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Photograph by Lea Tauriello

Homestead's Matt Hovik works for a shot in last week's battle with Lynbrook. Hovik had 16 points, but the Mustangs lost a 69-47 decision to the Vikings.

Mustangs third in tourney

Kashitani wins wrestling title

By Dick Sparrer

Monta Vista and Homestead spend most of the girls' basketball regular season playing together, winning games in the rugged De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

And it seems they spent part of the preseason together, too--winning games in the Monta Vista Tournament.

Monta Vista won its own tournament last weekend and Homestead finished third when eight teams got together for the preseason event in the Monta Vista gym.

The Matadors, who had finished second in the Pioneer Classic a week earlier, won three straight games to claim the tournament championship. The Mats beat Santa Teresa 63-32, Santa Clara 62-30 and Live Oak 62-51 in the finals.

Homestead won its opener, beating Gunn 57-47, before losing to Live Oak 52-37. But the Mustangs battled back to crush Santa Clara 53-28 to clinch third place in the weekend tourney.

Junior Michele Wald poured in 15 points, and Julie Speckels and Vickie Chiang supported with 12 points apiece to lead the Mustangs to the lopsided win over the Bruins.

Wald drilled five buckets from the field and added five points at the charity line to finish the night with 15 points. Speckels, also a junior, drained a pair of three-pointers in the win.

Marie Levey chipped in with five points and Serra Hwang hit a three-pointer.

The Mustangs, now 5-2 for the year, knocked off Gunn 57-47 in their tourney opener. Speckels finished with 15 points, including a three, and Levey, a sophomore, pumped in 14. Wald joined the two in double digits with 11 points and Chiang added seven.

Wald had fired in 14 points and Chiang added 12, but the Mustangs lost a tough 52-37 game to Live Oak. Speckels hit a three-pointer, but was held to just six points overall in the game.

Live Oak went on to lose 62-51 to Monta Vista in the tournament title game.

Firebirds sixth

The Fremont boys' basketball team dropped a 56-46 decision to host Independence to wind up sixth in the Dan Fukushima Invitational Tournament last weekend.

Senior Ben Skinner threw in 17 points, and Darren Lang added 10, but it wasn't enough for the Firebirds. Reynold Carlos supported with seven points, and Melvin Rabena hit six.

The Firebirds led by a point after a period, 12-11, and by two at the half, 26-24. But they fell back by one after three quarters, 41-40, then were outscored 15-6 in the fourth.

Fremont had dropped a 54-34 nod to Newark Memorial earlier in the tourney. Rabena buried three three-pointers on his way to 11 points in the game. Skinner added six points.

Mustangs lose two

Brian Holm pitched in 11 points, but the Homestead boys' basketball team lost a 63-58 heartbreaker to Aragon last week.

Greg Fobbs and Dat Lai chipped in with eight points apiece for the Mustangs and Matt Hovik added seven, including a three-pointer. Kevin Fobbs hit six points, Keith Morikawa five, Steve Lambert and Max McKay four apiece, Matt Hoffman three and Jim Kiel two. Morikawa and Hoffman each popped threes.

The Dons pulled out in front in the close game by outscoring Homestead 17-11 in the third period. Aragon led by just a point at intermission, 30-29.

Earlier in the week, the Mustangs had fallen 69-47 to Lynbrook despite a 16-point effort by Hovik. Three of his five field goals were three-pointers.

Lambert popped 10 points to join Hovik in double digits. Hoffman added five points, including a three, G. Fobbs and Holm hit four each, and Whiteman and Trenton Hill had two apiece.

The Vikings took control of the game early, topping the Mustangs 18-4 in the first period.

The Mustangs, who were to host Piedmont Hills on Dec. 16, 7 p.m., will compete in the Mountain View Tournament Dec. 18-20.

King's falls to Emery

Nate Morrow came through with a triple double, but the King's Academy boys' basketball team dropped a 77-70 game to Emery High of Emeryville last week.

Morrow had 15 points to go with 17 rebounds and 10 steals, but it wasn't enough for the Knights.

The Knights scored just 20 points in the first half, trailing 38-20 at intermission, but scored 50 points in the second half to make a game of it.

"We really played well," said King's coach Bill Hansen.

Tayo Akinsete, who had won all-tournament honors a week earlier at the Gator Classic at Sacred Heart Prep, chipped in with 12 points in the game for King's. Dan Leong supported with 11.

Kashitani wins

Fremont's Jamie Kashitani finished first in his weight class at the Ed Axline Tournament at Santa Clara last weekend.

Kashitani whipped his Santa Clara foe 9-2 in the wrestling finals to win the title at 142 pounds. He had edged Billy Hershey of Cupertino 10-9 in the semifinals to earn the spot in the title match.

"He looked great in the finals," said Cupertino coach Jay Lawson of Kashitani.

A week earlier, Fremont posted a 2-3 record in the Westmont Dual Match Tournament, but Kashitani was undefeated at 140 pounds to win spots on the all-tournament team.

Kashitani recorded a 4-0 mark.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 17, 1997.
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