By Gary Curreri
Bracket MVP Victor Robinson scored 10 points to help lead Deerfield Beach to a 57-45 victory over McArthur for the BCAA Challenge championship in the 28th annual Kreul Classic basketball tournament at the Coral Springs Gymnasium.
Robinson, a junior, was helped by junior Faizon Francis, who also scored 10 points in the win for the Bucks (7-3) in the championship contest.
“We’ve been getting better,” said Deerfield coach Kenny Brown, who has won four straight. “The strength of the team is our numbers.”
The Bucks are off to a 7-3 start and were slated to play Naples in a tournament game last night, which was unavailable as of press time.
Senior captain Lutelson Jerome is averaging 10.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds a game, while Robinson is knocking down an average of 10.1 points per game and 8.0 rebounds a game.
Even though the Bucks have lost three games, they have all been within single digits – losing to Palm Beach Lakes, 60-55, and then Coral Springs twice, 61-55, in overtime and 60-54 just four days later. Coral Springs leads the District 11-9A race with a 6-0 record, while the Bucks are 4-2 and tied with Taravella.
Altieri competing at Nationals
Deerfield Beach’s Lucas Altieri is competing among the top skaters in the country this week at the 2018 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif. from Dec. 29 – January 7, 2018.
Altieri, 16, a sophomore at North Broward Prep School, is looking to win the Novice Men’s Division. He is a member of the Coral Springs-based Panthers Figure Skating Club.
Three other members of the club will join him at Nationals, including Coral Springs’ Sophia Chouinard (Novice Ladies) and Senior Division skaters — Coral Springs’ Andrew Torgashev and Franchesca Chiera, who are also hoping for spots on the U.S. Olympic Team.
“Nationals, it’s the biggest event, so I really want to skate great there,” said Altieri, who finished fifth in the same division last year. “Nationals is pretty big for me. It is not like it is the only thing in my life, but it is definitely a huge part of it. I spend a lot of time skating and thinking about it.”
Altieri punched his ticket by finishing in the top four at U.S. Figure Skating’s Eastern Sectionals in Boxborough, Massachusetts in November. Only 12 skaters from all over the U.S. qualify for Nationals in each discipline.
Altieri, who finished third in the Novice Men’s Division at the Sectional event, has skated for almost six years and said he is looking for his best performance of the season.
He certainly puts in the time, skating from 5 to 6:30 a.m. every day.
“This season has been okay,” he said. “I haven’t broken out yet. I haven’t skated great yet. I am hoping to skate my best programs possible at Nationals. I want to finish first.”