The Roman Catholic student section celebrates during Monday’s Catholic League championship against Archbishop Ryan at the Palestra. (Photo: Gavin Bethell/CoBL)
By Owen McCue
There’s a reason the bleachers at the Palestra are filled one Monday night every February to watch a pair of high school basketball games.
Those packed into the historic gym, which typically rises to an uncomfortable temperature as the night goes on, are there to see the insanity that unfolds when two groups of teenagers take the court in what will be the biggest game in many of their young lives.
For the second straight year, the Philadelphia Catholic League boys and girls championships delivered just that — and more.
After three total overtimes, a pair of last-second game-tying shots, two go-ahead threes, mixed in with crowd roars, tense timeouts and anxiety that crept into even the neutral observers, an incomparable night of basketball ended when Roman Catholic senior Kabe Goss delivered the Cahillites a second straight PCL title with a walk-off winner in overtime for a 46-45 win over Archbishop Ryan.
“It’s probably one of the best moments I got to experience,” Roman senior Hunter Johnson said. “It was a great game. The atmosphere was crazy. The crowd, the fans, everybody was amazing. And then at the end, my guy got it done. That’s all you can wish for at the end of the day.”