Santiago hosted their second annual Hollywood Knights vs. Staff basketball game Saturday, March 15 in home waters.
Alumni Tyler Hoechlin returned as the game’s host again this year. Hoechlin stars as Derek in the hit MTV show, “Teen Wolf.” The Knights had a well-known variety of celebrities that attended the game such as; Carlos Pena from “Big Time Rush,” Jake Short from “A.N.T. Farm,” Manny Streetz from KIIS FM, Leon Thomas III from “Victorious,” Hector David Jr. from “Power Rangers Samauri,” and many more.
The game started off with a close tie at 4-4, but the Knights quickly took the lead gaining four points to make it 8-4. Though things didn’t stay that way for long as the Sharks took a lead that steadily increased as the first quarter came to an end, leaving the Sharks in the lead at 26-17.
Sharks kept the lead throughout the second quarter ending the first half at 41-38 and moving into the half time show. MacKenzie Bourg, singer from Team CeeLo on the third season of NBC’s hit talent show “The Voice,” sang a tribute to the Disney movie “High School Musical” as his half time performance. After the show, excited fans gathered around the tables on the court to get an autograph and picture with the many celebrities that came.
As half time ended the game picked up as the Knights tied the game at 41-41. The tie didn’t last as the Knights stole the lead leaving the Sharks to catch up at 43-41. The Sharks then tied 46-46 and stole the lead again ending the third quarter at 53-48.
The final quarter was a heated race to achieve victory for both sides as both teams took the lead back and forth until the final minute when the Sharks tied 66-66. It came to be a close victory until the Knights swept the floor with a four point lead winning the game for the second year in a row, 70-66.
After the game a few celebrities stuck around and enjoyed the after party thrown by ASB in honor of the game. Hector David Jr. and Najee De-Tiege, two of the Samauri Power Rangers, took the time to answer a few questions about the game and teams. Both players were excited to play and surprised at how well the staff played.
“I was really stoked to come back, I was pumped the whole time because the crowd was so hyped! We had new players and I think we did way better this game than the one last year,” said Hector. Hector is currently starring in an original web show series on Hulu called “East Los High.” He’s also going to be starring in a few movies this summer including “The Sand” and “Silence of Death.”
Najee has starred in films like “Pipeline Dreams,” “Victorville,” “White Boy Fly,” and will be starring in “Behind Locked Doors.” “I enjoyed coming to this school, the experience was awesome, everyone has been extremely helpful and nice,” said Najee.
The staff team had a few returners this year including Sandy Sullivan (Safety/Guidance Counselor) and Doug Murray (History Teacher). Last year’s team was coached by Jim LaDuke, but Cross Country Coach Mr. Ibbitson led this year’s team to a close victory.
“I was more nervous last year, but since we took things more seriously this year it all went a lot more smoothly. We did very well, better than last year because we had only one practice the night before, but this year there was quite a few,” said Sullivan.
“Everyone played during the first half, but once we lost the lead we got a lot more competitive in the second half and that’s when we really tried to win. It was a much closer game this year, but in the end I’m just glad we represented Santiago this year,” stated Murray.
Senior Class President Alyssa Salazar (12) and Activities Director Petria Gonzales both agreed the event was a huge success. The two coordinated the event with little trouble and lots of fun.
“I think it was a bit more successful than last year and it was more fun and exciting. The senior president leaves survival guides, that are passed down from president to president, and that really helped me to plan out the event especially with security, we had over thirty security guys. I’m really glad and satisfied with how things turned out, my favorite part was working with and getting to know the celebrities, they were all really nice,” said Alyssa.
Two years in a row Santiago has held a game between the Hollywood Knights and Santiago staff and for the past two years ASB has not let their fellow students down.
