The Bears played in the district tournament; although losing the semi-finals in Auburn, WA, they clinched a spot in the WIAA 4A State Tournament.
The Bears started their district tournament with a game vs. the Stadium Tigers in Creighton Court. The first quarter sat at a stalemate as both teams scored only 4 points each. After a bleak 1st quarter, the crowd became electrified as the Bears went into the 2nd half with a 19-15 lead with senior Julian Zapata paving the way with an amazing game.
The second half would be a whole different game as the Bears started the 3rd quarter outsourcing Stadium 25-7 as the crowd started sounding like an powerful thunder, by the end of the game the Bears won against the Stadium Tigers with a considerable margin of 57-41. The Bears advanced to the quarter-finals of the district tournament and were one step closer to securing a spot in the state tournament.
As the Bears moved on to the quarter-finals, their spot in the state tournament was on the line as they took on the Kentwood Conquerors. Creighton Court was filled to the brim as the Olympia Trench made so much noise it was deafening. The Bears dominated once again after the first half it was already 40-21. Junior Brody Cronk and Zapata led the way once again.
As the clock ticked down, Coach John Kiley rotated players in and sophomore Elijah Buol hit a three-pointer, the Trench went wild like a supersonic jet went off in Creighton Court. The clock hit zero and the final score of 76-50 as the Bears punched their ticket into the WIAA 4A State Tournament. Cronk explained that “to make it to the state tournament, you need to make it to the 3rd round of districts.” It marks another year of Olympia basketball greatness.
The Bears advanced to the district tournament semifinals and traveled 40 minutes north to Auburn, WA. They took on the #3 RPI-ranked team and #1 ranked team in the district, the Camas Papermakers. At half-time, the Bears were down 31-22 and not much would change in the second half as the Papermakers pulled away with a 63-46 win; junior Kingston Stanciu scored 16 points in a valiant effort to close the gap.
The team has begun working on game strategy, fine-tuning to ensure success on March 1. “Some adjustments we’ve made in preparation for State is having more flow in our half-court offense and running in transition better,” Zapata said. Cronk plays guard and is improving his flow on the court. “We want to get more movement offensively, a lot of ball movement,” said Cronk.
Although the district tournament wasn’t a total success for the Bears as they fell short of finals in the semifinal match, they still made it a positive as they clinched State again. The success the Bears have experienced is attributed to trust and unity because “knowing the person next to you is willing to sacrifice anything to achieve our dreams,” Zapata said.
The Bears remain locked in as they count down the days until their first State game against North Creek at the University of Puget Sound in the North End of Tacoma. Everything is a consideration for the athletes, especially one week out. “I try to watch what I put into my body before a week of games. I make sure to stay hydrated throughout the day and take ice baths after practice. I also watch film to make sure I’m mentally prepared,” Zapata commented.
