Saratoga News

Sports

Pioneer wins Shootout crown, Saratoga rallies for third place

By Greg Lydon

A cold-blooded 3-pointer from the corner by senior guard Mike Beltramo swished home, as the red-hot backcourt of the Pioneer boys basketball team helped lead the Mustangs to a Los Gatos Lions Club Wildcat Shootout championship on Friday night at Los Gatos High School.

A 30-point game in an 85-58 win over Branham on Wednesday was a season-high for Pioneer's Beltramo, but his 23 points against Los Gatos proved to be the most important, helping his team start the season strong by capturing a tourney title and a MVP trophy to put on his mantle.

Beltramo's dagger three-ball in the corner was right in front of the Los Gatos student section that had been giving him an earful an night long. Beltramo made the shot, then gave the crowd a wave goodnight, as Pioneer defeated Los Gatos 73-55.

"The last one felt really good," Beltramo said. "I was feeling good in warm-ups tonight, but sinking the last shot iced the game for us. This has been a perfect start for our season."

Beltramo was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after leading the Mustangs to three straight wins and the tourney title. Pioneer topped Branham in its opener, handled Saratoga 71-49 in the semifinals and beat Los Gatos in the championship game.

Pioneer's Nick Maggipinto joined Beltramo on the all-tourney team that also included Greg Walters and Evan Vandenberg of Los Gatos, Gregg Hipwell of Leland, Steven Walker of Saratoga, Jimmy Renneke of Willow Glen and Gino Valetta of Branham.

"We handled their press which was really key for us tonight," Pioneer coach Joe Berticevich said after the win. "Our league is really tough. Hopefully the way we played tonight and all week is a stepping stone of things to come for us this year."

Third-place game

Saratoga's Steven Walker left everything he had on the court. The gritty, senior forward couldn't even sit down on the bench, dealing with a sore lower back and ankle pain, but Walker wouldn't let his Saratoga team lose on his watch. Walker, a linebacker and running back on the football team, led the Falcons with 18 points to help Saratoga hold off Leland and take a third place finish in the Wildcat Shootout.

The Falcons didn't let a rough third quarter where they were outscored 15-3 cost them the game, storming back in the fourth quarter and shutting out Leland 10-0 in overtime to take third place in the tournament with a 64-54 victory.

"We weren't playing as hard and it really showed in the third quarter," Saratoga coach Mike Davey said. "We only got three points, but we only got three rebounds which isn't going to win you many games. Walker is incredible and we battled to get the win. It feels great to come out of here with the third-place trophy."

The Falcons were without their best player, center Andrew Capek, who is dealing with an Achilles injury. Their starting point guard played sparingly with a broken hand, and Ryan Pak left the game with a knee injury to go along with Walker laboring through his injuries during the game.

"We have guys playing all over the place," Davey said. "Guys really sucked it up and we found a way to get it done. Chris Chiou and Walker inside are undersized but they fight for every ball."

If Saratoga football fans think Keon Ghafouri is fun to watch playing running back for the Falcons, wait until they catch him on the hardwood. Ghafouri is a blur on the court, slashing his way to a team-high 19 points and Saratoga needed every one of them.

Leland forward Gregg Hipwell banged all night long with Walker in the post. Each shot that went into the air was an "American Gladiators" showdown to see which big man would come out with the basketball.

A six-point Saratoga lead at the half went up in smoke in the third quarter when the Falcons offense went south, leading to a 15-3 Leland burst into the fourth quarter. The crisp shooting of senior guard Drew Marino helped Leland fight back in the tight contest. Each team gave a punch and took one in the fourth with both teams trading baskets until the final buzzer. With the game tied at 54 all, Ghafouri drove to the hoop but his shot rimmed out leading to a final shot by point guard Trevor Marino, brother of Drew, that fell short, forcing overtime.

"We cobbled things together and came out with two wins," Davey said. "We would have liked to see Los Gatos, since we had some success against them last year, but we'll see them down the road in league. Hopefully we'll be healthy."

Ghafouri led all Saratoga scorers with 19 points and Walker had 18. Daniel Chou finished in twin figures with 14 points, Edmund Ye had five, Jamie Turley four and Chiou and Thomas Wang two apiece.

Consolation game

After an 0-22 season last year, Branham boys basketball is back. Knocking off Leigh and Willow Glen for the first time since 2005 on back-to-back days got the Branham fans roaring Friday afternoon at Los Gatos High. A 51-40 win against Willow Glen in the consolation game was a sweet one for the Bruins.

All-tournament performer Gino Valetta led the way with his smooth shooting, helping his team go 2-1 in the tournament, bouncing back from an opening day loss to eventual tournament champion Pioneer.

Renneke's 22 points weren't enough to hold off the superb guard play from the much improved Branham bunch.

Semifinals

Pioneer cruised to a 71-49 win over Saratoga in the tournament semifinals to reach the title game.

Beltramo tossed in 17 points, including a pair of threes, to lead the Mustangs to the win. Duncan had 10 points, Berticevich nine, Nick Sarabia eight, Su Grewal and Springer seven apiece, Maggipinto five, Ceaser four and Giani Ullio and Will Houston two each.

Walker banked home 17 points to lead the Falcons. Chou added eight, Ghafouri and Ye six each, Pak and Hank Mei three apiece, Wang and Chiou two each and Alvin Hsia and Chris Owyang one each.

First round

Saratoga survived overtime to edge Leigh 69-67 in the first round of the tourney. Chou was hot from the outside for the Falcons, drilling six 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. Ghafouri also netted 18 points in the win, Walker had 13, Pak nine, Chiou and Hsia three apiece, Ye two and Wang, Owyang and Jamie Turley one each.