1980-81 St. Pius X Saints (8th grade)
Diocesan Section 6 Champions!

Front Row: Greg Jones (manager), Chris Jones, Chris Modispatcher, Dean Abbondanza, Matt Staab and Frank Jones (head coach).
Second Row: Scott Palma, Peter Staab, Robert Nerone and Ernie Gigliotti.
Third Row: Jim Packard (assistant coach), Ron Mutinelli, Rocky Esposito, Armand Abbondanza, Paul Trozzo, Dale Rusnak and Phil Constantino (assistant coach).

St. Pius X Basketball Team Are Winners
Even When Losing Finals

Although St. Pius X School eighth grade basketball team ended its season on a losing note, losing in the semi-finals of the playoffs, the fiesty Saints had already proven themselves capable of playing against any team.

The Saints, coached by Frank Jones and Assistant Coaches Jim Packard and Phil Constantino, advanced to the Diocesan playoffs by beating Our Lady of Loreto for the Section 6 title. It marked the first time that St. Pius had finished in first place in section play. This accomplishment would have satisfied other teams, but St. Pius still had more to prove.

The Saints entered the playoffs with little chance of winning since they were a (B) team competing against far bigger schools. But the larger schools found that what the Saints lacked in numbers, they made up in guts and scrappiness. St. Pius surprised a lot of people when they appeared in the semi-finals.

The Saint's season ended with two straight losses, but the team had entertained their fans with an exciting season, and no one could disagree with the fact that the St. Pius team was indeed a winner.

The Saints place Robert Nerone and Armand Abbondanza on the Diocesan All-Star team.

* Reprinted from the Brookline Journal - 1981; Photo provided by Chris Jones *