But the La Salle/Temple City Holiday Classic was for practice anyway—when the season began with their game against Hoover, the Apaches won 68-67 and set a precedent for the rest of the year. "The game against Hoover was one that tested us on our execution of plays down the stretch," said senior Ashiq Syed. "Being down 64-68 with 30 seconds left in the game is not exactly a position we wanted to be in, but we came out of a timeout determined to finish off the game. And Kiran [Koneru] carried us to the win with a quick two and then followed up a defensive stop with a three-point play to seal the game."

The team, however, will not always be able to count on a last minute miracle play from junior Kiran Koneru. Coach Ryan expressed his concern over the events of the Hoover game when he said, "Our lack of focus was evident in the Hoover game. We drifted and we didn’t defend well or share the basketball well and struggled the rest of the game."

On Jan. 8, the Apaches squared off against Pasadena. We tried and came up short 33-70. According to Coach Ryan, "They dictated the game offensively and dictated the game defensively. They spanked us, up and down the court."

The majority of the team struggled as no single person scored more than five points each, the lone exception being sophomore Taylor Lagace, who scored 12 points.

And so armed with the lessons they learned from the Pasadena game, the Apaches stomped Burbank 78-62 on Jan. 11. Looking back on the game, senior Captain Franky Yan reflected, "Burbank is known for being a physical, talented team that brings nothing but competitiveness on the court, so it was a big win for us to show them that we’re just as talented, if not more."

On Jan. 13, the Apache Boys Basketball journeyed to Burbank and played John Burroughs on its own turf. We fought and played hard, but in the end Burroughs scored a couple where we did not, and the game ended in an excruciatingly narrow 66-65. As Coach Ryan said, "Our lack of consistency has really hurt us the last couple of weeks. We have come out and played some really good games and then have outings where we have lost focus. If we can remedy that and play together as a team, we have a chance to compete for a playoff spot this year."

But time with the team isn’t all reviewing game plays and training in the weight room. Franky Yan then went on to describe a particularly fond memory, "We went to UCSB to attend a basketball camp, and there were teams from all across the United States, as well as Europe. Being in Santa Barbara not only put us in a beachy, relaxed surrounding, but also allowed us to bond off court. At night we would go out and have team dinners at local restaurants, and afterwards some of us would go shopping at State Street or just enjoy meeting ‘fee-fee’s,’ which is the team’s term for attractive females. One of the funniest moments was when one of our coaches met a fine lady who was about to give him her number, but our team swarmed her and so prevented her from giving him her number."

From the very beginning, Manny’s experiences with soccer were filled with success. His first year playing soccer, he made the sectional team for AYSO, the highest level. That same year, the all-star team won league and nearly made it to state. Manny accredits his drive to continue playing soccer to his first experience with competitive soccer.

Manny’s success in soccer as a child was enough to encourage him to pursue the sport, but it’s likely that his obvious love for the sport plays a part in his continued successes nowadays. Attracted to its unpredictability, Manny loves soccer because "you have no idea what to expect from every game." He also added, "Even the underdogs have been known to come out on top so it makes the thrill and importance of playing your best every game even higher and it makes everyone work harder. Plus it is also my get-away from everything around me and it allows my alter ego to come out that most people are not able to see."

Currently in his sixth year of playing soccer, Manny has been appointed the position of captain of the Varsity Soccer team, a position that he takes very seriously. "Being the senior captain," he said, "I have to always perform my best so my fellow teammates can pick up on my work ethic and … work harder too." Manny describes the realization that all his teammates are working hard as "the best feeling in the world." The team demonstrated this early December when they went to Camp Goalz in San Diego and also during the game following their training at camp, a moment Manny describes as one of his proudest.

Furthermore, seeing as "[soccer] has become such a routine" for Manny, there’s no doubt it will serve as a prominent part of his life in his future, just as it has in the past and still does in the present. In fact, Manny’s plans for college include playing soccer for Pasadena City College, which he plans to attend for a year, and USC, where he hopes to transfer to in hopes of majoring in sports medicine.

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