Basketball Preview: Franklin Academy Panthers vs. Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs
The Franklin Academy Panthers will face off against the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Franklin Academy will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 557th, while the Chiefs are ranked 51st).
Last Thursday, Franklin Academy came up short against the Barracudas and fell 56-46. Franklin Academy has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the defeat, Franklin Academy saw an underclassman step up: Robert Guishard dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds. Guishard is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted three or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Japitpaul Makkar, who scored nine points.
Meanwhile, everything went Cardinal Gibbons' way against the Hurricanes on Wednesday as the Chiefs made off with a 66-40 victory. Cardinal Gibbons pushed the score to 54-25 by the end of the third, a deficit the Hurricanes cut but never quite recovered from.
Franklin Academy has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-7 record this season. As for Cardinal Gibbons, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 12 games, which lines up perfectly with their 18-6 record this season.
Franklin Academy took a serious blow against the Chiefs in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 86-43. Can Franklin Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
