Joe Arbitello’s first order of business after winning his first CHSAA Class AA boys basketball intersectional championship as coach at Christ the King had nothing to do with celebrating. Instead, the second-year man had to play bus driver.
With a throng of reporters waiting for him at Rose Hill Gym, Arbitello raced out to the Fordham University parking lot to get the Christ the King van. The boys players wanted to go see the school’s girls team in its CHSAA Class AA state championship game against St. Michael Academy at Cardinal Spellman, also in The Bronx.
“The boys weren’t big on celebrating,” Arbitello said. “They wanted to get here to see the girls.”
The boys were met with a loud ovation when they finally arrived midway through the third quarter after their triple-overtime classic against Bishop Loughlin. Not long after, they were on the court celebrating with the girls after a 61-48 win against St. Mike’s – and their record 26th CHSAA state title.
“I think we got a huge lift from the cheerleaders and when the boys showed up,” CK girls coach Bob Mackey said. “There was just a lot of energy once that happened.”
During warm-ups, the girls were waiting with baited breath to hear results from the boys game. Mackey and coach Dom Cecala were inquiring about results from reporters, who were following a live blog on NYPost.com. The girls game started, though, before the boys finished up their incredible victory.
“On the bench Mackey got a text message and we all knew that the boys won,” said Jackie Michel, a senior on the girls team. “We just knew we had to take it with them.”
The two teams got close this year. The girls were extremely supportive when Terrell Hunt, a reserve on the boys team, lost his mother Katrina to ovarian cancer in January.
“Especially what they have gone through…it’s been outstanding,” Mackey said. “They have been a great bunch of guys. We have been at their games. They have been at ours. Losing Terrel Hunt’s mom, losing [point guard] Corey Edwards [to a foot injury], they could have folded up the house weeks ago.”
Neither team did, though, and both will be heading up to Glens Falls in two weeks. It happened in 2003 and before that in 1995, when Arbitello played.
“It’s going to make it very special,” CK boys senior Roland Brown said. … “We’re really close. We’re like a family.”
Christ the King president Michael Michel said there are plans to rent buses for family, friends and fans to ride up to Glens Falls to watch both teams. The cheerleaders will be headed there also. The Royals boys and girls will have a built-in support system more than 200 miles away from home.
“This is a great thing for the school,” Michael Michel said.
It’ll certainly be a party in Middle Village for the next few weeks.
“It’s just a Christ the King weekend,” Brown said.