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2001-02 archive
2002-03 school year

IBA frenzy
By Alice Lee

He dribbles, dodges a defender and shoots. The ball swishes through the net, and senior Justin Shum scores another two points for the AP Physics Spurs-IBA season has begun.Ê

The Intramural Basketball Association is a league of teams made of basketball-savvy students and teachers. Shum and his fellow classmates led the Spurs to an overwhelming 41-4 win against the Grizzlies Jan. 8 in the varsity gymnasium. While the teams seemed serious and the score a bit lopsided, the game itself was not competitive. In fact, Shum said most students play in the IBA for pure enjoyment.

However, IBA teams still practice and put effort into their games.

"Our team is really coming together," Shum said.Ê"Everyone on the team is playing great and very solidly."Ê

Shum, who plays alongside senior AP Physics students Jeremy Adams, Adam Clark-Joseph, Greg Cvetanovich, Tyler Earl, Chris Rule, Chip Spires and AP Physics teacher Jeff Schuster, said his IBA team formed out of tradition.

"We're doing it to keep up the AP Physics legacy," Shum said, referring to UAHS graduate Nabeel Yousef, who started the first AP Physics team, and UAHS graduates Steven Tang and Rem Ogaki, who continued it last year. "This year we are carrying on the team name," he said.

Sophomore Lana Algothani started a new tradition by pledging to have fun with her all-sophomore team, the Rockets. She said the Rockets lost 26-8 Jan. 8 to the all-senior Sparks, led by captain Shahana Helal.Ê

"We got beat pretty badly, but it was still great," Algothani said. "It's not only about winning or losing, it's about having fun and meeting new people."

Ê IBA gives her an excuse to condition for upcoming sports and take her mind off school stress, she said.ÊHowever, unlike many other forms of exercise, IBA combines working out with hanging out.

"Students who did it last year said they had a great time," Algothani said.Ê"They made so many new friends and got lots of exercise, so I decided to go for it myself."Ê

Senior Amanda Swanson, a member of the IBA Lakers, said she does not think people play intramural basketball just for athletic exercise. She said she joined IBA to spend more time with friends during the week.

"I've never played basketball before," Swanson said, "but I met up with friends and had a good time in the one game that I've played in so far."

Ê IBA coordinator and assistant athletic trainer Cathy Ventresca said part of IBA's appeal comes from its open enrollment; anyone who wants to join can.

"[IBA] gives students something to do in the winter when they're not playing games or sports and want to get out and do something," she said. "It gets them together to have fun, because it's not all about competition."Ê

Part of the fun involves naming each IBA team after one in the NBA, Ventresca said. Algothani said many teams made identical shirts to show team spirit on game nights.Ê "Some teams were so hardcore," she said.Ê "Many players wore printed T-shirts with team names on them, sort of like uniforms."Ê

Swanson said her team captain, senior Elise Connor, bought matching shirts for team members at a local thrift shop.Ê

"[Connor] ended up buying shirts with Batman logos on them," Swanson said. "It didn't have anything to do with our team name, but at least we each had a shirt."Ê

According to Ventresca, the 2003 IBA season runs from Jan. 6 through March 3. IBA players face off Monday and Wednesday evenings from 8-11 p.m. in the varsity gym, with games starting approximately every half hour. Four teams play at once, so each game uses a half court in the varsity gym.Ê

Ventresca said many groups, such as the AP Physics players, often return from year to year, forming continuing teams. These longer-standing IBA icons tend to have more spirit than newly-formed teams, Shum said.

Senior Grizzly team member Adam McLane said he blamed his team's loss to the AP Physics team on missing players. Despite the disappointment, he said he had fun playing basketball.Ê

"I figured it's my senior year and my schedule is really easy and boring, so I thought I'd play IBA," McLane said.Ê "It's just something fun to do."Ê