Portola Elementary's 2nd- and 3rd-Grade Basketball Team: Players Helping Players

Each week, San Bruno Patch features an athlete or sports team that shows promise in their sport. This week, contributor Daniel Beckman catches up with Coach Chris Giampolo and team to talk about 's second- and third-grade city basketball team after their game this morning.

San Bruno Patch: What is Portola's  greatest strength on the court?

Chris Giampolo: I think my team is best at passing. They are very good at sharing the ball and getting it to the basket.

Patch: How do you define sportsmanship and how does the team put it into practice?

CG: Well, we stress that every week in practice. We practice two times a week, and, like I said, one of our main focuses is sportsmanship. You can see the sportsmanship on the court—players helping other players up, players listening to the coaches and referees. That's how Portola puts it into practice.

Patch: What do you have your team do during practice?

CG: We run many drills—defensive drills, out-of-bounds plays, shooting drills, passing drills and team-building exercises.

Patch: If your team is down on points what do you do to get back into the game?

CG: Actually, we don't keep score. We just play hard and do our best to work as a team. Sportsmanship and teamwork lead to victory.

Patch: Who is your greatest inspiration?

Daniel Callantise, third grader: Um, well, my inspiration is my favorite player, Monta Ellis. He plays on the Warriors and he's cool.