JSAG Women's Team: Pretty and Good but Overall, Pretty Good!

Coached by veteran players Aurora Po and Gayle Mantes, our line-up was bolstered this year by the addition of returnee Rochelle Retirado and newcomers Alyssa Sagolili, Abbey Cruz and Darrian Reyes.  The Sobredilla sisters, Katrina and Ann Marie, Nicole Pineda, Cassie Angeles and Jourdan Reyes rounds up our cast for this year’s tandem line-up.

Our first game on Saturday against powerhouse SIPAG ( New York ) was close all the way leading to an overtime extension.  Playing their hearts out with solid teamwork and uncanny speed, the girls seemed poised for an upset against our cross town rivals.  However, we fell short by one point on a missed foul shot attempt during the closing seconds of the game.  To our dismay, SIPAG got away with this one.

The next game was played on Sunday.  Determined to make up for their upsetting first game loss, they dominated for most of the second game against North York , leading by as many as 13 points during the second half.  The opposition managed to stage a rally that brought the lead down to one point.  However, our girls responded to the challenge and hung on to win this game.

The third game was played only one hour later that same day, this time against powerhouse Brampton .  Being a bigger and more experienced team, the Brampton girls dominated the boards and displayed more precision on their half-court offense.  Our weapon has always been our speed and hustle, but it was obvious from the beginning that the fatigue factor had caught up with the Jersey Shore girls and we could not execute effectively.  Katrina was seen limping for most of the game, Nicole was nursing an injured ankle and Aurora was feeling quite “wiped-out”.  Brampton dominated this game to move on as eventual champions of the Womens division.

Overall, our girls have a lot to be proud of regarding their accomplishments.  They are indeed a fighting unit worthy of respect.  As a personal comment, in my eyes, they also happen to be the cutest and prettiest ones on court!

Kudos to Coach Au and Asst. Coach Gayle for a job well done and more power to the rest of the team! See you next year in Toronto !

                Team Picture after the game against SIPAG

                          Jumpball with Jourdan at Center

                         Tough “D” by Gayle and Rochelle

                 Ann Marie hustles to retrieve a loose ball situation