Club Fit-Sponsored Teams of the Season Winter 2025: Panas Girls and Byram Hills Boys Hoops Teams
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
Panas Panthers Tabbed Club Fit Girls’ Team of Season
Led by Class AA All-NYS selections Cadence Nicholas, the leading scorer in Walter Panas basketball history (2,208 points), and Sofia Tavarez (1,496 points), number two on the all-time list, the Panthers have had the most successful run in program history the past five years. Since coming to Coach Matt Evangelista’s varsity program as fresh-faced eighth graders, the dynamic duo, who are also one and two in career steals, led Panas to its only girls’ hoops state title (2023), two Section 1 championships (2023-24) and a run to the 2025 sectional finals at the Westchester County Center.
“It has been an incredible pleasure to coach Sof and Cadence for the last five years, and every one of these girls within the program,” Evangelista said. “They have outperformed anyone’s wildest dreams. Their hard work has been rewarded. I am incredibly lucky to have been part of their journey. Most importantly they are even better people than basketball players. We wish them best of luck and we can’t wait to see all of their success at the next level.”
While the Panthers (22-2), ranked No.1 in NYS at the time, were upset by Rye, 53-47, in the sectional finals in early March, they were clearly the top girls’ team in the Examiner-area and were pronounced as such by being named the Club Fit Girls’ Team of the Season.
Byram Hills Hoopers Tabbed Ex-area Boys’ Club Fit Team of Season
Bobcats Advance to NYS Class A Final 4 in Rout of Seton Catholic
The train kept a rollin’ all month long for the Byram Hills boys’ basketball team, all the way to Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton where Coach Ted Repa’s state-ranked (No.3) Bobcats ripped through state ranked (No.8) Section 4 champion Seton Catholic Sunday night for a 66-44 NYSPHSAA Class A quarterfinal win.
For that, and much more, the Byram Hills boys’ hoops team has been selected as the Examiner-area Club Fit Boys Team of the Season.
Repeating last year’s Section 1 championship at the Westchester County Center was the goal from day one for Byram Hills, and when the top-seeded Bobcats returned for the Class A title game they went back-to-back after eliminating third-seeded Pearl River, 44-37, behind their trademark stifling defense.
Coach Repa and company delivered the Bobcats’ fifth sectional title (1978, 2011-16-24-25), and haven’t looked back, forging onward in the state quarters largely on the backs of Chris Amenedo (15 points), Brody Ceisler (15 points), Kevin Kendall (17 points, 7 assists) and two-time All-Section choice Zach Efobi (12 points, 13 boards, 3 blocks), among the best defensive bigs in Section 1 history. Mad Max Miller added nine assists.
Amenedo and sparkplug Kendall triggered a 16-2 run in the second quarter and will now return to Binghamton for Saturday’s NYS semifinal against fifth-ranked Long Island champion Mount Sinai at 1:30 p.m. The other side of the bracket features top-ranked Section 2 champ Glens Falls and 7th-ranked Wayne of Section 5. The championship will be played Sunday at 11:45 a.m.
An Efobi dunk at 5:20 made it 58-42 #GameOver before Kendall converted an and-1 at 4:10, providing a 61-42 lead to declare victory.
“The boys really stepped up,” said Repa, the Class A Coach of the Year in Section 1. “Seton Catholic was an excellent team with five very good shooters, and a top notch coach that ran some great actions. But other than a few miscues, we really defended them well. We had excellent communication and rotations, and of course we have Zach Efobi inside when Seton would get to the rim making things tough for them.
“Offensively, our poise was excellent,” the coach added. “We didn’t force things, and got the ball consistently to the middle where good things tend to happen. Kevin Kendall was special off the bench. Amenedo was his usual locked-in self, especially early when we really needed it. Then, Ceisler got going in the second and third quarters, hitting 4 3’s and finishing with 16 points. Max Miller (4 points, 8 boards) was elite defensively as always, and the catalyst for the offense, and, of course, Efobi was a monster all game with some unreal blocks. It was a total team effort. Really happy for the guys, and we are loving the community support travelling all the way to Binghamton to cheer us on.”
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
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