[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E495-E496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO WAREHAM HIGH SCHOOL--THE 2010 MASSACHUSETTS DIVISION III 
                       BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 2010

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, today, I would like to pay 
tribute to the Wareham High School Basketball team who just captured 
the first Division III State Championship Title for the town of 
Wareham, Massachusetts. This was their first state title since 1956. 
This impressive team is led by Coach Kevin Brogioli and includes Jules 
Tavares, who scored a game-high 25 points and Pat Murphy, who scored 11 
points, including his 1,000th career point.
  This season, the Vikings have scored 100 points or more in four 
games, beating Cardinal Spellman 78-71 to clinch the Division III South 
Sectional Championship, besting Bedford at the TD Bank Boston Garden 
63-49 to becomes the Division III Eastern Championship and defeating 
New Leadership of Springfield 80-57 at the DCU Center in Worcester to 
capture the Division III State Championship Title.
  Congratulations to Coach Brogioli, Assistant Coach Steve Faniel, 
Assistant Coach Mike Ponte and the Vikings team, listed here in 
alphabetical order: Darien Fernandez, Sheldon Frye, Jowaun Gamble, 
Marcus Gomes, Darren Gray, Jeff Houde, Harry Irving, Dylan Marcal, Mike 
Mendes, Pat Murphy, Ryan Pina, Jordan Rezendes, Dwight Senna, Jules 
Tavares, and Nikko Vasconcellos. We are very proud of their teamwork, 
dedication, and sportsmanship.
  I am enclosing a proclamation by the town of Wareham and an article 
that further describes this important achievement.

        Town of Wareham--Proclamation by the Board of Selectmen

       Whereas, the Wareham High School Boys' Varsity Basketball 
     team, known as the Vikings, have demonstrated exemplary 
     sportsmanship and teamwork, and
       Whereas, their coach, Kevin Brogioli, along with the 
     assistant coaches, parents and supporters, showed great faith 
     and encouragement to the Vikings, and
       Whereas, the Vikings had scored 100 points or more in four 
     games, averaging 87.8 points per game in the regular season, 
     and had three players to reach 1,000 or more points scoring, 
     and,
       Whereas, the Vikings beat Cardinal Spellman 78-71 to clinch 
     the Division III South Sectional Championship, and
       Whereas, the Vikings defeated Bedford at the TD Bank Boston 
     Garden 63-49 to become the Division III Eastern Champions, 
     and
       Whereas, the Vikings defeated New Leadership of Springfield 
     80--57 at the DCU Center in Worcester; to capture the first 
     Division III State Championship title for Wareham,
       Now, therefore, We, the Wareham Board of Selectmen, do 
     hereby proclaim Saturday, March 13, 2010 through Saturday, 
     March 20, 2010 as:
       ``STATE CHAMPION WAREHAM VIKINGS WEEK''
       In Wareham, culminating with a Parade on Saturday March 20, 
     2010, to honor the young men and the coaches of Wareham 
     Vikings Basketball team that have made this town so proud.
                                  ____


               [From SouthCoastToday.com, March 14, 2010]

      Wareham Boys Bring Home First State Basketball Championship

                            (By Ed Collins)

       Worcester.--Having gotten all the way to the Division 3 
     State championship game and needing 32 good minutes to win it 
     all, the Wareham boys basketball team left nothing to chance 
     Saturday afternoon.
       The Vikings saved their best game of the season for their 
     last, digging deep on defense, flying high on offense and 
     even finding time to help senior Pat Murphy reach an elusive 
     milestone en route to an 80-57 win over New Leadership 
     Charter School of Springfield at the DCU Center.
       ``We executed our game plan to near perfection,'' a smiling 
     Wareham coach Kevin Brogioli said after bringing home the 
     first state basketball championship in school history. ``We 
     got the job done on defense and we played some good Wareham 
     fast-break basketball.''
       ``We came here expecting to win, but we thought it would be 
     a last-second game,'' junior Jules Tavares said. ``It didn't 
     work out that way though, because we played great. To play 
     like that in our biggest game of the season says a lot about 
     the kind of team we have. This was a dream game for us.''
       New Leadership certainly wasn't expecting the kind of 
     defense it saw from Wareham.
       ``We're known for our offense and that's been a key for us 
     all season,'' Brogioli said. ``But, we also take a lot of 
     pride in our defense. Our kids always work hard on defense 
     and that gets overlooked sometimes.''
       In comments made before the game, Wildcats coach Capus Gee 
     talked about how his team planned to beat the Vikings by 
     pounding the ball into the paint and shutting down their fast 
     break.
       Wareham's Ryan Pina, a 6-foot-3 senior center, took offense 
     at the remarks and came out fired up to play his best 
     defensive game of the season.
       ``I read what he said and took it as a personal challenge. 
     I wasn't going to let them push us around,'' Pina said. ``Our 
     offense gets all the headlines, but we can play defense 
     against anyone and we proved that today.''
       Senior guard Darren Gray set a good tone right away for 
     Wareham with some tough man-to-man defense against New 
     Leadership point guard Phillip Warrick, who ended up scoring 
     18 points, three below his average.
       ``Defense wins championships and coach (Brogioli) has been 
     preaching that to us all season,'' Gray said. ``We knew we 
     had to get the job done on defense. We never have to worry 
     about scoring points, but you don't win games at this level 
     if you don't play good team defense.''
       The Vikings made some early stops, hit the boards hard, and 
     shifted into overdrive on offense after the first of two 
     thunderous dunks by Tavares lit a fire under them.
       Wareham, which had two shots blocked by the athletic 
     Wildcats (21-4) in the opening minute, took the lead for good 
     at 10-8 and never looked back after building a 22-13 lead in 
     the first quarter.

[[Page E496]]

       Tavares finished with a game-high 25 points for the 
     Vikings, who led 42-22 at halftime and kept pulling away in 
     the second half en route to building several 28-point leads.
       Senior forward Jordan Rezendes also had a big game, 
     finishing with 21 points and three of the team's four 3-
     pointers. Pina chipped in with 10 points and some big 
     rebounds on the defensive glass that kept the Wildcats from 
     getting second shots.
       With the game out of hand late, the Vikings made a 
     concerted effort to help Murphy reach the 1,000-point mark 
     for his career. After not scoring in the first half, Murphy 
     made a 3-pointer and finished with five points in the third 
     quarter to hit 995 for his career. A pair of layups in the 
     fourth quarter set the stage for Murphy's milestone basket, a 
     baseline drive with 1:48 left to play that came as a big 
     relief to Murphy--and the large Wareham crowd that lived and 
     died with every shot he took down the stretch.
       ``I didn't know if I was going to get there, but I did and 
     I have my teammates to thank, because they kept passing me 
     the ball,'' Murphy said. ``Those last six points were the 
     hardest ones of my career. I'm glad I was able to get it done 
     in my last game and help the team win the biggest game in 
     school history.''
       After Murphy's final basket, the celebration began in 
     earnest for the Vikings. Brogioli pulled his starters with 
     1:46 remaining and there were a lot of hugs and high fives up 
     and down the team's bench.
       ``It feels great to win this game for the people of Wareham 
     and my father (Jim Brogioli), who coached this team for a 
     long time,'' Brogioli said. ``Our fans were great all season 
     and they stepped it up in the state tournament. We fed off 
     their energy and we thank them for their support. It's been a 
     great ride, a historical ride, and this team has left its 
     mark on Wareham High School forever.''

                          ____________________