The Skyline men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted their annual Coaches vs. Cancer double header on Feb. 11 versus Chabot College. It was special day for Trojans’ basketball, who hosted the game for a great cause. All proceeds went to a non-profit, Ava’s Angels, which is dedicated to families with ill or disabled children.

The first game featured the Skyline men’s team, who are coming off a huge overtime victory against Ohlone College on Feb 6. The Trojans found themselves in a another hard-fought contest compacted with highs and lows, but resulted in a tough 80-68 loss to Chabot College.

“We didn’t play well,” Skyline men’s coach Justin Piergrossi said. “Our energy was not high enough. During this time of the year, we’ve got to play like the season is on the line.”

The game started out intensely, with both teams battling neck and neck. But it seemed Chabot had answer for every run the Trojans tried to make, resulting in Skyline being down 40-30 early at halftime.

It was Skyline’s last regular season home game as well, which means it was sophomore night for three of our beloved Trojans, Elijah White, Daniel Afeaki and Antonio Aguilar. After a few heartfelt words by Coach Piergrossi for each respected player, it was now time to get back to business as the second half began. Skyline came out buzzing with energy and made a run to cut the deficit down to just five, with less than 10 minutes to go. But it was clear that Chabot had their hopes on spoiling the night for the Trojans and answered every blow Skyline threw. Skyline led in scoring by point guard Elijah White with 16, followed up with 12 points contributed by center Daniel Afeaki.

“We need to get back to work and get better,” White said after the game

Skyline men’s basketball team is now 16-9 with games coming up against Las Positas College Feb. 13 (loss) and Foothill College to finish the season on Feb. 18.

Not all hope is lost for the Skyline men’s basketball team, who are still hopeful for a chance at playoffs.

“We like what we have here, but we’ve got to work better under pressure,” Skyline forward Tavita Jimenez said. “But we still have hope, just got to get back to it and play more physically.”

It was a greatly contested game, but the Skyline women’s team laid the hammer on the number two women’s team in Northern California, with a huge 75-68 win over Chabot College on sophomore night, sending the sophomore players off the right way on their last career regular season home game. The Skyline women’s basketball team is now 16-8 with an upcoming game against San Jose college to finish the season on Feb. 18.