RHS Boys Basketball Tops Medford, 53-50
The Revere High boys basketball team earned an early Christmas present when coach David Leary’s Patriots broke into the win column with a 53-50 victory over Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Medford on the Monday before Christmas last week.
The Patriots were hoping to bounce back after a tough first two weeks (in which they went 0-3 to start the season) and they did so with a strong, two-way effort.
Junior forward Nico Cespedes (four points, five rebounds) got the offense going in the opening minutes with two tough baskets in the paint. Senior center Zaney Kayembe (six points, seven rebounds) had a nice offensive rebound and put-back and junior guard Wesley Nunez drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to give Revere a 9-8 lead before the Mustangs hit a buzzer-beater to take the first quarter, 10-9.
The second quarter was all about the Revere defensive pressure and the major contributions from the Patriot bench. Sophomore guard Charles Dobre (nine points, six rebounds) made two free throws and swooped in for a nice layup on the fast break.
Junior guard Lucca Albano had a strong take to the basket and junior forward Bryan David (12 points, five rebounds) sank a three-pointer, a tough layup in the lane, and two free throws as the Patriots took a 26-17 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Mustangs came out flying after the intermission, scorting the first eight points of the third period to draw within a point, 26-25. “Their defensive pressure picked up, making it tough for us to get anything going offensively,” said Leary, who called a timeout to regroup his young Patriots.
Revere responded on a bucket from Kayembe, a three-pointer by Albano, and two baskets plus the foul from Bryan David and Wesley Nunez, giving the Patriots a slight edge, 37- 34, heading into the final quarter.
With the Mustangs’ momentum in check, the Patriots seemed to find their groove to start the fourth quarter. Albano (eight points) sank another trey; Dobre made two baskets in the lane and a pair of free throws; and Bryan David had another nice put-back to give Revere a nine-point cushion with just three minutes remaining.
Medford refused to fold however, and after a timeout, made a late run that made things close, slicing the Revere advantage to a point with under a minute to play and in possession of the ball with a chance to take the lead.
However, the Patriots then made their two biggest plays of the game. The first occurred when senior center Zaney Kayembe stepped in to take an offensive charge to get the ball back for the Patriots.
Junior guard Wesley Nunez. (12 points, four rebounds, three assists) then made a strong move to the basket and finished, giving the Patriots a 53-50 lead with just a few seconds remaining.
Following a Medford miss and a Revere time-out, the Patriots were able to execute an inbound play to run out the clock and secure the victory.
“We got great contributions tonight from up and down the roster,” said Leary after the victory. “Basketball is the ultimate team sport. Our bench gave us 41 of our 53 points. We are definitely learning from each other and improving. We probably played well enough to win another game or two in our first few, but tonight we made the plays and played a full 32 minutes. It’s going to take that every night if we are going to be successful.”
The Patriots, who were scheduled to host their Holiday Tournament this past Monday and Tuesday, then will entertain GBL rival Chelsea next Tuesday (January 6) for a 7:00 tip-off.
RHS Girls Track Stands at 4-0
The Revere High girls indoor track and field team stands at 4-0 in the Greater Boston League (GBL) as coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli and her squad prepare to embark on the second half of their dual-meet season.
The Lady Patriots easily handled GBL foes Chelsea (52-36) and Lynn English (61-28) in a tri-meet that was held on Friday, December 19, at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.
Senior captain Gemma Stamatopoulos took first in all three of her events vs. both Chelsea and English to score a team-high 30 points (15 vs. both opponents) on the night.
Gemma jumped 4’-8” in the high jump, ran a 1:51.54 in the 600m, and also ran a 6:35 in the mile.
“I put Gemma in the mile to help us secure some extra points, knowing that Chelsea would give us a challenge in the sprints and jumps,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli. “She put forth an easy 6:30 in the mile and then managed to come right back in less than 20 minutes to win the 600.”
Senior captain Olivia Rupp took first in both of her events, the two-mile and the 1000, versus both Lynn English and Chelsea, putting up 20 points in total.
“Olivia started the meet with a 3:45.94 in the 1000m and then came back to run a 13:07 in the two-mile, another extremely hard double for Olivia that helped secure the tough wins,” MacDonald-Ciambelli said.
Another senior captain, Dayana Ortega, took first in the 55m hurdles vs. both opponents with a time of 10.61. “Dayana has been consistently top two in the league in the hurdles and keeps improving each week,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli. Dayana also came back to take first vs LE and second vs Chelsea in the long jump.
Senior captain Rania Hamdani took first in the 300m vs Lynn English with a time of 46.42. Rania took second vs Chelsea in that event and second vs both LE and Chelsea in the 55m dash. “The 55 dash is a brand new event for Rania that she shows great promise in,” noted MacDonald-Ciambelli.
“Overall, it was great to see how the girls responded to the competition against Chelsea,” MacDonald-Ciambelli said. “They are building up strength to be able to compete in three events each meet and deliver strong performances in each event. We will have a break in GBL competition until mid-January, but we will continue to work on improving at invitationals.”
MacDonald-Ciambelli and her crew will take on Somerville, which also is undefeated, in a battle that likely will determine the 2026 GBL champion on January 23.
Revere Girls Do Well at Speed Classic
A contingent of Lady Patriots from the Revere High girls indoor track team competed in the recent MSTCA Speed Classic that was held on Sunday, December 21.
All four of the Lady Patriots who competed in the 300m dash came away with a season-best time: Rania Hamdani (46.14), Zizi Kalliavas (48.19), Jaliyah Manigo (48.21), and Danni Hope Randall (49:57).
Hamdani also competed in the 55m dash and sprinted to a personal record (PR) of 8.19. Gemma Stamatopoulos took 13th overall in the 600m with a clocking of 1:49.06 and Dayana Ortega ran a personal record (PR) in the 55m hurdles in 10:46.
RHS Boys Track Races to 4-0 Start
The Revere High boys indoor track and field team once again has established itself as a contender for a Greater Boston League (GBL) title, sprinting to a 4-0 start in its dual meets.
The Patriots’ most recent conquests came vs. GBL rivals Chelsea and Lynn English in a tri-meet on the Friday evening before the vacation break at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury.
Among the Patriots who shone for coach David Fleming’s squad in the runaway wins over Chelsea (71-20) and English (69-20) was senior Oliver Escobar, who won the high jump with the top leap (5’-10”) of the night among all GBL contestants (every GBL school competes on Friday nights at the Reggie in either dual or tri-meets against their GBL foes).
Oliver also recorded the third-fastest 55 meter dash of the evening with a sprint of 6.85. Altogether, Escobar accounted for 20 points (10 vs. Chelsea and 10 vs. English) with his two first-place finishes vs. both foes.
Senior Edwin Alarcon was the king of the 1000 with the fastest-time-of-all on the night of 3:04.10 to take first vs. both Chelsea and English. .
Junior teammate Joey Angiulo recorded the GBL’s second-best long jump of the evening with a flight of 19’-0.50” and in the 300 dash, Joey sped to the fourth-fastest time with a clocking of 39.36, defeating all opponents from Chelsea and English in both events to contribute 20 total points to the RHS cause.
In the 600, Sean Colleton was first vs. English and second vs. Chelsea with a time of 1:45.98. Freshman Jacob Cantarero took third vs. Chelsea and second vs. English and Harly Dijon grabbed third vs. English.
In the mile, freshman Kosta Stamatopoulos finished second vs. both opponents and Cristian Requeno took third vs. Chelsea and English.
Sophomore Thomas Waldron defeated both opponents with the third fastest in the GBL in the two-mile that night with a time of 11:56.02;
Nathan Krokos finished first vs. both Chelsea and English with the second fastest time of the night in the 55 hurdles with a clocking of 9.74. Teammate Audii Kuy also turned in an impressive effort in the hurdles with the fourth-fastest time of the night in 10.20, which was good for second place vs. both Chelsea and English.
Silvio Neto was the #3 shot-putter at the Reggie with a toss of 40’-0.50” to defeat his Chelsea and English opponents. Fajr Riazi took second vs. English and third vs. Chelsea and Amir Mustaedanagic grabbed third vs. English.
Anthony Zagarella scored second-place points vs. both Chelsea and English in the high jump.
Jeremy X turned in a superb performance, taking second place vs. both Chelsea and Englishin both the 55 dash and the long jump.
Harly Dijon scored a point in the LJ with a third vs. English and Sergio Peguero scored a point vs. Chelsea in the 55 dash.
RHS Girls Hoop To Play at Chelsea
The Revere High girls basketball team will seek to get back on the winning track when coach Ariana Rivera and her crew make the short trip down Broadway to take on Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Chelsea next Tuesday (January 6).
The Lady Patriots stand at 2-2 after opening their season with wins over GBL foes Lynn Classical and Lynn English, but then dropping contests to non-league opponent Marblehead and GBL rival Medford.
They will entertain GBL foe Malden next Thursday (January 8) for a 6:00 opening tip at Merullo Fieldhouse.
