With a 48-13 victory over Notre Dame of New Hyde Park on Saturday, Jan. 26, the St. Aloysius sixth-grade C.Y.O. basketball team finds itself on the verge of clinching a spot in the league's islandwide playoff tournament. The team, with players from both North and South Middle School, is currently in second place with an 8-1 record, one game behind undefeated St. Joseph's of Garden City, with a critical contest between the teams was scheduled to take place on Saturday, Feb. 2.

In what has truly been a team effort, each member has played a vital role in the team's impressive march through division play.

The team's offense features a balanced scoring attack paced by the potent inside tandem of leading scorers Shaun Kaiman and Brandon Sperling. They are complemented by outside threats Evan Yudkovich and Daniel Engelson. The team's two point guards, Justin Nasimi and Alex Michalopoulos, have shined on both ends of the floor; running the offense efficiently and relentlessly pressuring opposing ball handlers. The "dirty work" is performed by a trio of rugged rebounders, Matt Feit, Glenn Forstner and Luis Ramos, who play spirited defense and score most of their points off offensive rebounds.

Points have been hard to come by for opposing teams as the team's zone and press defenses have limited opponents to an average of 22 points per game.

The team won its first four contests before losing its only game of the season to Holy Spirit of New Hyde Park. The team is currently on a four-game winning streak with victories over local rival St. Mary's of Manhasset, St. Aidan's of Williston Park, St. Boniface of Sea Cliff and Notre Dame.

With first place still at stake, the team has much to play for in its remaining three regular season games which concludes with a home game against St. Aidan's of Williston Park on Feb. 9.