CBA’s Austin Osinski takes a jumper in front of Saratoga defender Robert Morris on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Colonie, NY.
Jim Franco/Times Union
CBA’s Jack Hulett drives to the basket between Saratoga defenders Nicholas Humowitz, left, and Daniel Brynczka on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Colonie, NY.
Jim Franco/Times Union
CBA’s JJ Osinski drives to the basket in front of Saratoga defender Daniel Brynczka on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Colonie, NY.
Jim Franco/Times Union
CBA fans cheer for their team during a game against Saratoga on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Colonie, NY.
Jim Franco/Times Union
CBA head coach Galal Cancer talks to his team during a game against Saratoga on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Colonie, NY.
Jim Franco/Times Union
Reaching the Section 2 semifinals should be considered a successful season, but the Christian Brothers Academy boys’ basketball team felt falling 53-52 to top-seeded Green Tech in the Class AAA final four last season was a wasted opportunity.
The conclusion to the 2024-25 season wasn’t the ending the Brothers were looking for, but it does appear to have provided the onus for a strong start to this season.
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The Brothers opened this week with a pair of road games and prevailed each time as they defeated Holy Trinity (62-56) Monday and St. Anthony’s (54-42) Tuesday. CBA, No. 25 in the latest state rankings, is now 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Suburban Council play.
“The guys are playing hard, we’re moving the ball well and doing a lot of things we talked about doing during the offseason. I am really happy to see that we are progressing,” CBA coach Galal Cancer said.
CBA opened up its league schedule with decisions over Columbia (57-39), Saratoga Springs (86-52) and Colonie (67-38).
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The Brothers’ team defense, something Cancer felt was lacking in the first half of the 2024-25 season, has made a marked improvement this year. So far this season, the Brothers are allowing an average of 45.5 points per game.
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“Where we are making mistakes on defense, we are covering them up with our efforts,” Cancer said. “As far as the principles, we are heading in the right direction with our defense.”
The Brothers are winning their games by an average margin of 20 points. Leading the way is 6-foot-5 junior standout JJ Osinski, who is averaging 23.8 points per game, including back-to-back efforts of 24 points vs. Holy Trinity and St. Anthony’s. Those two squads are ranked No. 11 and 12, respectively, in the Class AA state rankings.
JJ Osinski is followed in scoring by junior JT Vogel (11.6 ppg), sophomore Austin Osinski (9.4 ppg) and sophomore Jack Hulett (8.4 ppg).
“I think JT, Jack and Austin have taken on roles where they don’t have to score to still impact the game,” Cancer said.
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The Brothers hit the road again Saturday with a contest at Kellenberg Memorial.
“We scheduled these nonleague games to give ourselves a different look,” Cancer said. “We want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season, so these games are very good building blocks and stepping stones to where we want to be. I definitely feel we are heading in the direction where we want to be, but we still aren’t playing to our full potential and that is a good thing with so many games left to play. As long as we are headed in that direction, I will be happy.”
The top teams in Class AAA besides CBA thus far are Shaker (4-1, 3-0), the 2025 Class AAA state champions, and Shenendehowa (5-1, 2-1).
“We talked about the things that we didn’t do and the things we needed to do to succeed for this season,” Cancer said. “We highlighted those things we fell short on and where we could have been. They have come out with an aggressive mindset on offense and defense.”
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This year’s edition of the Amsterdam Holiday College Showcase features several area teams and elite girls’ basketball squads from outside Section 2.
The event, which begins Saturday and ends Monday, has six state-ranked squads from Section in the field: Colonie (No. 3 AAA), Colonie (No. 7 AAA), Shenendehowa (No. 12 AAA), Columbia (No. 14, AA), Bethlehem (No. 22, AA) and Albany Academy (No. 2, A).
In the second game this season for the Hudson boys’ basketball, star senior guard Keith Robinson surpassed 2,000 points for his career.
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Robinson went off once again for the Bluehawks Tuesday as he delivered 37 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 21 minutes in a 102-34 Patroon Conference victory over Coxsackie-Athens. The win was the fifth straight for Hudson (5-1, 4-0), ranked 18th in the state in Class A, since opening the season with a 63-52 setback against Red Hook.