OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — It’s been almost two months since the Oakland High School women’s and Oakland Tech men’s teams won state titles in basketball. If you ask the players, it’s only now starting to sink in.
“It is kind of a fever dream,” said Remember Chit, a junior at Oakland High. “I still have to process it, like oh my God we won.”
“I feel like it didn’t sink in until we went back to school for a while and people started talking about it,” said Keliq Trotter, a junior at Oakland Tech.
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These two teams and their coaches gathered at the Oakland Zoo Wednesday where the Oakland Unified School District honored them for achievements.
“It feels good, to you know have achieved what we set out our goal and that is what we try to do every year,” said Nita Simpson, the women’s team coach. “Every year it doesn’t pan out the way we want to, but we learn some good lessons along the way.”
Councilmember Treva Reid says their success is a bright spot for the city.
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“We are just excited to celebrate them,” she said. “To have something for them, from them, about them to uplift Oakland and I think all eyes on our youth. It is just an incredible day to celebrate these schools.”
The city has faced many issues in the last few years, but if you ask these athletes, they believe hard work and resiliency can lead to success.
“It don’t matter like what your home life is, or even if your home life is tough – there is always something else you could do that is positive even if there is a lot of negative going on,” Trotter said.
“It was a long process, and it took a lot of time and effort and of course, we were able to do it,” Chit said. “I think Oakland overall, we have lots of talent. Lots of great players. Lots of people who are willing to want it.”
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