The Los Banos Tigers hosted the Ceres Bulldogs on January 12 for the fifth league game of the 2023-2024 basketball season. The Tigers were coming in at a record of 1-3 while the Bulldogs were 4-0. The Tigers were desperately looking for a win after coming off two back to back 30 plus point losses.
The first quarter was a back and forth game between both teams. At the end of the quarter, the score was 12-10 Ceres. In the beginning of the second quarter, the Bulldogs came out very aggressive and extended their lead to 20-13. Once the Tigers started coming back, Ceres would not let up and went up again 25-19. The Tigers really needed momentum their way. After some key buckets from Caleb Robertson (12) and Yahir Zuniga (11), the Tigers ended the half with a 30-26 lead.
During halftime, captain Evan Rebosa (12) knew they had to execute the second half to win the game. When asked what the team needed to do to win, Rebosa said, “We need to come out with maximum effort and we need to keep extending this lead.” The Tigers came out of the locker room hyped up and ready to go.
In the third quarter, Ceres started to heat up with the three pointers, the Tigers were not letting up though. Although their three pointers were not falling, they were relying on their inside scoring from Robertson and Zuniga. At the end of the quarter it was a very close game with the score of 46-45 Tigers.
In the fourth quarter, it was a battle between both teams. The Bulldogs were in stake for losing their undefeated record. The Tigers desperately needed to win if they wanted a chance for playoffs. While the score was 57-55 Ceres, the Bulldogs locked up the Tigers offense and would go on to win the game with the final score of 68-58. The Tigers missed many opportunities to score but gave it their all. The top performers for the Tigers were Caleb Robertson with 21 points, 9 rebounds and Yahir Zuniga with 16 points, 16 rebounds.
The Tigers will visit the Lathrop Spartans next on January 19. Coming off an impressive victory against their cross-town rival Pacheco, they will need to win this game in order to still have a chance to make the playoffs. Only the top three teams in the league can make the playoffs. The Tigers still have a chance to contend.
