THE MALDEN ADVOCATE - Friday, February 8, 2019 Page 7 THE SPORTS WIRETHE SPORTS WIRE By Steve Freker t is hard to believe, you might say, especially considering the quality of basketball that's been played at Malden High School's Finn Gym over the past many years. It has been three decades, 30 I years this season, that Malden High boys basketball captured a league title. In the winter of 1988-89 head coach Jay Sweeney's Tornados were at the top of the heap in a very deep and talented Greater Boston League BASKETBALL | FROM PAGE 6 his team and ended with a game-high 35 as his mate M. Lopes added 14 to help seal the Victory. Game 2 – Celtics 73, Hawks 33 Keep the high-powered off ense fl owing as the Celts close out the weekend winning two more. Once again it was S. Kelley (21) and S. Cherefant (17) joined by A. Cohen (12) to remain unblemished to date. A. Nguyen (15) and J. Ling (10) did all they could, but it was the Avg. quarterly defi cit that killed the Red n’ Yellow, as they Averaged just over 8 points a quarter & the Celts Averaged 17.5. Game 3 – Pistons 33, Sonics 32 Stranger games have happened dating back to old L.G. as once again a team has to start a game and fi nish with just four players and surprisingly No One fouled out. Led by M. Niboh (16), who helped his three other teammates to (GBL). At the time, the GBL was nine teams and as strong as it’s ever been — in all sports. GBL charter members Malden, Medford, Somerville, Everett, Revere and Arlington were playing alongside Cambridge and Waltham in the late 1980s. Basically, every game was a battle in every sport. Every team in the GBL was Division 1 North at the time and every team either qualifi ed for the state tournament or came within a whisker. In the GBL, it was marathon war in boys’ basketball, with a close, much-needed win, thankfully a 12-7 edge in the fi nal frame sealed it. The Sonics struggled during the game at hitting shots – did have a shot at the last second for the win but just missed as the buzzer sounded. Y. Jalal (11) and D. Philippe (10) were the bright points in the Sonics’ offense today. Next Week’s Games ALL games played @ The Ferryway School off Ferry St. 2nd fl oor Sat., Feb. 9 Kings Hawks Sun., Feb. 10 Kings Sonics Pistons Celtics Celtics Lakers Bullets Sonics Sixers Pistons On Instagram at MNBL1986 Also on Facebook Our access TV show is live every Thursday at 6 p.m. on Ch. 3 with Nester Dudley … you can live stream on ATRLive.com or subscribe to the YouTube page. • • • www.reverealuminumwindow.com each league team deep and strong. In 1989, Malden won the GBL crown with a 13-3 league mark and was 16-4 overall. That year's teams included solid players such as future Tornado Hall of Famer Michael Langston, 6-5 Spencer Peavey and 6-3 Richie Barker up front and guard Tommy Blanchard leading the backcourt. It was the second title in a row — back-to-back— as Malden had shared the crown with Cambridge in 1987-88, with the Tornados led by Carmine Cappuccio and deep roster. Malden treasured its GBL title that year and had bigger plans for the postseason, with one of the strongest teams in the area. Malden rolled through its fi rst two games as the #5 seed in a crowded (and loaded!) Division 1 North. The Tornados rolled through their fi rst two opponents and then ran into a Melrose team that was just as hot. Malden's higher aspirations were dashed on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Mike Overlan in the midst of a packed, screaming Salem High School gym. Just two weeks after the fi - nal tourney game, head coach Sweeney announced he would not return after seven seasons at the helm. What a way to go, though, with back-to-back GBL crowns! Who knew that it would be the last ones and there would be a 30-year anniversary since the last crown. **** Congratulations to the New England Patriots on their sixth Super Bowl Championship! Can you believe that people, both kids and adults, actually called the 13-3 win over the "dull" and "boring". Not here - and most likely not with most "football people". Dull? Wow! What's dull about a running game-oriented off ense and a hard-hitting defense that holds a whole high-scoring off ense (by the Rams) hostage. That's just another function of how spoiled we've all become with this succession of world titles in multiple sports. It's not enough to win another Super Bowl title these days. It has to have entertainment value, i.e. pinball machine scoring to make the grade! NOT!
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