It was quite the historic season for the Boys Basketball team. Despite narrowly losing in the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals, the Vikings’ season completed many other impressive feats, including winning five playoff games and placing second in their Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) – De Anza division. The Vikings dominated their opponents for much of the season, electrifying the gymnasium on a weekly basis.
After a tough 55-49 loss to the bitter rival Menlo-Atherton Bears in the 2024 CCS semifinals, the Vikings had a long road ahead of them in order to make a comeback.
“It was a grind all off-season,” sophomore Justin Fung said. “I only played half the season on varsity, but I could really feel how much this team wanted that one[the Menlo Atherton game] back. We put in the work all offseason to get back to that spot.”
The offseason program must have worked wonders for the team, as it was a historic season for the Vikings. From outplaying rivals to making it to the CCS finals to going viral on social media, the team had numerous memorable moments that lead to their rising popularity and success. The team finished the season with a 25-6 record, while making the CCS finals. The team started off on a productive early stretch, winning eight of their first 10 games in a confident fashion.
“We blew out a lot of the teams in our first few games,” junior Jake Wang said. “That was one of our goals at the start of the season, we wanted to get out to a hot start.”
The successful start for the Vikings held throughout the season, as the team managed a 10-2 record within the SCVAL league. Their league included formidable and sharp opponents such as Milpitas, Los Gatos and Wilcox.. The Vikings were 4-2 against these opponents, with a loss against Milpitas and Los Gatos. T=strong record within the league earned them the number one seed in the CCS playoffs. 
Another milestone from the season was the team’s dominant wins against the cross-town rival Gunn Titans. Senior Jorell Clark led the team in scoring in both of the matchups, tallying 32 points in the first matchup in January, where the final score was 63-50. In the second matchup between the rivals, Clark once again had 32 points with a final score of 77-39.
“We know that even though Gunn is typically pretty low in the league standings compared to us, they always bring their best when they play us, as they don’t have much else to play for,” Clark said. “The rivalry has become personal recently.”
Following the dominant and exciting regular season, the Vikings were set to take on the CCS playoffs, Division 1. After a first round bye due to being the first seed, the Vikings were set to take on the ninth seeded Evergreen Valley Cougars in the second round. Despite being eight seeds lower than the Vikings, the Cougars fought hard, but came up just short with a final score of 50-48. Senior Shreyas Shashi recalls how the first win propelled them for the rest of the playoffs.
“We got hungry after a taste of winning,” Shashi said.
Next up on the playoff run, the Leigh Longhorns. In a tough defensive matchup the Vikings emerged victorious once again, with the final being 40-35. Clark led the team with 19 points.
In order to achieve this playoff success, the Vikings had to bring together a number of factors. “I think the collective team effort and our off-court bonding really brought the team to another level,” sophomore Rocco Smith said.
Smith joined the varsity team for playoffs, after a good stint with the junior varsity team during the regular season. He also mentioned how grateful he was for the opportunity to practice with and learn from the upperclassmen during the team’s huge playoff push.
“It was really special to be a part of the playoff run,” Smith said. “I have a lot of respect for the upperclassmen after all they did for the team.”
After this win, the Vikings found themselves in the CCS finals, against the Carlmont Scots. The Vikings played hard, but came up just short. The final score was 66-62, with Clark leading the team with 34 points.
After a memorable season, senior Jorell Clark won NorCal Offensive Player of the Year after an outstanding season, which involved an even more impressive playoff run, averaging 25 points and seven assists a game through the whole year.
“He [Clark] is one of the special ones,” sophomore Adam Maldanado said. “While I was injured I really wanted to learn more about the game, and Jorell really helped me out.”
With such a successful season in the rearview mirror, the team can only prepare for next season. With notable seniors including Clark and Gavin Hasse leaving, it is possible that the team may regress next season, which could show just how remarkable of a team this truly was.
HONORABLE MENTION: Swim and Dive
The remarkable season of boys swimming and diving led to a historic run and a satisfactory finish.
Paly boys swim and dive returned this year motivated by a close second place performance at CCS during the 2024 season. Returning the majority of their swimmers, they hope to get another historic title to add to their already extensive record. The Vikings won the CCS title in 2022 and 2023, getting second place only in 2024. For veteran swimmers such as senior Nico Ogawa, this only adds to the motivation to succeed.
“Last year we fell short in CCS to our rivals Gunn high school, so this year we have even more motivation to get that third CCS title in four years,” Ogawa said.
So far, Paly has dominated the season, going undefeated in league dual meets and winning the SCVAL championships by over 250 points. Paly had a final score of 553 points, while second place Gunn high school had only 299 points. Senior Blake Wang addresses some of the Vikings’ strengths.
“Our relays are quite strong, we have fast swimmers in each of the four spots for all of the relays,” Wang said. “They are all also super fun since you have that team adrenaline aspect involved.”
The Vikings had a historical end to their season, winning CCS for the third time in four years, beating runners up Bellarmine by over 40 points. Paly is the first team in CCS history to win in both the boys and girls divisions in the same year. The astounding finish rounded off their commanding season highlighted by talent and determination, making history in the swimming world.
