SHRUB OAK, N.Y.—When Lakeland plays sister school Walter Panas, it’s in essence a one-game season because what happens before or after really doesn’t matter on that day.
All that matters is whether or not you beat your rival—and the Hornets did just that.
Lakeland hosted Panas on Feb. 1, in the Vincent and Terry Giglio Memorial Scholarship Games, jumping out to a 35-6 halftime lead and cruising to a 68-33 win.
“The Giglio Games are always a highlight of the season,” Lakeland coach, Shawn Sullivan, said. “Playing our rival in a packed gym is always a great day. We really focused in on doing all the little things tonight, which resulted in our best game of the year. Winning this game is definitely a highlight of it.”
Leading Lakeland to the win was Anthony Attanasio with 18 points.
“It meant a lot to us especially since it was our last Giglio Game and this event was just fun, especially with the crowd,” Attanasio said.
He was referring to the Lakeland seniors, himself, Oban Rader (14 points), Sergio Hormazabal (14 points), Aaryn Sandhu (2 points), and Nick Ferrante.
“It really means a lot to us to win a game like this,” Rader said. “Going up against a rival like Panas, it was important for us to get this win and to build momentum for the rest of the season.”
Helping Lakeland get off to an 18-2 first-quarter lead was four 3-pointers from Attanasio, who had six treys for the game.
“I was fired up and was ready to play,” Attanasio said. “We knew that we would have to come out in this game strong, so I was just setting the tone for us.”
A field goal and foul shot by Rader and a 3-pointer by Hormazabal rounded out the Hornets’ first-quarter scoring.
“We wanted to come into the game with a lot of energy,” Rader said. “We knew we had to be the more excited team in order to get a win. We did that and got off to a good start that translated to the rest of the game.”
Lakeland didn’t let up in the second quarter, where it outscored Panas 17-4.
Two field goals from Luke Lulanaj (6 points), a deuce each from Rader and Ferrante, and 3-pointers from Attanasio, Hormazabal, and Anthony D’Errico (5 points), helped the Hornets seal the game in that quarter.
“When we got off to the big first-quarter lead, it built up our confidence,” Rader said. “We continued to just play our game and keep pushing to drive up the score. It was important we never let up and got the win in the end.”
Mike Lucia (3 points), Anthony Ray (2 points), and Aadi Sandhu (2 points) also scored for Lakeland. Joe LaPuerta saw time on the court as well for the Hornets.
“The guys played great tonight,” Sullivan said. “We moved the ball well, which set up a lot of good looks, and we were about to knock down a lot of shots. It was our best game of the season. Our defense was outstanding and shooting fantastic.”
One key reason why Lakeland played as well as it did was because of its preparation beforehand.
“We knew what they were going to come out in, so we were ready. And we also worked very hard after the tough loss against John Jay, so we knew what had to be done; we had to get to business,” Attanasio said.
The Giglio Games, which began in 1991, are named after Vincent and Terry Giglio. Vincent was a teacher at Lakeland High School for 26 years and a longtime football coach
Vincent later became the director of Health, Athletics, and Physical Education for the Lakeland School District.
He and his wife, Terry, were killed in an automobile accident on Feb. 18, 1990. The Vincent and Terry Memorial Scholarship Fund was created in their memory and is given to a Lakeland and Walter Panas student every year.
Lakeland’s loss at John Jay-Cross River came on Jan. 30, by the score of 59-47, with Attanasio (16 points) and Rader (11 points, 6 rebounds) leading the Hornets (7-8).
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