Teamwork.

Support.

Success.

Unified Basketball team took back-to-back State champions after their win Saturday, March 1 at Eastmont Junior High.

Unified basketball coach, Manny Briones, says the team’s hard work and excitement towards going to the State championship was awesome.

“The kids went to State last year and they were blown away when they won regionals and found out they were going to State,” Briones said. “They came back again this year and did it again. They were just excited even to know they’re going back-to-back, so that’s a big thing for them. The kids, man, they worked really hard for it, so they definitely got what they deserved.”

Briones says having players that were on the player developmental team, coming up and working their way through last year was a big accomplishment.

“They proved that the whole way through the league,” Briones said. “To see that growth and to see them just better their abilities, it was awesome as a coach to see, I’d rather take a player that has more heart than they do talent, and they definitely have that 100 percent.”

Briones says that encouragement and positive reinforcements are the key to keeping the team motivated and focused.

“Keeping [the athletes] motivated is just encouraging how awesome they are and how good that they do out in practices. I tell them, when you guys play, is how you practice, so if they come to practice and they’re just goofing off, it’s going to show in the game,” Briones said.

Briones emphasizes that keeping a positive environment for the players is an important way to keep them motivated.

“I continue to show them that practice is really important and when they’re out practicing, they just work hard and continue to be great, you know, dribbling, passing, shooting, when they do something wrong, say, hey its okay, lets keep on going, we’re going to get it next time, and don’t try to be so down on yourself, just keep that positive vibe,” Briones said.

Briones says that the team’s support for each other makes it a proud moment for him.

“They have each other’s back; when one kids either not feeling it, or they’re having a bad game, the other one steps up,” Briones said.

Briones highlights one of his players and how his positive mindset allowed him to not give up.

“We had one of the players from last year’s team player development come up, and one of our top shooters at regionals, wasn’t shooting right, he was off that day, and that kid, Xander, he came up, and one game he scored 12 points, it was just repetitive and he’s still talking about it to this day,” Briones said. “Xander is just one of those kids that is an example where you don’t give up, and he didn’t give up, and now he is one of our top shooters for the district.”

Briones advises his players, emphasizing having a fun time and enjoying it.

“To go and play, play unified basketball, have fun and go on and enjoy the experience,” Briones said.

Senior Cameron Edgbert says there were obstacles the team faced but overcame along the way.

“I think one obstacle that we had, for the peers in particular, was that we have a lot of new peers this year,” Edgbert said. “So just getting better, working together, making connections with the rest of the team, just improving across how we started to where we are now. It’s really great to see how we’ve come together as a team and improved.”

Edgbert says being a part of Unified Basketball has helped him grow not only as an athlete, but also as a person.

“They really motivate me; the athletes [motivate me] to just try my very best out there, because they want to win so bad. They’ve all worked really hard, so, it inspires me to work just as hard as them to get the win and succeed as a team,” Edgbert said.

Edgbert says the team has support strategies throughout tough moments.

“I think the main thing that we do to support the rest of our team is just encouragement, high fives are a big deal with teams, it’s very common just to  remind them that even if you make a mistake, it’s okay, and  you learn from your mistakes,” Edgbert said.

Edgbert emphasizes his favorite memory from the season that he will carry with him.

“From this season, my favorite memory so far is just winning districts for sure, like I had never personally done that before with the team, so just getting to that point, and getting the win, and making it to state that was just a really good feeling,” Edgbert said.

Senior Brodie Callanan says his favorite memory this season involved winning districts.

“We got to play with my friend Christian Thomas,” Callahan said. “He was a good teammate to all of us, and he kept passing the ball, and I loved it; got a lot of points for that.”

Callanan says the team supported each other along the way.

“We kept saying, good job, and we can do better next time and fix it,” Callanan said.