On Saturday at the Marty Pino Community Center the Magic defeated the Spartans 19 to 17 in overtime to win the 2018 East Boston Youth Basketball League (EBYBL) Championship.
This was a very entertaining game featuring multiple lead changes as both teams played tenacious defense right from the opening tip off until the last buzzer.
Jaden Marshall and Juan Montalvo Jr. provided the offensive spark for the Magic. Combined they scored all but two of the team’s points. The Magic’s Brooklyn Cartegena was the leading rebounder and Evalia Diaz and Tanasia Chisolm hustled all over the court. Yassine Amghar also provided energy coming off the bench for the Magic.
The Spartans high-scorers were Robin Cartegena and Alejandro Hincapie. On defense the Spartan’s Angie Catino played her heart out while Sohib Charakaoui fought Cartegena all day on the boards. The Spartan’s Christian Baslie was all over the court, making steals and dishing out assists in order to keep the game close. Anthony Santiago and Anthony Milisi both did a great job coming off the bench for the Spartans.
“The coaches, Mario Santos for the Magic and Vinnie Guarino of the Spartans did a great job on Saturday,” said EBYBL’s John Forbes. “Both are outstanding coaches they are excellent teachers. EBYBL and the kids of East Boston are lucky to have them.”
After the game Coach Billy Gore was named Coach of the Year for his work throughout the season. He has volunteered for many years refereeing and coaching and Forbes said he is invaluable to EBYBL.
In conclusion the 2018 season was very successful and many volunteers made the season possible.
“We would like to thank the staff at the Marty Pino Community Center, Our coaching staffs, the referees, and scorekeepers for their dedication and hard work,” EBYBL’s John Forbes. “We would also like to acknowledge the following sponsors for their continued support and generosity, Mario Century 21 Real Estate, Rugierrio Memorial Funeral Home, Todisco Towing, Cora Operations and Electrical, The East Boston Athletic Board, The Paris Street Community Center, and Salvatore LaMattina.”