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Fremont second in Holiday Tournament
Enchill, Harris, Sasaki earn all-tourney spot
By Dick Sparrer
At halftime of the final game, it looked as though the Fremont boys basketball team just might win the championship in the tournament hosted by the Firebirds over winter break.
Even after three periods, things were looking pretty good for the Firebirds.
But as it turns out, it wasn't to be. Fremont was outscored 23-11 in the final period and ended up losing a 62-49 decision to Oak Grove in the championship game of the Fremont-Sunnyvale Holiday Tournament on the Saturday night before Christmas.
Things did look good for Fremont in the early going. The Firebirds led 9-6 after a period and took that three-point cushion to the locker room at intermission, leading 27-24.
Fremont trailed by just a point after three quarters, but the Firebirds lost it in the fourth when the Eagles came on strong to outscore them by 12 to clinch the 13-point victory.
Still, it was quite a showing for the boys from Sunnyvale. They won three straight games to gain a place in the finals, and their only loss came to an undefeated Oak Grove squad.
Jefferson edged Gunn 51-50 to finish third in the tourney and Homestead blasted Aragon 72-53 to claim the consolation championship.
Fremont's Jesse Enchill and Travis Harris capped the week by earning places on the all-tournament team. Homestead's Brad Sasaki also claimed a berth on the all-tourney list.
Fremont, now 10-3 for the year, opened the tournament with a convincing 60-45 win over James Lick, then beat Los Altos 62-48. The Firebirds came back with a tight 44-42 win over Gunn to advance to the finals.
Homestead lost its opener 60-50 to Mount Eden, but the Mustangs fought back to win three straight to snare the consolation crown. Homestead crushed Cupertino 66-27 and whipped Westmont 64-49 before beating Aragon in the consolation title game. The Mustangs are now 9-4 in the young season.
Senior sensation Troy Tulowitzki was the scoring leader for the Firebirds throughout the tourney, scoring 79 points in the four games and pitching in six three-pointers.
Tulowitzki, the co-most valuable player in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League a year ago, poured in a team high 18 points, but it wasn't enough to lead the Firebirds past the Eagles in the tourney title game. Tulowitzki, a 6-foot-2 guard, had a three-pointer among his five field goals and he added seven points at the free-throw line.
Enchill, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, supported with 12 points against Oak Grove and Jacob Esau, a powerful 6-foot-4 220-pound senior forward, tossed in 11 points. Esau is a returning all-leaguer for the Firebirds and Enchill won an all-league honorable mention spot as a sophomore.
Paul Russell (6-foot-4 junior forward) supported with six points in the loss to OG and Harris (6-foot-3 junior forward) added two.
Tulowitzki, Enchill and Harris were the scoring leaders for Fremont in the tight win over Gunn in the semifinals.
Tulowitzki led the 'Birds with 22 points, including a pair of threes, and Enchill and Harris pitched in 10 apiece. Brett Bonetti (6-foot-1 junior forward) hit two points in the win.
Fremont led by a point after a period and by four at the half, but the Titans came fighting back to take a six-point lead into the final quarter. The Firebirds outscored the Titans 11-3 in the fourth, though, to pull out the come-from-behind win.
Fremont was behind early against Los Altos, trailing 13-12 after a quarter, but the Firebirds outscored the Eagles in each of the last three periods--including an 18-7 margin in the fought--to roll to a 62-48 win.
Tulowitzki was the scoring leader for the Firebirds with 19 points. He had just four field goals, including a three, but buried 10 free throws to finish with another big night.
Enchill had a hot hand with 18 points and Russell finished in double digits with 10 points. Harris and Tyler Duran (6-foot junior guard) added six points apiece and Bonetti had three.
Fremont opened with an easy 60-45 win over Lick. The Firebirds outscored the Comets in every period on the road to the victory.
Esau was the scoring leader for Fremont with 16 points. Tulowitzki hit a pair of threes on his way to 13 points and Enchill supported with 12 points.
Russell added seven points in the win, Harris and Duran had four apiece and Donnell Forks (5-foot-10 senior forward) and Nick Arnold (6-foot-3 senior center) hit two each.
Sasaki poured in 71 points and popped 10 three-pointers in four games to lead Homestead to the consolation title in the tournament.
But Sasaki was just one of four Mustangs to score in double figures in the 72-53 win over Aragon that clinched the consolation crown. Bryan Silverman led the Mustangs with 19 points, including three three-pointers, and Gus Gauntlett drilled three threes on his way to 13 points in the Homestead win. Sasaki and Garren Strong supported with 12 points apiece for the Mustangs. Sasaki also hit three three-pointers for Homestead.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
