The boys' varsity basketball team overcame the odds last season and were crowned AAA champions. With an arsenal of talented retrning plaers, the team hopes to win the championship back-to-back seasons. Though the Cardinals are the favorite to win the title, their journey to the top will be far from easy. (Ben Udelson)

The Cardinals will deal with the loss of three senior starters who were crucial to last year’s Cinderella story, including star guard Mikey Yonemoto and forward Yuhki Sakai. “We don’t have one superstar like we had in Yuhki or Mikey this year,” head coach Robert Ray said. “Instead we will need a more collective team effort, and for returning players to step up their game.”

The Cardinals started last season with a rocky beginning, losing six preseason games. However, they managed to overcome an exhausting season with a consistent strategy that emphasized strong defense and speed to score more baskets, which led the team to upset the Lincoln Mustangs in the championship game last March. “Without a strong defense, everything else is useless,” senior guard Kevin Kung said. “Our primary focus will be to prevent shots in the paint and to force turnovers. If we can do that our shots will come easily.”

Returning veteran players include experienced and talented seniors such as Kung, point guard Anthony Clay and All-City center Robbie Pollard. Senior forward Faheem Carter will return and serve as an asset to the team by continuing his efficient offense, blocking shots and getting rebounds that he was known for last year.

The Cardinals are also incorporating junior members, such as forward Ricco Price and point-guard Casey Chow, which will allow the team to rotate players in and out and keep players’ legs fresh. Chow served as JV team captain and led in assists while Price was the leading scorer. “The juniors will be a welcome addition to the team,” Ray said. “They realize that they are not on JV anymore and we need them to hone their skills to take their place alongside seniors.”

The Cardinals are not the only city team grappling with the loss of key senior starters. The former city-champions, the Mission Bears, lost four starters, including their superstar point-guard Demaree Hampton. Lincoln is also losing reigning MVP DeEnd Parker and All-city star Devin Koch. “There are no single monster teams that we expect to dominate this year,” Ray said. “A lot of them have to deal with the loss of seniors and we can use that to our advantage as we can rebuild and develop our team.”

While they are no longer the underdogs, the Cardinals are facing the pressure to live up to their new standing as city-champions. “It will be way harder to repeat another championship,” Kung said. “There is added pressure to live up to last season but all we need to do is stick to our goal and remember how good it was to win — that is our inspiration.”

In addition to reclaiming the title, many seniors playing in their last year have another priority in mind. “Our first priority is to have fun and play our hardest,” Kung said. “For many seniors on the team, winning the championship would be great, but if we don’t have fun in the process victory will not be as sweet.”

The first scrimmage game starts at 12:00 p.m. tomorrow at Lowell against Lick Wilmerding and the first preseason game is at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 at home against Drew.

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