Last Saturday, the varsity boys basketball team beat the Miami Beach Hi-Tides in their senior day game.
Team Captain, Jackson Mansfield-Jimenez, Co-Captain Julian Cardoza, and Amare Sanders were honored by Gulliver in a ceremony that took place before the tip-off. They came out and were took care of business with a big 58-45 win against a 12-7 Miami Beach team.
“It was good just knowing that everybody showed up and was able to come out and support us on our day. It felt even better knowing that we were able to get a win and come out and do what we were supposed to, so that was good,” Senior Julian Cardoza said.
Some coaches have been lucky enough to build relationships with the players well before they were in high school. Assistant coach, Hossam Marquez expressed his love for the seniors, who he’s known since they were young.
“I have known Amare [Sanders] and Jackson [Mansfield] since they were about 7 years old. Met them through my cousin. Few years later, I met Julian [Cardoza] when he was about 8-9 years old since I was working with his dad here at Gulliver, so seeing these guys from literally such a young age, and now young men is amazing, and I’m truly grateful I was able to be apart of it for over a decade,” assistant coach Hossam Marquez said.
Despite the emotions on senior day, the Raiders look toward bigger goals as the regular season ends. The team knows the value of each game from here on out.
“I think it’s just important for all of us that we know that at this point in the season, every win is important. And after this week, it’s win or go home. So there’s no other option. And I think we all know that and, and just keeping that in mind is important to keep going forward in our season,” Cardoza said.
The Raiders finished the regular season with a record of 15-8 and have placed #1 in District 16 in the 4A Class. The team looks to have more intense practices on the quest to win Districts.
“We all have one goal in mind and that’s to win a district championship. So practices are much more intense. We’re all heavily focused and locked in on what we need to do individually to help our team come out and get a district win and hopefully make a run for states,” senior captain Jackson Mansfield said.
During the celebration, seniors Jackson Mansfield, Amare Sanders, and Julian Cardoza all gathered for photos with their families, and received plaques commemorating their time on the team.
