THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, February 13, 2026 Page 5 Meet the 2025-2026 Malden High Boys Basketball Team Four seniors lead the way: Bolling, Fernandes, Okoth, McMahon By Steve Freker T he Malden High School 202526 Boys Basketball Team is led by a core of four seniors, three of them returnees from last year’s squad. While the team is close to being out of the running for an MIAA State Tournament this season, the team has shown much improvement this season overall. With a solid overtime win over Medford last week, Malden kept its slim postseason hopes alive. Leading the way for Malden has been the senior foursome of Chace Bolling, Kaua Fernandes Dias Valadares, Ryan McMahon and Colin Okoth. Fernandes, McMahon and Okoth have served as senior tri-captains this season, all of them returnees from last year. Bolling is a newcomer, his first season with the team, as a senior. Seniors have certainly been all present and accounted for in all of the team’s wins this year, as well as many other games where Malden has been highly competitive, but just could not seal the deal with a victory. Just this past Sunday afternoon, senior guard Chace Bolling scored a career-high and team single-game high 26 MALDEN HIGH TEAM: The 2025-2026 Malden High School Varsity Boys Basketball Team includes, from left, Assistant Coach John McGlynn, Nguyen Sy, Alan Deris, Mario Joseph, Daniel Ferreira, Jason Minervini, Jaheim Rene, senior captain Ryan McMahon, senior captain Kaua Fernandes Dias Valadares, senior captain Colin Okoth, Shawn Sekamwa, Shao Zhang, David Kintu, senior Chace Bolling, Varsity Head Coach Don Nally and Assistant Coach Dan Jurkowski. (All Photos Courtesy/MHS Yearbook/The Maldonian) points in a tough, 59-53 loss at Arlington Catholic. In a big 56-53 overtime win over Medford last Thursday night, senior 6-4 tri-captain center Kaua Fernandes Dias Valadares notched a career-high 24 points and made it a “double-double” with 13 rebounds. Fellow senior captain and point guard Ryan McMahon matched his career-high with 15 points and made the defensive play of the year when he stole the Medford inbounds pass with seven seconds left to play in overtime and Malden leading by just one point. Senior tri-captain Colin Okoth, a 6-2 forward, hit a career-high six three-pointers and finished with 23 points in another Malden win, 57-51 over Revere. “Our four seniors have provided leadership and commitment this season, something we really needed … considering we have a young and inexperienced team overall,” said Malden Head Coach Don Nally. Heading into the final stretch of the season, Malden is seeking to keep momentum going. Along with the seniors, other team members include junior forwards Daniel Ferreira, Mario Joseph and Shao Zhang; and sophomores Nguyen Sy, Alan Deris, Jason Minervini, Jaheim Rene, Shawn Sekamwa and David Kintu. Junior Varsity coach is Dan Jurkowski and Freshman coach is John McGlynn. PLEASANT ST. TAX 175 Pleasant Street, Malden Specializing in Personal Income Tax Preparation Starting at $90. Call: (781) 324-6195 EVERETT ALUMINUM SUPPLIES 67 Years! — Vinyl Siding — Carpentry Work — Decks — Roofing — Free Estimates — Replacement Windows — Fully Licensed — Fully Insured
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