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Playing with a lot of pride, spirit and mostly confidence, South Pasadena High’s boys’ basketball team is on a roll, opening the season with nine straight non-league victories as it rolls into the winter break.
The Tigers latest win, 62-51 over Whitney of Cerritos, came last Saturday night and gave them the Grizzly Classic championship at Calvary Chapel Christian School in Downey.
Billy Reed, who scored 28 points in the finale for South Pasadena was the tourney’s MVP while Amar Ebrahim was selected to the all-tournament team.
Much of the Tigers’ success said the school’s athletic director, Anthony Chan, goes to coach Ernest Baskerville, who has his club believing it can play with anybody this season.
“The team has been thoroughly invested in trying to improve since the end of last season,” said Chan. “Once coach Ernest was brought on, the boys continued to turn it on. The practices, summer and fall league matches, and overall team cohesion has started this season to a historic start. The coaching staff is running effective practices and the players are continuing to refine their craft to play as a team.”
The Tiger, 2-0 at home and 7-0 on the road, host Maranatha on December 26 in an 8 p.m. game.
In their nine games, South Pasadena has blown out some opponents while other contests have been close. The winning streak includes wins over South El Monte (66-62), Arroyo (62-31), Bell Gardens (63-52), El Monte (79-71), Duarte (67-40), Artesia (57-51), Vistamar (58-55), Edgewood (73-49), and Whitney (62-51).
Joining Reed and Ebrahim on Saturday’s title winning team were Rodney Ortega, Jay Kim, Johnny Guy, Ian Healy, David Newhall, Niko Lawrence, Alan Quan, Mickey Ebner, Khalil Murdock and Ryan Tse.
The following is a quick look how other South Pasadena High teams are doing during the winter season:
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
The Tigers have already played 15 games and Cody Masden’s team is 7-8 in the non-league season.
South Pasadena is now gearing up to host La Cañada in the Rio Hondo League opener on January 10, starting at 5:15 p.m.
The team includes Alyssa Chan, Nicole Jimenez, Gianna Beasley, Charis Au, Sydney Sakamoto, Charlize Kruzic, Emily Newhall, Aiko Sudijono, Michelle Jee, Jenna Okohira, Megan Yee and Allysan Tse.
Tse has been dominating on the court, leading all Tiger players with 176 points on the season. Yee is next with 95, followed by Kruzic with 75.
GIRLS SOCCER
Through six games, South Pasadena High’s girls’ soccer team is 3-2-1 with their next match slated for Tuesday, December 17, against Mayfield of Pasadena. On December 21, the Tigers will play Palm Desert in the West Winter Soccer Tournament.
Tiger players include Kate Buckley, Andrea Zarazua, Sadie Alberson, Ella Hoadley-Brill, Hannah Thompson, Sarah De la o, Chloe Kim, Ava Carbonara, Riley Lawes, Claire Williams, Lia Alonzo, Jessica Lat, Juliana Maniquis-Hernandez, Andrea Castellanos, Valerie Gahman, Corey Segal, Lila Dworski-Hickey, Ava Dunville, Kayles Wallace, and Daniella Lat.
BOYS’ SOCCER
South Pasadena High’s boys’ soccer team, 2-3-1 on the season, travels to play Basset at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, December 17.
The Tigers are 0-0-1 at home, 2-2 away and 0-1 at neutral locations.
