AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The Holy Cross Mustangs boys basketball team made school history last week, winning their first basketball state championship in the TAPPS 2A division.
It was a strong season from start to finish, but the brotherhood on this team is what made them successful.
Historic run
The Mustangs faced a tough pre-district schedule but never wavered, finishing district play as outright undefeated champions. They carried that momentum through the playoffs, taking down the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 ranked teams to claim the state title.
Senior leadership
This is a team full of seniors who knew this was their moment. They said their wins this season were always a team effort, brought on by strong determination and faith in themselves and each other.
“We’ve been thinking about it a lot since freshman year,” said senior Mou Tong. “Freshman year, we didn’t win that many games. Sophomore year, we finally made it to the playoffs and we lost first round. Then in junior year, we made it to regionals. We had to come out, like, actually play hard for real.”
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Tong’s teammate, senior Willy Atak, said as the team kept winning, their chemistry continue to improve.
“Knocking off the top five teams let us have a better team chemistry as a team to go forward going into playoffs,” Atak said.
Senior Akoon Atak knows the work his teammate and coaches put in this season was another large reason for the success.
“I feel that all the preparation we’ve been doing all season, all the practices, early mornings, and just getting ready all the time and getting ready for the season...it’s meant so much,” he said.
Senior Kon Deng scored 22 points in the state championship win in Waco.
I’m just blessed to be in this position. But I knew, I knew my teammates need me what I needed to do,” the player said.
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