This week marks the start of the NJSIAA boys and girls basketball tournaments. For the next week, the top basketball teams in the state will face-off for a chance to become a state champion.

This year seven of our local teams qualified for the state group tournaments, three boys’ and four girls’ teams. While the competition will certainly be fierce, we know that our student-athletes will perform at the highest level.

High school athletics is one of the last remaining pure forms of sports. It shows the true emotion, with which we can all identify, that comes with each victory or defeat.

The competition over the next 10 days will be fierce, and at times ugly, on the hard-court. But that is the game of basketball and this is the championship season.

While not all of our teams qualified, each boys’ and girls’ team this season deserves everyone’s respect.

But for those teams that did make it, Cresskill boys and girls, Old Tappan boys and girls, Dwight Morrow boys and Holy Angels and Tenafly girls, we wish you the best of luck.

And no matter what the result you are all still winners in our hearts.