PAL WINS CHAMPIONSHIP

‘We came into our own’ this year

According to the FCBL website, Torrington took the championship by 13 points, beating the Guilford travel team 47-34.

TORRINGTON >> The eighthgrade travel PAL boys’ basketball team recently won the championship in the Fairfield County Basketball League, according to their coach, taking the league title for the first time.

The team made significant improvements in skills and maturity this year, head coach Adriano Calabrese said this week, in his fourth year coaching the group and their fourth year competing in the league.

“It was a real successful year,” said Calabrese. “We came into our own.”

The team worked well as a unit this year, Calabrese said, and was particularly effective playing defense, rebounding and forcing turnovers, which sparked the offense.

In the playoffs, the team defeated Greenwich, Hamden and Guilford to win the title — the first time, Calabrese said, that a city PAL team won the Fairfield County Basketball League tournament.

According to the FCBL website, Torrington took the championship by 13 points, beating the Guilford travel team 47-34.

The players exceeded their goal for the year with the effort, according to Calabrese, which, after past losses, was to win a playoff game.

On the whole, according to the results listed on the website, the team stacked up 14 wins against three losses in total on the season and won every game they played in February and March.

Calabrese said that his players dedicated the season to Jeff White, the father of teammate Joey White, who died in November 2016.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The Torrington eighth-grade boys’ travel basketball team, back row, from left, are head coach Adriano Calabrese, Matthew Rylander, Ivan Aybar, Ryan Gaskins, Bryan Garre, Ben Smith, Micheline Caraballo and assistant coach Will Duman. Front row, from...