May 2, 2004

The little chapter that could…

Willow Glen wins National Junior Basketball awards

In its second year, the Willow Glen chapter of National Junior Basketball sent four teams to Orange County for the NJB National Tournament under the direction of Terry O’Hara.

All four came back as winners. The sixth grade all-star boys team coached by C.J. Roy Ayala and Pat Rankin placed first in the national championships. The sixth grade all-net team coached by Bob Bustamante placed third in the all-net tournament, and the fourth grade boys coached by Todd Meeker placed fourth in the all-star tournament. And, the fourth grade girls all-stars, coached by Helen Gengras, placed fourth.

The first-place sixth grade boys lost one game in the national qualifying double-elimination tournament to a strong Morgan Hill team. But the team came back to beat the same Morgan Hill team twice in one day, earning a trip to the National All-Star Tournament and to Disneyland.

After two weeks of coach and player preparation, the team headed to Anaheim. It won its first game April 17 against Cameron Park. Later that evening, the Willow Glen youngsters played a team from El Toro, winning 49-37. On April 18, the boys played a very fast, scrappy team from Tracy, handily winning 56-37. That put them into the final four.

The first game was against a team from Las Vegas, which included four 5-foot 9-inch sixth graders. Not intimidated, the team won 63-51. The championship game at Magnolia High School in Garden Grove was against a team from Riverside. Despite hard playing, the boys in their third game of the day managed to tie the game with Ryan Cali’s three, three-pointers. By the end of the first overtime, the score was 61-61. In the second overtime, the Willow Glen players showed composure and took their first lead of the game with 12 seconds to go and blocked Riverside shots. When the clock finally wound down, the score was 68-67 and Willow Glen won.

Congratulations to a team of future professional basketballers. Those interested in playing with the teams can check the Web site for registration and chapter information at www.willowglennjb.com.