By Ed Muniz- Photos by Renee Kaspar
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p497449247 **
STREAMWOOD- Basketball-a game played between two teams of five players in which goals are scored by throwing a ball through a netted hoop fixed on a backboard 10 feet above each end of the court.
A simple description of the game… Today’s game is much more than that. But in its simplest form, it’s exactly that.
Back in 1891, when challenged to come up with an indoor activity to prevent boredom of students after the conclusion of the football season, James Naismith, a 31-year-old graduate student at Springfield College knew the need for a new indoor game, one “that would be interesting, easy to learn, and easy to play indoors during the winter and by artificial light.
Naismith went hard to work, charged with the task of coming up with a game easy enough to play yet still complicated enough to stay interesting. Using peach baskets and a volleyball, the birth of Basketball came into existence.
Fast forward to today’s game, much of the rules of that introductory season still remain with slight tweaking but for the most part it has remained much the same.
From the best of the NBA to youth sports, basketball continues to attract folks of all talents. The Simplicity of the game is the main attraction, put the ball in the elevated hole for points against an equal number of opponents.
The Canton Cougars of Streamwood would showcase their abilities on November 20. A pair of home games at 8th and 7th Grade levels were on tap with crosstown rivals’ Teft Trojans the opponents.
The Seventh grade Cougars came into this home game sporting a 4-3 record. Motivated by similarity of their opponents, the Cougars took advantage of scoring early and using a stifling defense that created 15 steals along with hitting the boards heavy with 15 rebounds in their 31-14 clawing of Teft.
“I love the effort today,” said Coach Kevin Alexander. “We’ve been working really hard on rebounding, trying to get more people involved, ball movement; I was really happy to see that everybody got involved with that tonight.”
“We are really coming together. Ever since coming back from tryouts, they have been working really hard and improving, I was really proud of their efforts tonight”
Basketball team play works best when you have a playmaker. An individual who can be the difference between winning and losing. One who can get you a bucket or create and dish off to the open man.
Fort the Cougars, that player is Lorik Ahmedi. All game, the ball seemed to be in his hands for that reason. His ability to get through the opposing defense and drive to the basket or pass off to the open teammate along with the ability to have good ball control was a factor in the Canton win.
He also led the team in scoring, providing 14-points in the win.
“I think I pass to my teammates when I’m driving to the basket and finishing when I’m on a fast break is things I do well,” said Ahmedi. “I need to improve my shooting and controlling my emotions. As a team we need to get better at defense, but we did a decent job in this game.”
Defensively the Cougars did out play the Trojans. Creating numerous turnovers. A game high 15 steals showed the Cougars were opportunistic in their defensive play while also being aggressive on the boards, limiting second shot opportunities for the visitors.
Albert Esteban collected five steals of his own. He is an active player when in the game and a quality, quick player who has a knack for timing a pass or taking advantage of his opponent’s mistakes.
Although not scoring a point, Esteban contributes a lot with his defensive prowess and ball handling skills. Esteban led the Cougars with five steals.
“Sometimes I have confidence with my shots and sometimes I don’t,” said Esteban. “I think I’m pretty good on defense but there’s always room for improvement. I think I need to get better at everything, defense, offense, I think I can get better at it all.”
The opening quarter saw the Cougars jump ahead and not trail the entire game. The 6-3 advantage after one quarter was the result of ball hawking and cleaning the boards.
A pair of buckets by Jameson Badie and one by Ahmedi produced the scoring while Esteban quickness produced Trojan turnovers and Kayden Saack’s rebounding limited Trojans second chances.
The Cougars upped their advantage in quarter two. Ahemdi added 6-points to his tally while also coming up with three steals. A bucket by Rafael Sierra and a free throw by Badie added to the 9-point scoring of the quarter.
Badie also hit he boards hard along with Saack and Hezekiah Banjo also grabbing a rebound. Esteban and Sierra also provided stellar defense with several turnovers.
The Cougars went to halftime with a 15-7 lead.
The Cougars had their best offense coming out from the break. Their third quarter play saw them add 10 more points to the lead while also playing solid defense doubling up the Trojans output for a 25 to 12 lead after three quarters.
Baskets by Ahmedi (two), Saack, Sierra and Banjo provided the scoring while defensively, Ahmedi, Esteban, Michael Scianna and Banjo made things difficult for the Trojan offense.
The final quarter saw the Cougars continue their dominance by once again out scoring Teft in every quarter. Ahmedi, Scianna and Alonso Godinez each provided two points to the lead, while Badie, Ahmedi, Adrian Gomez and Jacob Cihak provided the shutdown defense allowing just a solo bucket to the Trojans.
Successful teams all have players that find their knitch on the team commonly known as role players. They don’t show up much on the scoring tally sheet but do provide quality play and high effort which plays a vital factor in the outcome of games.
The Cougars have several that fit the mold on the team. Among those is Tommy Walzcak. In this game, Walzcak saw several minutes and gave his all on both ends of the court, scrapping for possession, looking to make a play driving to the basket, looking to cause a turnover or disrupt the visitors’ offensive efforts.
“Seemed like every time I try and drive, it would be an automatic turnover, I couldn’t get the foul called,” said a frustrated Walzcak. “I need to improve ball-handling, shooting, lay ups; everything I need to get better at so I can contribute more along with my defense. We played together well, which is what I like most about our team and this game. We have a lot of guys contributing.”
Coach Alexander does a great job of getting everyone playing time and that seems to be a winning strategy for his team.
Other players contributing to the win included Manny Cushenberry, Ishan Gandhi, Wayne Halloway and Jodi Perales,
Between the 7th and 8th grade games, the Cougar Cheerleaders performed for the crowd and showed their talents as well with a choreographed combination of cheers and tumbling.
Led by Coaches Randall and Lareau, the Cougars cheerleaders are Lola Alancastro, Leyla Allen, Monika Andrade, Janiyah Bryan, Fatima Campuzano, Bella Castiglione, Janelle Clemmons, Kylie Covarrubias, Montse Diaz Avila, Daryana Espino, Paitynn Gallagher, Laylah Hernandez, Sariyah Humphrey, Abby LaMorte, Saori Leon, Makiyah Morris, Kamila Melchor, Cherish Miller, Kyleigh Moss, Yuki Osaua, Melanie Palacios, Abby Paskeweic, Taraji Reed, Aris Reyna, Angie Torres, Janessa Vega, Aaliyah Walker, Alicja Wesolowski and Trinity Williams.
The 8th Grade Cougars defeated the Teft Trojans 41-31.
