For two years, Gabriel Feizbakhsh could only watch while his older brother Alex helped transform the Palisades High boys water polo team from an upstart to the City Section champion.
On Friday, however, the younger brother was more than just a spectator, netting four goals in his playoff debut to lead the top-seeded Dolphins past Panorama, 11-6, at the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center.
Alex, a senior starter, was sick with stomach flu and unable to play, but Gabriel, a freshman, did his sibling proud and showed he belongs in big brother’s company.
“I was going to Paul Revere when Pali started the team and even though I wasn’t playing I was there at every game, I was the team’s biggest cheerleader so I was part of the program–just not in the games,” Gabriel said. “I wanted to play so bad and now that I’m finally able to I want to contribute as much as I can.”
Alex vividly remembers the Dolphins’ 16-2 loss to Cleveland that ended their first season and lessons he and his teammates learned from that humbling defeat.
“That showed us how far we needed to go and it motivated us to work harder and harder,” he said. “Our chemistry has kept building since then and it gets better the more we play with each other. We’re definitely better now than last year because we have more experience playing with each other.
Senior Patrick Huggins, who scored twice Friday and made two saves in his one quarter in goal, is another of the “Core Four” who were sophomores when Coach Adam Blakis picked his initial varsity roster, which became the nucleus of a team now on the verge of back-to-back section titles.
“We were kind of scared the first year because we didn’t know what to expect,” said Huggins, who also captains the Dolphins’ swim team (his events are the 100 and 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly. “Now the practices are less about us [seniors] and more about developing the guys who will be there when we’re gone.”
Another member of that nucleus is hole setter Luka Kosanin, who had two goals Friday and recalls the Dolphins being on the losing end of such lopsided scores.
“We were them in 10th grade,” he said, referring to Panorama. “Now we’re looked at as the favorites. It’s cool to see how far we’ve come.”
Palisades hosted eighth-seeded LACES on Tuesday with the winner advancing to today’s semifinals against either No. 5 Granada Hills or No. 4 Cleveland.
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