Senior Gabriel Cardena has an immense passion for basketball. He was on the team his sophomore year in 2015 at Phoenix Military academy where he would sweat and work hard to make it through the season.

It began when he was in third grade when he played with one of his good friends, Orlando, during gym class. At the time Cardena played, he underestimated his friend who ended up having great skills in ball.

At home he would watch The Chicago Bulls play and he was  influenced by  Derrick Rose. Rose has been known as one of the best players the Chicago Bulls have.

Cardena joined the Phoenix Firebird Basketball team his sophomore year of highschool in 2015. Since  Cardena had never played on a team, he had some trouble at first  but eventually pushed through the pain to get all the way through his season.

“I’ve always loved basketball, but being on the team made me realize it was more of a hobby than it would be a career,” said Cardena.

His plans for the future are much different than expected because although the college he will attend is undetermined he wants to stay in the city to study business. In the near future he wants to create a business of his own that involves telecommunication.