Resilient Rebuild: How Momentum is Mounting for the Buffaloes Basketball Season
Manteca girls' Varsity basketball team huddled up during a timeout in a game against Tokay in Manteca’s new gym on December 9, 2025 (Gage Smith).
By GAGE SMITH and XAVIER SMITH
The Tower
MANTECA – The Manteca High girls' varsity basketball squad has faced its share of setbacks this season. Recent wins, however, see them trending upwards.
Coach Oscar Calix has his focus on developing versatile athletes in addition to building strong team culture to maintain their momentum.
"Skill development is very important, during the off season we do a lot skill work and drills to develop our girls so that they aren’t limited to certain positions, we want our girls to be versatile so they give themselves better opportunities to play at the next level,” Calix said regarding his approach to developing players’ skills. “All girls no matter what position work on shooting, dribbling, and all the fundamentals that go into the game.”
Manteca girls’ Varsity team handshakes Tokay after pulling out a win in Manteca’s new gym on December 9, 2025 (Gage Smith).
In 23-24, the program had an overall record of 25-8. In 24-25, they slipped to 8-18. This winter saw them open 1-5 but have won five of their last six games. Their record currently stands 5-6, showing real improvement in each game.
“Since I’ve been here, we had a good talent graduate, but these girls understand it’s next man up,” Calix said. “We have taken our lumps early on, but those shoes eventually get filled by the next man up and they take pride in their role on the team growing.”
Leadership is essential to the performance of any team. Selecting the right players to lead the team requires deliberate consideration of the characteristics and qualities they possess. It’s about more than skill and playing ability.
“I look for girls with good attitudes, work hard, don’t complain, do the little things right and aren’t scared to be vocal,” Calix said, describing his ideal team leaders.
“Seniors have helped by taking a leadership role in guiding the younger players,” Junior Na’ima Calderon said. “We do have some underclassmen on our team on our team and they’re learning to play at the varsity level. They have been good role models.”
Part of the challenge comes down to experience, with players needing to adjust to the speed and physicality of the sport. Calix is working to sharpen specific aspects of their fundamental gameplay.
“This season we really want to put an emphasis on our defense, allow our defense to turn into offense and limit our turnovers this season,” Calix said.
“We have a freshman starting point guard and sophomore shooting guard,” Calderon described some of the team’s challenges this season. “Having them both on the court, still learning, can be a struggle sometimes. But they’ve got it.”
A lot of this season’s focus has been on growth and adjustments. Calix’s vision for the program extends beyond this year.
“We want to make sure we keep the girls together in the off season to continue to play basketball, continue to get reps, continue to build our skills up, so that way when season comes we aren’t playing catch up,” Calix explained his plan for ensuring that the team is more competitive next season.
Part of his preparations also include identifying and evaluating talent on the lower levels who could become future contributors to the varsity team. Jill Decosta and Kemari Williams are two of the names that stand out to Calix, as he believes they could make an impact in future seasons.
The road to dominance won’t be built overnight. But Coach Calix is laying the foundation and embracing the grind. A push to get into the win column shows progress is being made. For the Buffaloes, hard work and resilience are an integral part of the process.