It has been quite some time since the West Eagles basketball team has been to or won the championship game, but that all changed last year since the varsity team made it’s arrival to the playoffs.

The Eagles faced the Service Cougars at the Sullivan Arena here in Anchorage for the state championship game. They suffered a tough loss to them by the score of 49-47.

This year the team will bounce back harder than ever due to last year’s loss in the state championship game against Service. The last time the Eagles won a state championship game was in 2009 against Wasilla 80-58.

Since losing to the Service basketball team in the championship game, the Eagles have been getting ready for this upcoming season. Coach Antonio Wyche said, “to make sure we beat them each time we play them.”

The strategy to come back to the championship game he says is for his team “to stay healthy.” When asked if the loss affected the team, Wyche said, “it affected our returning players in a positive way because they are a little bit hungrier than last year.”

Seniors Leonardo Andres and David Harrison are excited to work together this year for there last season of high school basketball. Their goal is to win the championship game and get a ring.  David says, “[Basketball] is my favorite time of the year.”  Leo said, “I’m excited to be on varsity for the first time.” Leo is a point guard and David is forward, both think they have a shot to come back to the championship game. Leo has been playing basketball since he was five years old and David has been playing since 6th grade.

The West Eagles are already preparing their season by having workouts every day after school and have started to sell raffle tickets as one of their fundraisers. The Eagles are prepared to start their season as they have some new faces on the team and getting stronger and better at every practice.