A Night to Remember!

Probably very few people know that the title of this post is also the title of a very famous black and white movie from the 1940s. That story was about something going slowly down - the Titanic to be exact. My story, however, is about how something that is slowly coming up, and how on one special night this winter the movement became apparent to everyone.

Eleven long days and nights had passed since the IPPSAL Varsity Girls and Boys Basketball Championship games had been postponed because of snow. The excruciatingly long delay in playing the games occurred because some of the schools involved had mid winter holiday and were not able to get all their players together during the break. Both the Portledge Varsity Girls and Boys teams had qualified for these ultimate contests, and in some ways the time off had benefited the Lady Panther and Panther sides. Lots of bumps and bruises had a chance to heel, and a few extra practices enabled the coaches to implement some special game strategies they had tucked away for just such a special occaission. Still, now the time had come - it was 4:00pm on Tuesday, February 23rd and the Girls Championship game was to begin in an hour. The Lady Panthers were dressed and ready and were recieving good luck wishes from the Varsity Boys players, as well as from all the JV players and other people milling around the gym. As they boarded the bus for the short trip to Solomon Schechter, site of the 09-10 Championship Double-header, I remember thinking to myself this has the makings of something really special. I knew the Boys team was planning on going over early to support the girls and that some other Upper Schoolers had spoken about being there, so I was confident that our teams would get at least some support at this venue so close to home. When I arrived at the SSDS Gymnasium, more commonly called the Lion's Den, I could see that my earlier thoughts were not only correct, but had actually been surpassed. An incredible collection of the Portledge community had come together to root our teams on to victory. There were all sorts of classmates, brothers and sisters, and parents of the players. Then their were many of the coaches in the Athletic Dep't, a slew of other teachers, parents of students not participating this night, alumni, and even some alumni parents. All come together to see if these Lady Panther and Panther squads could pull something off that had not been done since 1992 - a Varsity Girls and Boys Sweep of the IPPSAL Basketball Championships.

The Varsity Girls team seemed in control of the first Championship game from the start. Senior Akanksha Trivedi dominated inside as she made one "cash money" turn around jumper after another. The Lady Panther defense was suffocating and it seemed that every Claudia Rogers steal turned into a Mo Kelly made basket for Portledge at the other end. Twice the lead reached 12 points as the Lady Panthers flirted with a first half blow out. Somehow though, The Lady Tigers of Lawrence Woodmere hung tough. Spurred on by the fine play of their excellent point guard, and the very athletic endeavors of their #12, the LWA girls reeled the Portledge side back in. At the half it was only a six point Portledge lead, and sitting in the stands I knew the girls from Woodmere had at least one more good run in them.

Throughout the season the Portledge girls had struggled at times in the 2nd half finding the offensive flow that was their trademark. This night turned out to be another one of those occaissions. It seemed like the Lady Panthers were stuck on 36 points forever, until late in the third quarter when senior Monique Kelly appeared to settle down and realize what was at stake. Kelly drove for one basket, then was fouled and sank two from the line, before finishing the quarter with a deep three pointer just before the buzzer. Some sense of calm had been restored, but we now had a dead even game just sitting there for the taking. The Lawrence Woodmere Lady Tigers made the first run of the quarter and actually took the lead by two at one point, but then the Portledge defense stiffened. As the Lady Panthers started to grab rebound after rebound and make steal after steal, the aforementioned tightness came off their offense as they whipped the ball up the court leading to some impressive fast break baskets. As time wound down Coach Amadio made sure Kelly had the ball in her hands and she calmy sank several free throws after being intentionally fouled by the opponents. The final horn set off a wild celebration and all I could think of was, "now we have one"!

Little did I know what I was in for with the 2nd game of the evening. The churning storm outside was only precursor to what you felt when you entered the SSDS Gym for the Portledge v. Waldorf Varsity Boys Basketball IPPSAL Championship game. Both sides were very well supported with fans as the Lion's Den was packed. OK....maybe you could have squeezed a few more people in here and there, but really, it was already standing room only. This game was a seesaw affair swinging back and forth time and again. Each time a team threatened to run away by more than four the oposing coach would calla timeout and the balance would seemingly immediately turn back his way. The incredible junior standout and probable IPPSAL Player of the Year Landon Twine dropped three ball after three ball on the Panthers, but he was always answered by someone on the Panthers. Sometimes it was Christian Sbarro nailing down his own three pointers, or senior Mark Dourmashkin driving again and again to the basket while being hacked at all the time. Lastly, there was the inside presence of Big Ben Shapiro. His put bascks and interior baskets were really the difference between these teams. Waldorf started to foul with Portledge up about six in the final minutes. The Panthers made some of their free throws, but not all of them - and the boys from Garden City came roaring back. In the end Waldorf trailed by only two as Twine lauched a lst second three pointer for the victory - only to have it glance off of the front ofthe rim and fall helplessly to the floor. Jubilation over took the Portledge faithful as they ran onto the floor to congratulate the players. Once order was restored and the trophy was handed out the seniors from both the Varsity Girls and Boys team posed for one final picture - togehter as simultaneous IPPSAL Champions.

This certainly was a Night to Remember. What had risen was the Portledge spirit, as this was the best night of community support for the Portledge Athletic program in the last twenty years. All of these athletes learned valuable lessons about team work, belief in a goal, playing a specific role for the good of the whole and, lastly, that you can play the game with excellent sportsmanship and still wind up on top!! Congratulations to all the Varsity Girls and Boys Basketball players and coaches - this was some season on the hardwood for Ol' Portledge!