BMCC's Tough Fight for Championship Ends in Double Disappointment

Facing double pressure from the Hostos Caimens, BMCC's Nikola Zilakova (24) gets a jump on her opponents. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Trophy-hungry Borough of Manhattan Community College got two chances to score a title last Friday night as both the men's and women's basketballers battled for a CUNY Athletic Conference championship. But despite an often electrifying double-bill before their exuberant home court fans, neither team could make it happen.

Coming off a 60-54 semi-final win over LaGuardia Community College, BMCC’s second-seeded Lady Panthers went up against the regular season champs, Hostos Community College. It was a game that saw the Lady Panthers overcome a 13-point deficit in the first half to edge within two points of the Caimans in the third quarter. But despite that 16-5 run, Hostos powered back for a 66-53 win.

For the men’s team, hoping to get even with LaGuardia after their defeat in last year’s championship matchup, an 11-2 run in the first eight minutes and even their narrow 37-35 half-time lead made that dream look real. But the Red Hawks took their first lead two minutes into the second half, and the game became a nail biter right down to an evened up 62-62, with 6:33 remaining. Then it became LaGuardia all the way, winning 82-69.

Both BMCC teams now look ahead to the Region XV tournament on Feb. 28. "There was a lot of parity in the league this year, and I think our team is playing their best basketball of the season right now, so I do believe we still have an opportunity to do something special," Panthers head coach Tommy Guerin told BMCCAthletics.com.

For more detailed recaps on the championship games, go to the CUNY Athletics web site here for the men’s game and here for the women’s.