Boys’ basketball coach Dave Galley laid out the Gondoliers’ goal very clearly this season: “We want to win the city title, and we want to go to state. That’s the goal every year.” Tonight, the team, 2-5 overall, are going against the San Pedro Pirates, 4-4 overall, in a rare matchup tonight at home at 6 p.m. The matchup with the
Pirates is considered unusual since they’re out of the Gondos’ conference.

Senior Rodrigo Trujillo, a captain alongside senior Lucca Trujillo, believes that the Pirates are a strong team, having seen them on film and the fact that they’ve gone to the Division One City Championship. “I definitely think we’re a better team—I’m expecting us to win that game by 20,” he said confidently. “The gym is going
to be packed for sure.”

The Gondoliers will accomplish this goal by primarily going against stronger teams like Crossroads and Notre Dame in order to prepare the team for league and playoffs.

“So as opposed to playing teams that are not as good as us, where everything looks great, I want to see what we’re not good at. But really good teams expose
us so we can see what those weaknesses are and fix them” Galley said. “So that when we do play teams that are at our level, we’re firing on all cylinders.” Galley adds that the Gondos are aware of how good their opponents are. “We like the challenge,” he said. “We don’t expect to lose, but we also know that we’re going into these games as the underdogs, and it’s going to take an Herculean effort for us to overcome those odds,” he said.

The Gondoliers’ strength is their shooting ability; they’re got a strong offense. “That’s what Venice is known for,” Trujillo said. Alongside their shooting capabilities, the Gondoliers have “a lot of depth” thanks to a strong amount of returning players.

This ranges from the Trujillo brothers, seniors Micah Jahn, Kavi Seidman, Jacob Meadows and Marjion Boyles. “Also our bigs, seniors Richie Durant and Dameion Jackson, have been getting in there fighting with the big boys against Notre Dame and Crossroads, getting their rebounds. I’m really proud of them,” said Trujillo. Galley is hopeful for the season. “This team is very talented and has a lot of potential, and we’ll definitely do what we’re set out to do.”