Gagliardi, Toglia lead experienced Tides team seeking redemption

The Gig Harbor High boys basketball team was one game away from playing at the Class 4A state tournament inside the Tacoma Dome last season.

The Tides had a 14-point lead over Davis High School in Yakima in the regional round of the state tournament, and looked like they were on their way to playing in the Dome.

But Gig Harbor collapsed. The Tides surrendered the lead in front of a frenzied crowd of thousands of rabid fans and Gig Harbor’s players were left with a mix of shock and sadness. On the way back home from Yakima, the team bus passed the Tacoma Dome. The significance wasn’t lost on the players.

“We were all just (upset),” said senior forward Sam Gagliardi. “We felt like we should be playing there. That’s where we should be.”

Gagliardi certainly did his part, scoring 27 points in the loss. Gagliardi had a knock for hitting big shots last season. Now, the sweet-shooting senior will look to be the team’s leader, and hopefully, get a shot at redemption.

“I thought about that game for a while,” Gagliardi said. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It just fueled me to want to get to the Tacoma Dome.”

Gig Harbor coach Billy Landram admitted the loss lingered in his mind during the offseason. But not anymore.

“I haven’t thought about it since this season started,” he said. “We have a whole new team and hopefully we can get ourselves back in that position and finish it this time.”

Experience will be a key for this year’s team. Along with Gagliardi, Gig Harbor also returns senior power forward Mike Toglia, a UCLA baseball commit, and senior guard Cory Condon, among others.

“We have some really good players,” Landram said. “We kind of have an older team this year, hopefully we can put all that together and the kids can play well together.”

Gagliardi is battling a nagging foot injury right now, but he expects to be back in a few weeks. Once he steps on the floor, Gig Harbor will have one of the most dynamic scorers in the Class 4A Narrows League to lean on.

“He’s one of the top players in our league, if not the top player,” Landram said. “He was voted the third-best player in the league last year.”

With the loss of a few senior leaders last season, Gagliardi will look to be the team’s leader this season.

“Last year, (guard) Chris Drake was the vocal leader,” Gagliardi said. “We relied on him. I think this year, that should be me.”

Gagliardi has worked on ball handling, explosiveness, and a quicker release on his jump shot over the offseason, he said. Without a true center, Gig Harbor will look to Toglia to be an important presence inside.

“(Toglia will) be huge,” Landram said. “He’s a lot better, a lot more physically mature and smarter. I think he’s going to have a big year for us.”

Gig Harbor showed steady improvement over the course of the season last year. Landram expects the same this season.

“Every night, we’re expecting to go out there and compete and win,” Landram said. “I think our goal is to get better every day. If that happens, I think anything is possible.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Gagliardi, Toglia lead experienced Tides team seeking redemption."