- November 23, 2024
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Last week didn’t go so well for Flagler Palm Coast basketball. The boys lost their district championship, at home, on a buzzer beater, and most surprisingly, the girls were upset by Seminole 53-50, at home, and eliminated in the first round of the regional tournament; they were favorited to at least repeat as Class 8A Final Four finalists.
Does an early exit mean the Lady Bulldogs were overrated? Was this season a bust, although they only lost two out of 26 games? Some might say yes to these, but I consider them as one of most resilient teams I’ve ever seen.
After easily getting past their first few games, the Bulldogs encountered teams, top quality teams, that wanted to end their winning streak and beat a Final Four contestant. FPC took on all opponents at their best; they had a couple of targets on their back, similar to the Golden State Warriors, who won the NBA championship last season, and were riding on a winning streak. Even the worst teams nearly beat them this year.
In their last 10 games before the regional loss, FPC had to make key free throws at the end of eight of those games. They trailed in some of them. Key players sat on the pine in foul trouble at times. Others sat out, due to injury, but nevertheless, the Bulldogs found ways to come out on top of each of them. They played without leading scorer Darieli Abreu for most of that stretch.
So, were they overrated? Far from it. They were, and still is, one of the top teams in Florida basketball. Their A-game was required night after night, and they brought it, but, in a single-elimination format, the other team was better, on that day.
“It was a season of highs and one low,” coach Javier Bevacqua said. “It was one of my favorite regular seasons of all time. What we accomplished, going 24-1, and beating the No. 1 team in the state to steal their ranking, was amazing.”
Bevacqua and his girls have no reason to hang their heads. They truly went through a gauntlet this year. For the rest of their lives, they, along with family, friends and fans, will talk about the 2015-16 Lady Dawgs, who pulled out so many close games and remained resilient, until the end.
