Varsity Basketball Second Half Preview

Fasten seatbelts -- choppy weather ahead
By David Boldt
SCISL News
The finish of the 2008 SCISL varsity basketball season over the next three weeks should provide one of those wonderful periods in which anything can happen – and probably will.
Boys: Something’s gotta give
The first half of the season ended with both Christian Learning and Cambridge sporting identical 3-0 records, with each team having made a narrow escape. But the main reason that they’re both undefeated is, of course, that they haven’t played each other yet.
That will be remedied Thursday afternoon when the Knights will venture into the Eagles’ den, a home gym sure to be filled to the rafters with loyal and vocal Eagle fans. The return match will be just two weeks later in the shadowy confines of the Cambridge coliseum.

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TYPICAL SCENE -- The Eagles and Knights get confrontational when they play, as this scene from last year's championship game shows. Cambridge College

The schedule seems to have been designed to showcase the ancient (and astringent) rivalry between these two teams who have battled each other for league supremacy every year since the league was created way back in ‘05.
It’s hard to imagine two more closely matched teams than these two this year. The Eagles have been averaging 43 points a game, the Knights 40. The Eagles’ opponents have been held to 27 points a game: the Knights’ to 26.
Cambridge may have the more explosive offense, led by slick playing senior Benjamin Ezpeleta and line bucking junior Juan Manual Salas, who stand together atop the list of leading scorers in the league. They are aided and abetted by sharp-shooting seventh grade phenom Jose Rivera, along with a flying squad of fast-dribbling playmakers including Josep Song, Sergio Palazuelos, and Zhau Fua Zhou Zeng. Look for the Knights to prevail in a shootout.
Still, there are times when the Knights´ volatile mixture fails to ignite, when the footwork is there but the timing is off. And Christian Learning has many ways to attack. Paul Estes, Josh Mann, Danny Canaviri and Jeff Stabler have each scored in double digits on at least one occasion, and the Brothers Swope – Tim and Kyle – have shown that they can come up with big points in key moments.
Moreover, Christian Learning’s big men are bigger than Cambridge’s big men, which could give the Eagles an added edge if the games devolve into trench warfare.
But perhaps the most interesting lesson from the first half is that both of the other teams in the league – Cooperative and International – have shown the capacity to act as spoilers, and will have to be reckoned with in the concluding games and the playoffs.
Cooperative came within a basket of Christian Learning in their first meeting, losing 41-39. On paper the Jaguars look terrific. They have three big men – Juan Peredo, Juan Abuawad, and Diego Morales – who can all score in double digits. Senior guard Pablo Taborga has been brilliant when healthy, but an ankle injury sidelined him for two of the Jaguars first four games.
Cooperative has been plagued by injuries and absenteeism, as well as by an inability to make clutch baskets, indicating that its 1-3 first half record is attributable to something other than lack of talent. The Jaguars could surprise Cambridge when the two teams play each other in the second half’s second week.
International, for its part, was ahead of Cambridge for most of the game in their second meeting of the season, before losing narrowly, 42-39, in a game that could have turned out differently if International hadn’t missed four free throws in the final minute.
The Griffins have two consistent scorers in flashy guard David Huang and smooth-shooting Martin Gonzales. Mario Rohmer has improved in both shooting and rebounding as the season progressed, and other Griffins are also progressing, making International a more formidable opponent than its 0-4 record might indicate. Christian Learning must play the Griffins the same week that Cambridge plays Cooperative.
Girls: The picture is even murkier
Christian Learning’s girls varsity has established itself as the team to beat, posting a 3-0 record in the first half. The Eagles offense has been led by hard-working Sabrina Hallock, who spends extra hours after everyone else has gone home in the gym practicing her shots.
An array of other players have stepped up when needed, including Tabitha Malloy, Kaylyn Lampen, and Anne Marie Hawthorne. Veteran playmaker Roxy Jien has ably managed the offense.
The Eagle girls, like the boys, will have two games in the second half against 2-1 Cambridge in the second half. The Lady Knights are led by Raquel Lopez, an artful and experienced player who led her team to the championship last season,
However, Cambridge did not play with its characteristic intensity, particularly on offense, during the first half of the season. The Knights have failed to break the 20-point barrier, something every other team in the league has done at least twice, and the Knights were defeated in embarrassing fashion by International just before the break.
However, that could change as the season moves into its final phase. When Cambridge is functioning at its best, Lopez is ably supported by young, improving players including ninth graders Maira Lino and Camila Johnson, as well as eighth grader Lucia Candia,
Juniors Vania Rueda and Karen Aliaga add a leavening of experience. Tenth grader Mariana Escaño has been explosive offensively in the past, though her play has been undistinguished so far this year.
Christian Learning might actually face a sterner test against the Cinderella team of the year – International. The Griffin girls had never won a basketball game before this season, but went into the midseason break all even at 2-2.
Senior Daniela Zelada is leading the Griffins – and most of the league -- in scoring. She has been ably supported by her classmate, Melissa Roca, an outstanding all-around athlete. Tenth grader Stephanie Gioto has been coming along fast.
The Griffins lost decisively to the Eagles in their first game, but were without Roca for that game, an important factor for a team that is still lacking in depth. International has been scrappy on defense and increasingly adroit on offense.
The puzzle of the year has been Cooperative. The Jaguars have no shortage of talented players, including senior Nataly Noguer, tenth grader Cecelia Aponte, and eighth graders Carla Limpias, Sofia Sotelo, and Ana Paula Peredo. Three of their four losses have been by two points or less, one of them in overtime.
The problem has been a chronic, inexplicable inability to score in the first quarter. The Jaguars have been outscored by their opponents in the opening stanza 34-11. If the rules were changed to excuse the Jaguars from playing the first quarter, and only the other three quarters were counted, Cooperative might be 4-0 instead of 0-4.
Prediction: The Jaguar girls will beat somebody in the second half, during which they play Cambridge and International, or in the playoffs.
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