The Gibbs Gladiators will square off against the Academy of the Holy Names Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Gibbs had no problem doing just that on Monday. They blew past the Falcons 59-17 on the road. Given Gibbs' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 121st, while Dunedin is ranked 513th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Academy of the Holy Names came tearing into Monday's matchup with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They breezed by Jefferson on the road to the tune of 62-17.
Sam Castro had a dynamite game for Academy of the Holy Names, scoring 17 points along with two steals. It was the first time this season that Castro scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Yasmeen Luzod, who scored six points along with seven assists.
Gibbs has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. As for Academy of the Holy Names, their win bumped their record up to 19-7.
Gibbs was able to grind out a solid win over Academy of the Holy Names in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, winning 42-33. The rematch might be a little tougher for Gibbs since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
