Mater Carmeli School bags the Elementary Basketball Championship!

2007 AAPS Dist II Basketball Elementary Level Champions

Their road to success was difficult.


The Mater Carmeli School Basketball Team for the elementary level may have a winning history on their side but this bunch of rowdy and yet talented young boys lacked chemistry and experience.

During the opening ceremonies

When my second son told us a year ago that he wanted to join the school’s varsity team for basketball, I was naturally excited. I played basketball too during my elementary years, a center player because of my height for my section’s team but never for the school itself.


I accompanied Sonny Boy during their weekend practices. When the inter-school competitions started, I was always there to support my son and his team except for a game against St. Patrick that was done on a weekday.

Practice shooting before the first game

MCS' first game tip off

Their first game against Holy Child Academy (HCA) was a massacre. It wasn’t so much their skills that gave them their first win but rather their opponents’ lack of it. This became evident with their only season loss to a much more competitive School of Saint Anthony (SSA).

MCS' second game against SSA was the team's only loss this season




The game against Divine Grace School was a hard fought win

The third game against Divine Grace School (DGS) was a hard fought game. MCS had to fight tooth and nail in order to win over those resilient elementary players.

MCS meets 'twice to beat' SSA at the finals

In the end, MCS had to face SSA in the finals. Because of their ranking, MCS had to beat them twice to win the championship.


Sonny Boy often played off the bench, his minutes not as much as the others. I suppose their coach then opted to use the more aggressive, offensive minded players compared to my son’s laid-back deliberative style of play. The problem was the aggressive players weren’t really any better. They had more points because they simply let off way, way more shots than my son. Many of his teammates would have the propensity to hog the ball much to the detriment of the team.


In the finals though against SSA, Sonny would shine and his team find glory and strength of character in the face of pressure and an atmosphere filled with intense emotions!


As expected, SSA had their guns a blazing during the first and second games of the finals. For example, the Carmelians were down by as much as 14 points by the end of the first half of the second game. However, they couldn’t sustain their onslaught and succumbed to the offense and effective trapping defense of the MCS group.


The opposition even resorted to hard fouls. During the first game, Sonny Boy received a hard foul that sent him crashing to the concrete floor. The sound of his impact to the hard floor was heard all over the whole gym followed by an unsettling silence. His injury while painful, thank God wasn’t debilitating. I believe it became a rallying point for the whole team to do its best. And it did.

MCS wins again over SSA in the finals!

The second win was a classic down the wire, come from behind victory. They clawed their way from a 14 point deficit at the start of the second half and even took the lead 50-49 at the last two minute mark. SSA was able to tie it at 51 all and then regain the lead with a free throw shot over a foul by MCS. With a few seconds left, both teams had one player being fouled and failing to connect their respective free throws. With 5 seconds left, a MCS player attempted a three point shot that did not go in. Another MCS player was able to rebound the ball and made a quick two point shot beside the basket before the final buzzer to lift the MCS team to its 7th consecutive championship title!

Sonny Boy receives his medal

The MCS Elementary Basketball Team celebrate their hard-earned victory

We are the champions!

Seven titles in seven years – not since the Boston Celtics of the 1960’s have I heard of such a winning tradition!


Some would say that this is the stuff that makes legends.


I thank God for giving Sonny the opportunity to be a part of this special achievement.

Congratulations to the team and to God be all the glory!