St. Mary’s Titans Basketball was invited to their first tournament of the year by Kadena High School to participate as the only Tokyo team in the Okinawa-American Friendship Tournament. Teams competing included Kadena High School, Kubasaki High School, Chinen, Maehara, and the Ryukyu Kings.
St. Mary’s Titans played their opening knockout game against the Kubasaki Dragons, starting off slow in the first three quarters and falling behind by as much as 12 points in the second quarter. However, the Titans bounced back with an impressive comeback, outscoring the Dragons by 8 points in the fourth quarter, led by Ren Nishioka’s 29 point performance, forcing the game into overtime. In the end, St. Mary’s pulled away with a decisive 6–3 run to secure the win.
The Titans were later eliminated in the semifinals by the Ryukyu Kings but bounced back with a victory over Maehara, earning them third place in the Okinawa Friendship Tournament. Ren Nishioka was selected as the All-Star representative for St. Mary’s Titans. “Even though our team didn’t get the result that we wanted, I feel like we played our best despite placing third,” said Ren Nishioka. He added that the experience strengthened the team’s confidence and motivation heading into the rest of the season.
