JV Girls Basketball

Eaglettes squeak by Griffins, 12-11

The International girls junior varsity edged Christian Learning by a single point, 12-11, in a bitterly fought defensive duel at the Christian Learning gym Tuesday.
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STOPPING JESSICA -- A key to Griffin victory was holding Eagle Jessica Smith (26) to four points.
Jonatan Muñoz, International


The Eagles zoomed off to an early lead, and led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter. But then the Griffins seemed to take control of the rebounds, and sstopped the Eagles' fas break as they fought their way back into the game point-by-point.
By halftime the Eagle advantage had been cut to two points, 8-6.
The Griffins erased that in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagle girls 4-1, and taking a 10-9 lead.
The two teams fought ferociously and played each other exactly even with one basket for each team in the fourth quarter, and plenty of near misses on both sides as the Griffins held on precariously to their one-point lead.
Carolina Baldivieso was the big gun for the Griffins with six points. Fabiana Zelada, Angela Gagliardo, and Irene Vegara had two points each.
For Christian Learning, Elise Oh had six points, Jessica Smith had four, and Jenny Zimmerman had one.

Junior Jaguars feast on Knights, 33-3

The Cooperative girls junior varsity coasted to an easy 33-3 victory over Cambridge in their home gym Tuesday.
The Jaguars led 12-0 at the end of the first quarter, and 14-1 at the half as they posted their first victory of the year.
Cooperative's Tania Landivar dominated the game, scoring 23 points, often on fast breaks after stealing the ball from Cambridge players. Landivar actually had the opportunity to take several more easy lay-ups toward the end of the game, but slowed down the pace to work the ball to teammates.
Naoli Andrade, Estefania Sauto, Ximena Fagan, Mercella Netheff, and Karla Aguilera had a basket each for Cooperative. "We learned to play together as a team, said Jaguar coach Misty Springfield after the game," and Taniua just has a talent I can't teach."
For Cambridge, Veronica Rios Reyes had two ponts, and Vera Liane de la Puente had one.

JV Boys Basketball

Eagle JV masters scrappy Griffins, 38-16

A well drilled Christan Learning boys junior varsity won an artful 38-16 victory over an International team that never gave up Tueday in the Christian Learning gym.

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REACHING HIGHER -- Eagle Damon Janzen (22) shoots over Claudio Santos (10). Josiah Canaviri (12) looks on.

Jonatan Muñoz, International

The Eagles were in charge from the start, leading 6-2 at the end of the first quarter, and 24-4 at the half. They basically held that roughly 20-point advantage throughout the second half.
The Griffins, however, never quit, and though outplayed, maintained a high level of intensity to the end. A highlight for the losing team came in the fourth quarter when an Eagle player appeared headed for the basket for an easy fastbreak lay-up when suddenly little pint-sized sixth grader Daniel Hanley came flying out of nowhere and snuffed the shot without commtting a foul.
Cesar Flores led the Eagl attack with 17 points. Damon Janzen had eight, and Haziel Martinez five (including a three-pointer). Luis Doin and Josiah Canaviri has four points each.
For International Claudio Santos and Alejandro Santos both had eight points.

Little Knights conquer Jaguars. 37-11

The Cambridge boys junior varsity sailed to an easy win over Cooperative, 37-11, Tuesday in the Jaguar gym.
The Junior Knights led 16-2 at the half. They were led once again by Jose Rivera, who scored 27 points even though he seemed to be having an off day, missing several short shots near the beginning of the game. He had averaged 32 points in his two earlier games.
Alonso Tercero added six points for the Knights, Esteve Roca had two, while Dagnoni Meneses and Diego Bejar had one point each.
Eduardo Ribera had seven points for the Jaguars. Luis Simon and Fernando Antelo had two points each.

Girls Varsity Basketball

Jaguar rally falls short, Eagles win 24-22

The Christian Learning varsity girls basketball team started its season Thursday with a narrow 24-22 victory over Cooperative in a game played in the Jaguar gym
Though an exciting contest, the game was not quite as close as the score would indicate. The Lady Eagles had a four-point lead with one second remaining on the clock. At that point Jaguar junior Cecelia Aponte sank two of her three free throws to shave Christian Learning's advantage to two points, but did not endanger the Eagles victory.
The turning point in the game had come in the third quarter when, in rapid succession, Kaylyn Lampen and Ruth Nyquist swished home three-pointers, and Nyquist swished in a rainbow lay-up to convert what had been a one-point Coopertaive advantage into a commanding seven-point Christian Learning lead, 17-11.
Cooperative had led 9-8 at halftime.
After the two three-pointers the Jaguar girls appeared to become discombobulated on offense, and the Eagles stretched their lead to nine points, 23-14, before Cooperative began a furious counterattack in the last two minutes of the game.
Jaguar freshmen Sofia Sotelo and Ana Paula Peredo took turns scoring two basket each, while the Eagles added only a free throw, bringing the score to 24-20.
With time almost out, Aponte was fouled attempting a three-pointer and made two of her three foul shots to add the final Jaguar points.
The Jaguars had had plenty of chances to score, particularly in the first half when they frequently succeeded in working the ball inside to their big players, Peredo and Carla Limpias, and dominated the rebounding at both ends, but they couldn't seem to get the ball in the basket.
The Eagles alternative stratregy of unloading long shots from outside had seemed misguided -- until Lampen and Nyquist made it suddenly seem brilliant.
For Christian Learning, Ruth Nyquist tallied nine points, and Erica Kienzle six. Lampen had the three points from her three-pointer. Jessica Smith scored three points on a basket and free throw. Tabith a Malloy had two points and Cristina Chun one.
For Cooperative, Sotelo was the leading scorer with 11 points, and Peredo finished with six. Cecilia Aponte scored three, and Nicole Broersma 2.

Knights surge to 22-8 victory over Griffins

The Lady Knights began their title defense with a convincing 22-7 win over International in the International gym Thursday.
The Big Red team started strong, building a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, and a 10-1 advantage at halftime. They broke loose for ten more points in the third quarter to build a 20-3 margin.

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LAUNCHING -- Knight Stephanie Quiroga gets off a shot over a leaping Adriana Ocampo.

Jonatan Muñoz, International

International outscored Cambridge in the final stanza, five points to two, but the Knights had the game on ice by this point.
For Cambridge, sophomore Maira Lino was the top scorer with ten points, and senior Raquel Lopez had eight. Mariana Escaño and Karen Aliaga had two points each.
For International, Estefania Gioto had four points, while Matilde Gamarra and Adriana Ocampo added two points each.

Boys Varsity Basketball

Eagles zoom by Jaguars, 55-18

The defending champion Christian Learning boys varsity basketball team put on a convincing show of offensive power as they downed Cooperative team 55-18 Thursday in the Cooperative gym.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 10-2 led in the first quarter and were never seriously challenged by a young and inexperienced Jaguar team that was clearly overmatched.
The victory was all thge more impressive in that Christian Learning was playing without seniors Jeff Stabler and Kyle Swope, who were away on a senior trip to Brazil.
While the season is just starting it appears that it could see a resumption of he ancient rivalry -- now spanning half a decade -- between Christian Learning and Cambridge.
Those two teams, both of whom won their opening games by big scores, will clash at Cambridge next week in a Friday the Thirteenth showdown that could prove to be an crucial early season test. (Get your tickets early.)
Six players scored for Christian Learning, led by freshman Andre Larsen with 15 points. Next came Andrew Burgin, a tenth grader who sat out last year, with 14. He was followed by Tim Zimmerman with nine, Danny Canaviri with seven, Paul Estes with six, and Mark Salinas with four.
For Cooperative, Jose Alfredo Abuawad had 11 points, Andres Shin six, and Diego Morales 2.

Knights victors over Griffins, 46-26

A reassembled and retooled Cambridge boys varsity overcame an early challenge by International, and then went on to roll up an impressive 46-25 win in the International gym Thursday.
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GOING TO THE HOOP -- Cambridge's Alvaro Lopez goes up for a lay-up against a heavy Griffin defensive effort.
Jonatan Muñoz, International

International, which won its opening game against Cooperative last week, looked to be going for two in a row as it jumped out to an 8-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, aided by great rebounding from its big men, Ernando Tesch and Mario Rohrman.
The Griffins were still very much in the game at halftime, although the smaller, but quicker, Cambridge team had taken a 17-13 lead.
The Knights seem to get really it together in the second half, and played with increasing speed and confidence as they outscored International 14 to 6 in the third period, and 15-7 in the final stanza.
The Knight team, which has only two players who were starters at the beginning of last year, seemed to be learning, as the game progressed, how to play nicely with each other.
They also seemed to increase the intensity of their defensive effort, containing (though not stopping) International star David Huang by consistently forcing the left-handed guard to go to his right.
The Big Red team substituted freely toward the end, and actually seemed to have better bench strength than in past years when it has won champlonships. (Last year Cambridge tied with Christian Learning for first place during the regular season, then finished third in the post-season tournament.)
Cambridge had a nicely balanced scoring attack, getting 12 points from Tae Han Kook and 11 from Alvaro Lopez, and 10 from Daniel Kim. Kim had two three-pointers and Kook had one. Jose Ribera had nine points and Fabricio Suberana had four.
Despite all the attention paid to him, Huang still managed to lead the Griffin attack with 12 points. Tesch added five, Maycol Villavicencio had three (on a three-pointer), while Jan Ivo Sochtig and Alejandro Rios had two ponts each.

JV Girls Basketball

Eaglettes dominate Cambridge, 39-2

The Christian Learning girls junior varsity started its season in winning fashion, handily defeating Cambridge 39-2 in a game played in the Cambridge gym Monday.


Griffin JV surges to beat Knights 14-8

The International girls junior varsity basketball team scored the final thre baskets to defeat Cambridge 14-8 in the International gym Tuesday.
The Griffins led 6-2 at halftime, but the Knights came back to tie the game 8-8 in the third period. International then scored six unanswered ponts to ice the victory.


Eagle JV overwhelms Jaguars, 35-8

The Christian Learning girls junior varsity basketball won its second decisive victory of the season as it defeated Cooperative 35-8 in the Jaguars gym Tuesday.
The Eagles led 17-2 at the half, and owned a 25-2 lead in the third quarter. Neither of the Eagle oppoenents this year have reached double figures.

JV Boys Basketball

Little Knights beat Eagles, 42-17

The Cambridge junior varsity boys team chalked up a 42-17 victory over Christian Learning in the opening game for both teams, played Monday afternoon at Cambridge.
Cambridge led 19-1 at the half.
Jose Ribera of the Knights led all scorers with 32 points, giving the eighth grader 63 points in his first two games. Discrepancies on the score sheet prevented further tabulation of the scoring.

Eagle JV edges Jaguars, 19-17

The Christian Learning junior varsity gained its first win of the season by outlasting Cooperative 19-17 in a game at the Cooperative gym Tuesday afternoon that was close all the way.
More to come


Knight JV runs away from Griffins, 35-8

The Cambridge junior varsity boys basketball team picked up its second win of the season by defeating International in the International gym Tuesday afternoon 35-8.
The teams were tied 5-5 at halftime, but Cambridge broke the game open with 14 unanswered points in the third quarter.
Jose Ribera, who also starts for the Cambridge varsity, led all scorers with 31 points, including a three-pointer. Kevin Mendez and Alejandro Saldaño had a basket each for Cambridge.
For International, Marco Bain had four points, Joaquin Wray two; and Jan Ivo Song and Danny Hanley a point each.

First Track Meet

Jaguar girls, Griffin boys win track meet

The Cooperative girls and International boys track teams achieved victories in their respective categories in the opening meet of the track season held Friday and Saturday.
The Jaguars had been ahead in both competitions after Friday's running events at Tahuichi Stadium, but the International boys were able to regain the lead in the field events held at International Saturday morning.
The Griffin girls cut the Jaguar lead in the field events, but Cooperative prevailed by four points.
The final point totals were as follows:
Girls: Cooperative 134; International 130; Cambridge 21; Christian Learning, 20.
Boys: International 133; Cooperative 119: Cambridge 55: Christian Learning, 16.
The team championships are determined by combining the points from this meet with points scored in the championship meet slated for March 27-28.
The athletes who participated in the first track meet were still very much in early season form, and many athletes were absent. Christian Learning had only token participation in the meet, and did not participate in any of the relays.
Nonetheless, two League records were set in the running events, both by Jaguar freshman star Sofia Sotelo.
Sotelo knocked about sixteen seconds off her own record in the girls 1500 meters with a clocking of 5:38.04, and then took four seconds off the record in the 800 meters with a time of 2:43.26. The old record had been set by Whitney Belovicz of Christian Learning, who finished a distant second to Sotelo Friday.
Renzo Pinto was a triple winner for the Cooperative boys, sweeping the 100, 200, and 400, but did not threaten the League records in those events, one of which (the 200) he currently holds.
Two more records were broken in the field events, both of these by Nicolas "Yeyo" Bedoya of International. He added five millimeters to the high jump record he had held jointly with Manfred Grote of Cambridge and teammate Martin Fernandz with a leap of 1.70 meters.
Bedoya then shaved 2 millimeters off the long jump record held by teammate Marc Antonio Parada by jumping 5.55 meters. Parada finished second.
Results by event:
Girls 1500 meters -- Sofia Sotelo, Cooperative (5:38.04); Florencia Sosa, International; Laura Sanchez, International.
Boys 1500 meters -- Danny Canaviri, Christian Learning (5:07.88); Junior Sanchez, Cambridge; Alexander Nagel, Cambridge.
Girls 100 meters -- Kaira Czerniewicz, Cooperative (:15.07); Tania Landivar, Cooperative; Valeria Feijoo, International.
Boys 100 meters -- Renzo Pinto, Cooperative (:12.02); Mario Rohrman, International: Sergio Gonzales, Cooperative.
Girls 400 meters -- Jessica Smith, Christian Learning (1:14.79); Maria Isabel Barrenechea, International; Luciana Adriazola, Cooperative.
Boys 400 meters -- Renzo Pinto, Cooperative (:58.88); Jose Alfredo Abuawad, Cooperative; David Huang, International.
Girls 800 meters -- Sofia Sotelo, Cooperative (2:43.26); Whitney Belovicz, Christian Learning; Raquel Lopez, Cambridge.
Boys 800 meters -- Nicolas Bedoya, International (2:34.25); Lorenzo Chiovolomi, Cooperative; Joaquin Castañedo, International.
Girls 200 meters -- Maria Victoria Gutierrez, International (:32.05); Kaira Czerniewicz, Cooperative; Tania Landivar, Cooperative.
Boys 200 meters -- Renzo Pinto, Cooperative (:25.54); Jose Bedoya, International; Tae Han Kook, Cambridge.
Girls 4 x 100 meters relay -- Cooperative (Macareña Valdez, Tania Landivar, Kaira Czerniewicz, Audrey Saucedo) 1:02.96; International; Cambridge.
Boys 4 x 100 meters relay -- Cooperative: International; Cambridge.
Girls 4 x 400 meters relay -- International (Maria Victoria Gutierrez, Florencia Sosa, Maria Isabel Barrenechea, Carmen Mansur) 5:13.65; Cooperative (No other teams competed).
Boys 4 x 400 meters relay -- International (David Huang, Joaquin Casteñado, Nicolas Bedoya, Marco Parada) 4;21.43; Cooperative; Cambridge.
Girls long jump -- Florncia Sosa, International 3.64 meters; 2. Maria Victoria Gutierrez, International; Carla Limpias, Cooperative.
Boys long jump -- Nicolas Bedoya, International 5.55 meters; Marco Parada, International; Alvaro Lopez, Cambridge.
Girls high jump -- Florencia Sosa, International, 1.40 meters; Flava Nostas, International. (No other athletes cleared the qualifying height.)
Boys high jump -- Nicolas Bedoya, International, 1.70 meters; Diego Morles, Cooperative; Diego Nostas, International.
Girls discus -- Alexia Handal, Cooperative, 18.09 meters; Ana Pauda Peredo, Cooperative; Camila Johnson, International.
Boys discus -- Marco Antonio Parada, International, 26.55; Diego Morales, Cooperative; Daniel Kim, Cambridge.
Girls shot put -- Camila Johnson, International, 7.76; Alexia Handal, Cooperative; Carla Limpias, Cooperative.
Boys shot put -- Diego Nostas, International, 11.12; Sebastian Gylman, Cooperative; Diego Morales, Cooperative.

Varsity Boys Basketball

Griffins shock Jaguars in opener, 31-13

Paced by an artistic 18-point performance by senior David Huang, the International boys varsity blew out Cooperative in their home gym 31-13 Thursday afternoon.
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TANGLED DEFENDERS -- Jaguar Andres Shin tries to stop Griffin Joaquin Casteñada
Jonatan Muñoz, International



The Griffins, who were winless last year (and hadn't, in fact, won a game in recent memory), were never behind in the one-sided contest. They led 10-5 at the half, and exploded t o a 20-9 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Jaguars seemingly had no way to stop Huang who time after time twisted and turned his way through to the basket, or pulled up short and swished in a short jumper.
There was excellent "court talk" between Huang and Mario Rohrman, who teamed up on may of the Griffing offensive forays. Rohrman notched eight points.
Joaquin Castañedo and Ernando Tesch each had two points for the Griffins.
Diego Morales had eight points for the Jaguars and Nicolas Suarez added three. Andres Shin and Jose Alfredo Abuawad had one point each.
The game drew a lot of attention from the two teams that were idle Thursday. The audience included Christian Learning coach Chad Jackson and most of the Eagle boys starting line-up, as well as Cambridge coach Victor Coronado.
Christian Learning and Cambridge postponed the games originally scheduled for yesterday until later in the season. Everyone is off next week for Carnaval.

Varsity Girls Basketball

Jaguars forge 15-8 win over Griffins

The Cooperative girls varsity defeated International 15-8 Thursday in the International gym.
Both teams made plenty of early season miscues, and neither had its shooting shoes on, but both played aggressive defense. They battled evenly through the first three quarters, and the Jaguar girls led by only two points, 10-8, shortly after the beginning of the fourth quarter.

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GIMME MY BALL -- Jaguar Sofia Sotelo and Griffin Camila Johnson fight for possession.

Jonatan Muñoz, International

But in the fourth quarter the Jaguars got some clutch shooting by freshmen Sofia Sotelo and Ana Paula Peredo, while holding the Griffins scoreless to seal the victory.
Peredo was the high scorer for the Jaguars with six points, followed closely by Sotelo with five. Carla Limpias and Ana Paula Justiniano each added a basket.
Stephanie Gioto had four points for the Griffins, Irene Vegara two, while Laura Gioto and Adriana Ocampo registered one point each.

JV Girls Basketball

SMALL BUT SKILLED -- Griffin Fabiana Zelada prepares to drive past Jaguars Naomi Andrade (9), Naguma Kamiya (8) and Ximena Fagan (4) Jonatan Muñoz, International

Griffins take a squeaker from Jaguars, 12-11

The International junior varsity girls eked out a 12-11 victory over Cooperative Tuesday in their home gym in a back-and-forth game during which the lead changed hands six times.
The Griffin girls, who had been humbled by Cooperative 76-4 a year ago, showed immediately that this was a very different team as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter. They remained ahead, 6-4 at the half, but the Jaguars caught up in the third quarter, taking the lead 7-6. After that the two teams took turns taking the lead.
The Griffins went ahead 12-11 on a basket by Fabiana Zelada, the little sister of last year's varsity scoring champion, Daniela Zelada. They held onto that one-point advantage through the last several minutes of the game, during which both teams had many near misses.
In addition to Zelada's goal, International got six points from Irene Vergara and four points from Carolina Baldivieso. In addition, Coach Eduardo "Presi" de la Riva praised Angela Galliardi for her outstanding defensive play.
For Cooperative, Giovanna Varalta scored five points; Karla Aguilera had four, and Geraldine Milos-Lopez had two. Coach Misty Skidmore also cited the outstanding play of Estefania Sauto.

JV boys basketball

LOOKING FOR A WAY THROUGH -- Jaguar Matthew Delozier tries to penetrate a tough Griffin defense, while Tae Cho (6) blocks. Jonatan Muñoz, International

Jaguars outpoint Griffins to start season

This article revised February 26 with new information added

The Cooperative boys junior varsity defeated International 18-13 at the International gym Tuesday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.
The Jaguars led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter, and 8-4 at the half. They extended their lead to 14-7 in the third quarter.
International's Claudio Santos was the high scorer in the game with nine points. Danny Hanley and Alejandro Saldaño had two points each for the Griffins.
For Cooperative, George Scanlon had six points. Josue Abuawad, Jose Mozza, and Rolando Nayar each had four points.

However, after the game Cooperative school officials determined at an academically ineligible player had participated in the game for the Jaguars. In a joint action taken by Cooprative and League officials it was decided that the game would count in the standings as a win for International.

Girls Basketball Preview

The Lady Knights are back intact,
but don't rule out some surprises

The SCISL girls varsity season features a championship team with all its players returning, which should make forecasting simple. But it does not.
Remember that this is the division where last year the team that finished first during the regular season finished last in the playoffs, and the team that finished last during the regular season came within a few points of winning the championship.
Partly because no team has developed the kind of shooting skill that can make victory sure, anything can happen – and frequently does. Here is a preview with the teams covered in the topsy-turvy order that they finished last year.
The Knights are back, and seeking vindication
The Cambridge girls varsity will have a familiar look when they take the floor this season. Almost all of the key players from last year’s championship team are back. (There may be some new faces, but Cambridge has not yet had a practice that included new arrivals at the school as of this writing.)
Leading the team once again, as she has for the past two seasons, is senior Raquel Lopez, whose quietly ferocious will to win was perhaps the team’s biggest asset last year. If Cambridge were to win the championship this year, it would be the school’s – and Lopez´-- third in a row.
Also returning are Maira Lino, the best outside shooter in the League on her good days, and junior Mariana Escaño, who has been a standout since eighth grade.
Those three will be supported by several more seasoned players, including seniors Vania Rueda and Karen Aliaga, as well as freshman Lucia Candia, a standout on last year’s junior varsity.
The lone loss is 10th grader Camilla Johnson, who has enrolled at International and may well be heard from there.
So why isn’t the victory of the Knights a foregone conclusion? Mainly because last year they were so famously inconsistent, hot as firecrackers one minute, cold as ice the next. They never got the knack of making winning look easy. In one game they scored 19 points in the first half – an impressive total in this League – then didn’t tally again in the rest of the game.
They still won that game, and the championship, with both achievements based mainly on the aggressive, smothering, stick-like-glue defense for which Cambridge teams have become well known under hard-driving coach Victor Coronado.
Defense ultimately enabled them to prevail in the championship game against Cooperative, which went into overtime, and in their semifinal victory over Christian Learning, which will be remembered as one of the hardest-fought games in League history.
Still the feeling remains that if another team can get hot on a day when the Knights are not, that team can prevail.
Jaguars were hard-luck team turned Cinderella
The Cooperative varsity pushed Cambridge to the limit in last year’s championship game, and should be a threat to take the championship this year, even though it was something of a miracle that they got to the finals at all.
The Jaguars had suffered through a year from hell, losing five of their six regular season games with most of the losses coming by two points or less, one in overtime. Many of the players were eighth graders, and they made the kind of mistakes that come from inexperience. Still, they were able to rally in the playoffs – and almost take the championship.
The Jaguars have only lost only one starter, Nataly Noguer, and have a returning star in Top Ten scorer Cecelia Aponte, a junior, who will be augmented by her sister, Natalia Aponte. In addition most of those young, inexperienced players from last year are back – and a lot less inexperienced.
These freshmen include Ana Paola Peredo, Sofia Sotelo, Nicole Broersma, Ana Paola Justiniano, Carla Limpias, and Audrey Saucedo. They have proved their talent. As JV players they once tallied 74 points in a single game, more than any other team in the League, varsity or junior varsity, boys or girls, has scored in one game in the entire history of the League.
International must learn to live without Zelada
The International girls varsity achieved respectability last year, winning the first two regular season games in their history, one of them against Cambridge, the eventual League champion.
In the playoffs the Griffins defeated Christian Learning, which had been the regular season champion, in the consolation game, thereby rising to third place in the League for the first time.
It would be nice to say that their progress is sure to continue this year, but that could be a tough assignment.
Both Daniela Zelada, who lead the League in scoring last year, and Melisa Roca, another outstanding player and Top Ten scorer, have graduated. The task of filling their shoes will fall to juniors Stephanie Gioto and Maria Isabel Barrenechea, both of whom made major contributions to the team last year.
Coach Eduardo “Presi” de la Riva is counting as well on the rapid maturation of juniors Regina Landivar, Adriana Ocampo, and Matilda Gamarra, as well as freshman Laura Gioto. Last year they learned defense, he says. This year they are developing offensive skills as well.
And, as noted, he will have former Cambridge starter Camila Johnson on his roster this year.
Will Christian Learning be rebuilding – or revenging?
Last year’s Christian Learning girls team was a puzzle. They won the regular season championship with a 5-1 record, then mysteriously crashed and burned in the playoffs, losing to Cambridge in a battle royale semi-final, then losing the consolation game to International, putting them fourth in the post-season tournament.
The heart of that team has graduated. Playmaker Roxy Jien, high-scorer Sabrina Hallock, star forward Ann Marie Hawthorne, and speedy Jennifer Lau are all gone. At any other school those losses would make the coming year a “rebuilding” year. But maybe not at Christian Learning, which has rarely been short of basketball talent.
No report has come in from Coach Mike Warren, who is moving up from assistant coach last year, but on paper he has the nucleus a strong team in sharp-shooting junior Kaylyn Lampen, and sophomore Tabitha Malloy, an experienced player under the basket. In addition, Cristina Chun and Ruth Nyquist saw plenty of action this year, and could step up this year.
No one ever counts the Eagle girls out, and there’s no question but that they have some scores to settle around the League.

Boys Basketball Preview

Eagles face challenges from Griffins,
Jaguars, and Salas-less Knights

New material added to this story February 24.
The 2009 Santa Cruz Interscholastic Sports League (SCISL) boys basketball season presents fascinating panoply of probabilities, possibilities – and puzzles. Here’s the situation at each school presented according to the order of finish last year.
Eagles once again have skill and depth
The Christian Learning boys team lost some key players to graduation, including captain Tim Swope, all-star David Lotz, and stalwart rebounder Josh Mann, but thanks in part to its high percentage of North American students the Eagles never seem to lack for players who know how the game in played, and this year will be no exception.
Two of last year’s big stars are back – senior power forward Jeff Stabler and sharp-shooting guard Paul Estes. They will be ably supported by a cadre of experienced players. (The Eagles last year often substituted four or five players at a time with no apparent diminution of efficiency.) These include junior Danny Canaviri, who demonstrated clutch shooting skills last year, as well as Tim Zimmerman, Richard Ling and Kyle Swope. Andre Larsen, the big man on last year’s outstanding JV team, moves up to the varsity, as does Nicolas Smith. Also, soccer standout Josh Mojica has been talked into trying his hand at basketball this year.
The key challenge for the Eagles will be coming up with someone to play low post. Six-foot sophomore Jesse Hallock had been pegged for the job, but has returned to the US with his family.
Coach Chad Jackson will be guiding the team, coming off a stellar debut last year in which his teams won the regular season championship, the post-season tournament, and the all-star game, while he personally won the coaches foul-shooting contest at the all-star game. He will be assisted again by James Wolheter.
At this point the Eagles look like the team to beat.
Jaguars lost stars, but new ones are rising
Cooperative probably suffered the most from graduation, and the team will have to surmount what has become their school’s losing tradition. The Jaguar boys have not won a championship since taking the track crown in 2006, and have never won the basketball championship in the entire history of the League.
Last year’s team may have come closest. After a mediocre 2-4 regular season, veteran coach Max Farfan primed his team for the playoffs and upset co-favorite Cambridge by two points in the semifinals. The Jaguars then lost to Christian Learning in the finals, but played a creditable game.
However, graduation has taken captain and high scorer Pablo Taborga, and Big John Paredo, who was also a Top Ten scorer. Daniel Linggi, who was a key factor in the playoff games, has also gone on to greater things, as well as key substitutes Esteban Gomez and Cristobal Roda.
Still, that leaves the Jaguars sophomore Juan Alfredo Abuawad, a Top Ten scorer last year and the player with the highest vertical leap in the League. He will be aided and abetted by junior Diego Morales, who showed occasional flashes of brilliance last year, as well as a group of highly talented freshmen from last year’s champion JV team, including Milan Marinkovic, Andres Shin, Nicolas Suarez, and Oliver Lederman. The Jaguars have to be regarded as dark horse contenders.
Knights will be a team of mystery
Cambridge will be without its big stars of last year, Juan Manuel Salas and Benjamin Ezpeleta. Ezpeleta, the No. 2 scorer and the most stylish player in the League last year, graduated. Salas, the No. 1 scorer in the League and arguably the best player in the city, has moved to Lima for his senior year, where he is playing for Colegio San Augustin, a perennial basketball powerhouse, and for a semi-professional basketball club.
Those losses don’t render the Knights defenseless, but it does make them a big question mark. They will still have Jose Ribera, their third Top Ten scorer from last year and the leading three-point shooter in the League. He will be a whole year older – but still only an eighth grader.
They also have junior Alvaro Lopez, who wasn’t noticed much when he was on the same court with Salas and Ezpeleta, but has a proven ability to put the ball in the hoop. (He also has good bloodlines. His sister is captain of Cambridge’s defending champion girls team, and his brother starred for Cambridge several years ago.)
Another experienced player is Tae Han Kook, a junior who came on strong for Cambridge last year filling in for Yosep Song, whose loss for the season with a broken leg visibly dimmed the Big Red team’s championship prospects, and who has graduated. The Knight aficionados love to cheer Kook. “KOOK . . . KOOK . . .KOOK . . . ,” they chant.
The Big Red team also has some newcomers who may be able to help out in a hurry. The most promising is Tomu Hashimoto, an agile junior. Also, Alexander Nagel, an outstanding swimmer and track star, has decided to try his hand at basketball this year.
But even with those new players, Cambridge will (once again) be the shortest team in the League, with no proven rebounder.
Still, they will again be coached by Victor Coronado, who has a demonstrated ability to make lemons into lemonade, and whose teams always play omnivorous defense and shoot well. Cambridge’s new athletic director, Steve Hill, is a former US professional basketball player, and may be able to offer some pointers.
Their opening game against the Eagles, which has been rescheduled for the week after Carnival, will give a better picture of the Knights’ potential.
This could be the year of the Griffins’ Revenge
International’s boys have been the doormats of the League since the start of the League in 2004, and lost all of their games last year. However, they almost beat everyone in the League except the Eagles last year, and this could be the year the worm turns. They lost last year by only one-point in overtime to the Jaguars, and succumbed to Cambridge by three points after leading for most of the game.
True, some of last year’s best players have moved on. Martin Gonzales, the team’s best scorer, and Alex Roempler have graduated. Christopher Saltzieder has moved back to the US.
However, the Griffins welcome back three outstanding players. They are seniors David Huang, who was a star of the all-star game last year, Ernando Tesch, who will be a force to be reckoned with under the boards, and Mario Rohrman, who was uneven in his play last year but showed great promise at times.
Another senior, Nicolas “Yeyo” Bedoya, has been persuaded to try basketball. He has demonstrated his ability to leap by setting the League record in the high jump, and was a standout on the Griffins soccer team.
Sophomore Joaquin Casteñedo will probably be the fifth starter.
Other players expected to contribute include sophomores Santiago Maldonado, who missed last season after breaking his shoulder playing rugby, and Felipe Molina, who was out last year with a broken ankle, and Diego Nostas. The Griffins may also have a “seventh grade phenom” in Julio Rivero, who has been playing with great poise in practice.
Second-year Coach Eduardo “Presi” de la Riva stresses that he is not just thinking about this season. He has his eye on the future. Two years ago, he says, “nobody here played basketball.” This year he had so many players show up for junior varsity tryouts that he formed a four-team coed league, with ten or eleven players on each team. His goal is to create a basketball machine.
This could be the year the Griffin boys break out of the cellar. Juan Manuel Salas, writing in from Peru, picks International to go all the way and win the championship. Of course that’s just one man’s opinion.

Hot Stove League

Basketball, track schedules set;
No decision on all-star games

The Santa Cruz Interscholastic Sports League basketball season will tip off beginning Tuesday, February 17, when the Cooperative and International junior varsities will clash at International.
The varsities from International and Cooperative will play Thursday, Feb. 19, again at International. The games between Christian Learning and Cambridge that were originally scheduled for these dates have been postponed until later in the season. (See full schedule at right.)
The two SCISL track meets are scheduled for February 27-28 and March 27-28. There will be other track events as well including an invitational cross-country-style event at International School at a date still to be determined, and a mini-Olympics for middle school students (grades 6-8) at Cooperative on May 13. There will also probably be a varsity competition incorporated into the Cooperative School’s “Fun Run” on April 18.
In addition to setting the schedule, the SCISL board approved a number of rule changes and made other policy decisions. However, no final determination was made on the question of whether to have any more all-star games. The future of such games was called into question by the large number of no-shows at the soccer and volleyball all-star games, especially on the boys´ teams.
It was decided that at the beginning of the basketball season the players and coaches would be surveyed to see if there was any interest in continuing such games. If there is, there might be a basketball all-star game like last year’s, in which the top players in the League would play one another. The League will not try to arrange an all-star game with non-League teams again anytime soon because of last November’s embarrassing outcomes.
The rules regarding the punishment for teams that arrive late or fail to show for matches was clarified by the board. As now written, if a school’s junior varsity is more than ten minutes late then that school loses by forfeit both the junior varsity and the varsity games in that sport that day (assuming both a varsity and junior varsity game are scheduled). If the coaches agree, the two varsities may play a “friendly” game, but it will not count in the standings.
If a school fails to field a junior varsity team for a scheduled match then that game is, of course, forfeited. But if the varsities are present they will play an official game that counts in the standings.
The change reduces the degree of discretion given to the coaches regarding whether to play, and eliminates an ambiguity in the wording of the regulation that made it unclear whether tardiness or failure to field a junior varsity team affected all sports played that day, or just the sport in which a team was late or failed to show.
The board members also made a small change in the rules regarding tie scores in consolation games in the soccer playoffs, eliminating the provision for overtime play in these games, which determine third and fourth place. The teams will go directly to a penalty shoot-out. The change was made because the consolation games were frequently ending in ties that unduly delayed the tournament schedule, pushing the championship game deep into the night.
No change was made in the requirement for a shoot-out in tie regular season games to determine points in the standings, or the provision for a 20-minute sudden death overtime in tied championship games. In championship games there is a shoot-out only when no team scores in the overtime period.
Another change stated that no school can be eligible for the Fair Play Trophy in soccer unless it fields both varsity and junior varsity teams. The trophy is awarded to the school whose teams accrue the fewest penalties.
COMING SOON: Previews of the boys and girls varsity seasons.