C.S. 21 Win Puts Panthers One Win Away From ESSL Final Four

With a dominating 44-25 win last week over the P.S. 335 Wildcats in the Elementary School Sports League (ESSL) District 16 final, the C.S. 21 Panthers not only gained revenge for their season’s only loss, but also advanced one step closer to the ESSL city-wide final.

Led by game-high scorer Jakai White (16 points) and a dominating second-half defensive effort, head coach Tyrees Cheeseboro’s squad bested a P.S. 335 team that had beaten C.S. 21 by 29-25 in an ESSL regular season matchup.

The Panthers (18-1; 7-1 ESSL) relied on the one-two punch of White and point guard Tylaur Johnson to overwhelm the Wildcats.

Outside of Gabriel Holley’s eight points—only 2 after halftime—and Rogelio Cooper’s 5 points, P.S. 335 (5-3 ESSL) received minimal production from the rest of their roster.

The Wildcats took their only lead of the game early in the second quarter on a Holley layup that gave the visitors a 10-9 edge. A Jakai White layup followed by a quick steal and another bucket by White quickly restored C.S. 21’s advantage as the Panthers went into halftime leading 15-11.

At the break Coach Cheeseboro instructed his team to dial up their defensive pressure, which yielded immediate results. Whether it was Jakai scoring— during one dominating stretch he hit on three straight layups—or Tylaur running the offense to perfection, the Panthers opened the third quarter with a 10-3 blitz on their way to outscoring the Wildcats 17 – 8 in the period.

“Once we put on a full-court press [in the third quarter] that opened it up for our offense,” said Cheesboro, whose team will now go on the road for the Brooklyn ESSL semi-final, 4 p.m. this Thursday at Paul Robeson High School against District 17 winner, P.S. 316 of Prospect Heights.

“We’ve had experience with a lot of games this year,” said Coach Cheeseboro who is confident about C.S. 21’s chances against P.S. 316.

For ESSL Commissioner Allan Lopez, whose league has quickly grown to 39 teams in only its second year of operation, the prospect of an all-city final with a local favorite is enticing. Lopez is in negotiation with LIU Brooklyn to host the ESSL’s first-ever championship.

“C.S. 21 has had a great run, but getting past P.S. 316 will be a tall order,” said Lopez about the Panthers’ hopes of extending their season. Whichever school wins Thursday will represent Brooklyn in the ESSL final four with P.S. 55X from the Bronx, Promise Academy of Manhattan, and Queens winner PS 134Q.

ESSL Brooklyn Final, Thursday, May 15, 4 p.m. at Paul Robeson High School, 150 Albany Ave, Brooklyn. For information e-mail Allan Lopez (alopez@powerfulinitiatives.org)