1 and 3-3. However, both our Gladiators and Lady Gladiators were winning until the very last minutes of the game where their tension slowdown represented the perfect opportunity for the opposing teams to score and tie.
The Most Valuable Player recognition for his performance in the Men’s Soccer game goes to Arthur Mallmann. Arthur knows how to play, and he rarely makes mistakes during the game. He perfectly carries out all that he is told during the game as well as during trainings. Congratulations, Arthur! Keep it up!
Maria Martynovych was, instead, elected the Most Valuable Player in the Women’s Soccer game. Besides scoring two goals, Maria did an excellent job on the field both on a tactical and technical level. Congrats, Maria!
Overall, our JCU teams displayed very good performances, but they still lack some resistance towards the end of the match, which can become fatal in cases like these. If they only learn how to hold and control more their pressure until the end, we are sure they will become unstoppable.
Now, we seriously need to start thinking about the play-offs because it is right now that our Gladiators will need to prove their best athletics skills, determination, but most of all, their passion if they want to end the championship as winners. Keep working hard!
