Basketball Season Continues
January 21, 2016
Playing against Cal High, on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m., Downey’s boys varsity basketball team add another win to their 13-2 streak making them 14-2.
Cal High made the first points of the night causing the crowd to cheer with supportive words for the DHS players on the court; the boys began to hustle down the court and come out on top with a 60-45 victory over Cal High.
With much motivation to make this a successful season, number 4, junior, Justin Tejeda, believes this team has the support to make it far into the season.
“I feel like we can go very far we are very good team this year,” Tejeda said. “We have a supportive base that makes our players strive for the better of the team.”
Number 23, Charles Smith, senior explains how he feels about his performance and how the crowd’s cheers give him momentum to play a better game.
“My performance wasn’t what I wanted to be, but as soon as the crowd starts cheering I became pumped up and I started to focus on the win,” Smith said. “This team can make it far this season; we are all united.”
Junior, Brian Chavez, puts trust on his teammates once it is game time.
“The nervous feeling is always there once you step on the court before the tip off. Once the game starts, the trust in your teammates settles in,” Chaves said. “it’s all down to business.”
Boys varsity basketball continues to make this the best season as possible to maintain a league title and have a possible chance at winning CIF.
“I had gone to the U.S. Open with my best friend Leslie, but this was a different experience,” Davila said. “I’m not one to create a scene.”
Davila talked about sighting what she thought were two sharks while being inside the ocean. She had seen two fins in the ocean; her first instinct was to start yelling about the so-called sharks. She immediately went to let the lifeguard to let them know what she had seen, but the lifeguards couldn’t make out what Davila was telling them because of how bad she was crying.
“It was a mistake; I swear I would have never done that,” Davila says. “Anyone would have freaked out if they saw sharks in the water, even if they weren’t exactly sharks.”
Throughout the chaos she created, she found out those two sharks in the water were actually two dolphins. She received some unfriendly stares and created enemies because of how she disturbed the beach, especially from a mother with three small crying children.
“This mom probably hated me for making her three small children cry,” Davila said. “I felt terrible.”
Leslie Murillo, who had gone with Davila, also provided more details about what had happened that day. Murillo being terrified of ocean water was more than happy to not have been involved with Davila’s chaos.
“I’m terrified of the ocean because you have no idea what is around you” Murillo said, “so I wasn’t in the water with Amanda when she yelled and I am so happy I wasn’t.”
Davila could have had a nice normal day at the beach. Instead she created a mess believing she had seen two sharks while swimming in the ocean. Lifeguards quickly began to evacuate people from the water; in the end to find out those two sharks were instead two dolphins.
A day at school for junior, Bruno Braka, is not like every other student’s day, as he is involved in both Yearbook and Newspaper that fill three periods within his schedule. Not only is he involved with journalism, he also finds time to play lacrosse and help out at his parents’ restaurant.
“I never pictured myself being this involved all I was into was lacrosse,” Braka said. “But it all changed junior year when I decided to get involved with yearbook and newspaper, and although the year is just starting out I can already see myself being a lot more busy. The great thing about it is that I’m learning to manage my time wisely.”
Aside from his wide involvement with extra-curricular activities, Braka takes his school work very seriously. Throughout his high school career, he has managed to keep his GPA above a 4.0, taking not only regular college prep classes, but challenging himself with rigorous AP and honors courses.
Leonard Braka, Bruno’s father and owner of Ricci’s Italian Restaurant, has supported him through his busy schedule.
“It’s like I see Bruno grow more and more each day,” Braka said. “He manages to help me and his mother around the restaurant and still keeps his grades up. I’m surprised he finds the time to do all that he does.”
Braka has established many connections with a variety of people throughout his three years in high school. Dale Schlegel, one of the lacrosse coaches at Downey High School, had coached Braka throughout his freshman and sophomore years at Downey.
“Bruno was a great kid to have on the team,” Schlegel said,” the team rallied around him. He’s a real team player.”
Braka wants to make a difference within his school through his participation in school. He has immersed himself within journalism because he wants to capture moments that make others proud of their school. He also wants to serve as an example to others, by getting involved within his parent’s business, sports, and journalism. He hopes other will find, that truly, anything is possible.
![The Commissioner of the CIF Southern Section, Rob Wigod, came to Downey High School to talk to the 1,300+ student-athletes about “Pursuing Victory with Honor” on February 13. “I came to talk to all student-athletes to make them aware of the strong impact you [they] have on any younger/upcoming student-athletes,” Wigod said. “If a child comes to your game and sees the determination and persistence in your performance, what do you think that child will do? They would want to be like you one day.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/sports.assembly-316x475.jpg)
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