The HS Girls Basketball Team was upset 42-34 by Colegio Granadino in the finals of the High School Binationals in Cartagena from March 27-April 1.

It was the third meeting between the rivals that week with TCS losing the first game 25-24 and winning the second in overtime 35-29. While TCS was favored in the finals the team struggled to catch Granadino in final quarter due to some key fouls and disputed calls made by the referees including the expulsion of power forward Valentina Betancur  with almost 9 minutes on the clock.

“The arbitration was one of the main factors that cost us the finals. They lacked communication with the table officials when calling out fouls and possessions, favoring Granadino, which at the end of the day helped them expand the gap in points and prevail,” point guard Sara Galeano said.

Throughout the week, multiple teams expressed concern about the consistency of the refereeing. The apparent lack of communication between the referees and table officials affected the players and possibly the results of the games.

“It felt like we were also playing against the referees. The second game against Granadino was the most stressful one, we had to play overtime with three of our starter players fouled out, yet the other team kept fouling us and none of their players were expelled, we didn’t even receive a bonus,” TCS shooting guard Maria del Mar Aaron said.

Regardless of how the players and coaches felt about the arbitration of the games, they ultimately lost the finals because their emotions got the best of them.

“The players were under so much pressure and stress, you could see the fear in their faces, even their attitude was totally different from the other games. You could see we weren’t organized on the court, we lacked efficiency strategically and tactically, that was our mistake,” TCS small forward Isabella Lopez said.

After losing the game, the players were wrecked by different emotions, however, not all of them were disappointed. 

“In spite of the results, I’m glad Sara received such a special recognition. I think she was the best player of the tournament, and watching her hard work payoff made everyone in the team feel extremely proud,” TCS point guard Daniela Zapata said.

Sara Galeano, Grade 8, was named Tournament MVP winning three out of the four awards in the closing ceremony and a spot on the dream team.

“Losing the final was upsetting, that was our main goal as a team and we all worked so hard for it, so watching it slip away was disappointing. I did not expect to receive so many trophies, I train really hard and give every game my everything, so receiving that recognition was incredible,” Galeano said.

 While some players cried after the game, others celebrated while the coaches were both disconcerted and proud.  

“It was not the final I expected, but we proved we are a great team collectively and individually. Unfortunately, the lack of experience and the pressure beat us. Yet, from that loss we will work on the better management of emotions for the upcoming years,” David Lopez, Girl’s Basketball Coach, said.