ALC revives March Madness after 6 year hiatus
16 Teams played half-court basketball to earn themselves a place in the championship bracket or consolation bracket on March 13.
March 20, 2023
West Covina High School´s Athletic Leadership Council (ALC), an all junior sports council that supports student athletes, hosted March Madness, a basketball tournament last week. This tournament returned to West Covina High School after a six year hiatus, ALC revived this tradition for WCHS students to enjoy according to Juelz Taylor, ALC President. Hosting their first school-wide event.
President Juelz Taylor stated that ALC wanted to bring this event back because this was ALC’s first opportunity to do something memorable. According to Taylor ALC worked hard for this event and it was made possible because of their great connection
March Madness originated as a 16 team bracket with teams of three playing half-court basketball games and playing as multiple games take place at once. Each team had 20 minutes to score as many points as they could. Games took place on March 13 and concluded on the 17th.
Participating teams included Mandos, Squigly Dinks, Black & Brown, MRJ Hoop, Dawgs, Barber Shop Bois, Quitters, Yung Money Clan, Doink Heads, Devious Folk, West Co Wizards, Huskies, Fazbears, Apes, Goose Eggs, and B.O.B.
After the first day, teams were split into two different brackets, championship and consolation. Championship brackets consisted of winners from the first day, while consolation brackets were those that lost on the first day and placed into a different division.
On day three, the semi-final competitors for the champion bracket, Barbershop Bois and MRJ Hoops, went back-to-back ending 16-5. B.O.B. destroyed the West Co Wizards 11-1.
In the consolation bracket, fighting for third place were Dawgs, Squigly Dinks, Black & Brown, and Young Money Clain. Dawgs guaranteed their win against Squigly Dinks 11-1. Black & Brown defeated Young Money Clain with 17-6.
In the end on March 17, Barbershop Bois defeated B.O.B and won first place in ALC March Madness event. The winning team consisted of sophomore Malachi Potts Moreno, junior Chris Martinez, and junior Isaiah Montes. They shared what it took to win March Madness and the training aspect of it all.
“We played extremely well and never gave up. We always kept shooting even if we missed,” said Martinez.
Teams need practice in order to be successful, the members of Barbershop Bois took advantage of signing up early so they could start practicing in addition to focusing on winning.
“We went to Cameron Park´s rec center and practiced in order to prepare for the games,” said Montes.
On March 17, the final day of March Madness, Barbershop Bois had good offense with Montes scoring early giving them a lead. Starting off strong, Moreno went to the basket making layups. In the final minutes of the game Martinez got blocks and kept the ball in play, not allowing B.O.B to have a chance in scoring.
Barbershop Bois worked great together with good passes and always communicating on the court.
“I trusted my teammates, we were in this together,” said Moreno.
The final score was 13-11, B.O.B tried their best and played good defense but it was not enough to beat the Barbershop Bois.
ALC athletes plan to host events for underclassmen athletes. One upcoming event coming up soon is the spring banquet. Their spring banquet will award athletes for best teammates and will recognize, most dedicated and most enthusiastic athletes.
