St. Raymond's, Stepinac Advance to City Intersectional Boys Basketball 'AA' Final

| 03/7/2025

By: Steven Schwankert

Sunday’s game will be the Crusaders’ sixth consecutive championship appearance

Archbishop Stepinac's Hassan Koureissi (in white) looks for the lane in his team's 72-52 win over Christ The King, Thursday, March 6, 2025.
Archbishop Stepinac's Hassan Koureissi (in white) looks for the lane in his team's 72-52 win over Christ The King, Thursday, March 6, 2025. Photo by Elijah Segers.

Basketball teams from Archbishop Stepinac High School and St. Raymond’s School for Boys set up an all-Archdiocese of New York final with wins in the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) intersectional semi-finals Thursday evening.

In the early game, St. Ray’s defeated St. Francis Preparatory School of Fresh Meadows, leading by as much as 25 points during the first half. After a disappointing regular season, Coach Jorge Lopez’s team seems to be peaking at the right time, upsetting the Diocese of Brooklyn’s top team, 68-59 at Fordham University.

Stepinac made it look easy, leading Christ the King Regional High School of Middle Village throughout all four quarters, booking their sixth consecutive intersectional title game appearance with a 72-52 win.

The two will meet again on Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m., having last clashed in the archdiocesan championship on February 22. Stepinac won that contest, 66-61, along with both regular season matchups. The championship game will return to Fordham’s Rose Hill Gymnasium.

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