The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Homestead in first place

Firebirds fall in fight for El Camino Division lead

By Dick Sparrer

There's more to staying in first place than just beating the top teams in the league.

And the Homestead girls' basketball team knows just what it is--beat those teams that you're supposed to beat.

The Mustangs did just that last week, knocking off Palo Alto and Lynbrook to remain atop the standings in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Homestead pounded Paly 52-26, then crushed Lynbrook 40-26, to push its record to 6-1 in the division. The Mustangs are 14-6 for the year.

Michelle Wald pumped in 23 points to lead the Mustangs to the win over Palo Alto to open the week.

Julie Speckels tossed in eight points, including a three-pointer, to support Wald's effort. Chris Strombel and Marie Levey chipped in with six points apiece, Shelly Mellberg added five and Vicki Chiang and Tanya Green hit two each. Mellberg dropped a three for the Mustangs.

Homestead was never in any trouble in the game. The Mustangs were up 10-2 after a period and 31-9 at intermission. They outscored the Vikings 14-7 in the third and coasted from there to the easy win.

The Mustangs whipped another band of Vikings later in the week, blasting Lynbrook 40-26.

Speckels was the leader in this one for Homestead. The junior popped two threes among her four field goals and added seven points at the free-throw line to finish with a game-high 17 points.

Wald canned 11 points in the win, Mellberg and Strombel had three apiece and Chiang, Levey and Green each hit two.

It was almost the same story for the Mustangs in this one. They led 15-4 after a period, 22-6 at the half, then bombed Lynbrook 13-6 in the third.

Fremont girls split

The Fremont girls didn't fare quite as well last week, losing a tough 53-40 decision to Saratoga in the fight for first place in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL.

The Firebirds and Falcons went into their Wednesday game with matching 5-1 league records, but the loss left Fremont 5-2. The Firebirds battled back to beat Gunn 63-54 and are locked in a second-place tie with Milpitas, both clubs at 6-2.

Chi Tran and La Nolia Ufondu popped 12 points apiece, but it wasn't enough for Fremont against Saratoga. Tran buried three three-pointers for the Lady Birds.

Natalie Woo and Beatriz Corro canned four points each, Shade Akanbi hit three and Charlotte Salvacion added two to round out the scoring for Fremont.

The Firebirds fell behind 16-7 in the first period. They matched Saratoga's 15 points in the second quarter, but were outscored 13-2 in the third as the Falcons took control.

Fremont, 13-6 for the year, battled back with the clutch win over Gunn later in the week.

Woo and Ufondu shared game-high honors with 12 points apiece for the Firebirds, and Tran had 11 points, including a pair of threes.

Corro finished with nine points, Monique Gammon seven, Akanbi six and Kristie Larkin, Salvacion and Valerie Lund two each.

Fremont boys split, too

The Fremont boys, like the girls, also had a crucial battle with Saratoga last week. And the Firebirds also split a pair of El Camino games. But the results were much different for the boys.

Fremont knocked off Saratoga 46-44, but lost a tough 69-66 overtime decision to Gunn later in the week.

The split left the Firebirds 4-3 in the division and 10-12 for the year.

Darren Lang drained 18 points and Ben Skinner tossed in 10 to lead the 'Birds to the big win over division-leading Saratoga. The loss was the first in El Camino play for the Falcons.

Lang had a three among his six field goals and pitched in five points at the line to take game-high honors. Melvin Rabena hit a three on his way to seven points, Michael Harris had four points, John Farhang hit two and Mark Harvey added one.

It was a come-from-behind effort in the final period that lifted Fremont to the thrilling two-point win.

The Firebirds were up 16-10 after a period, but the Falcons tied it by the half, 20-20. Saratoga went up by six after three quarters, but Fremont outscored 'Toga 19-11 in the fourth to clinch the win.

Fremont's joy quickly turned to frustration, though, when the Firebirds lost by three to Gunn later in the week.

Rabena had a big night, bombing five threes on his way to 31 points. Skinner netted 15 for the 'Birds and Lang hit eight, but it wasn't enough.

Thai Kim hit six points for Fremont, and Harris, Michael Hardwick and Manuel Mendoza had two each to round out the scoring.

'Tino tops Mustangs

The Cupertino boys pushed their El Camino record to 5-2 with a 55-48 win over Homestead last week.

Chris Oliva, Drew McGhie and Aryan Davachi combined for eight three-point buckets and 45 points to lead the Pioneers to the victory.

Oliva topped 'Tino with 17 points, including three three-pointers. McGhie dropped a couple of threes on his way to 16 points, and Davachi buried three threes on his way to 12 points.

Johnny Morales chipped in with six points for the winners, and Matt Suehiro added four.

Cupertino fought back from a 25-22 halftime deficit to pull out the win. The Pioneers outscored the Mustangs by five in the third and five more in the fourth to win by seven.

Only Brian Holm could score in twin figures for Homestead in the game. The senior forward led the Mustangs with 13 points.

Dat Lai had eight points in the game, Matt Hovik, Steve Lambert and Max McCay five each, Pat Cabell four, Matt Hoffman and Keith Merikawa three apiece and Greg Fobbs two.

Hovik, Hoffman, Lambert and Merikawa each popped three-pointers for the Mustangs.

The Pioneers, 14-6 for the year, had opened the week with a 46-31 win over Mountain View.

McGhie led Cupertino with 11 points, including a three, and Davachi added 10. Jimmy Dickerson fired in eight points, Oliva, Ben Donaldson and Morales added four each, Joey Anderson hit a three-pointer and Erick Baldwin had two.

Cupertino was behind at the half in this one, too, trailing 16-14. But the Pioneers topped Mountain View 18-8 in the third and 14-7 in the fourth to claim the lopsided win.

Cupertino faces a key league test this week. The Pioneers will visit Fremont on Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Scudder sinks King's

Todd Scudder tossed in a three-pointer at the buzzer to lead the Pioneer boys' basketball team to a thrilling 46-43 nonleague win over the King's Academy last week.

Brendan Tanger led all Pioneer scorers with 14 points in the win and Kevin Gray buried 10. Bryce Hall added seven points, and Scudder had seven, including the big three-pointer at the buzzer.

James Terada led all scorers with 17 points for King's in the loss. Nate Morrow joined Terada in double digits with 11 points.

King's battled back from the loss, though, with a rousing 94-60 win over St. Lawrence Academy in a Christian Private Schools League game a night later.

Terada poured in 26 points and Morrow added 21 for the winners. Both Terada and Morrow buried three-pointers in the game.

Dan Leong chipped in with 12 points for the Knights and Tony Castillo had nine.

The Knights are now 5-1 in league play and 11-8 for the year.

[ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ]

This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 4, 1998.
©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.