Basketball season tips off Monday with the boys 59th Annual Pacific Shores Tournament held at Redondo Union and Mira Costa high schools while the Mustang and Sea Hawk girls teams will compete in the Inglewood City of Champions tournament.Â
The Redondo tournament features 16 teams, all but one of which reached the playoffs last season, and includes six teams that reached the CIF State Championship tournament in 2009.
Coach Tom Maier’s Sea Hawks open tournament play against Mayfair in an 8:20 p.m. game Monday. The winner will advance to play the Gardena-Compton winner on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 8:20 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4.
Mayfair finished the 2009 season with 19-10 record after reaching the third round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2A playoffs.
Redondo is coming off a 17-12 season where they finished tied with Mira Costa for third place in the Bay League with a 5-5 record. The Sea Hawks lost to Murrieta Valley 58-48 in the second round of the Division 2A playoffs.
Key returners for Redondo are senior guard Brandon Boyd (6-5) and senior forwards Mwelu Mataya (6-6) and Austin Moore (6-4).
Maier feels the strength of his team will be his guard play that features returner Derek Biale (6-1). Also expected to contribute will be newcomers Jacquise Bates (6-0), Martyre Demarco (6-2), Chris Fernandez (5-8) and forward David Passmore (6-5).
Mira Costa is the defending champion of its version of the Pacific Shores Tournament which features eight teams divided into two pools.
The Mustangs open pool play Monday against Banning at 7:30 p.m. Coach Henry Myar’s squad will then take on Culver City at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1 and Torrance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2. The championship game will be held Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Competing in Pool B are Brentwood, Lawndale, Narbonne and Palos Verdes.
Mira Costa finished with an 18-11 record last season after losing to CIF finalist Pasadena 77-68. The Mustangs are led by senior center Thomas Johnson (6-5) and senior guard Elliott Ozer (6-3). Both players were selected to the Pacific Shores all-tournament team last year. Ozer was named to the CIF Division 2A second team.
Sophomore guard Cole Feaster (5-9) was third on the team in steals last year and junior guard Cooper Pugnale (5-10) was second on the team with 42 three pointers.
In girls competition, the Inglewood City of Champions Tournament is a 48-team mega-tournament that features 10 teams that reached the CIF finalists in 2009 including champions Harvard-Westlake, Inglewood, St. Bernard, Santa Monica and Serra.
Redondo will compete in Pool D in the Elite bracket and begin with Bellarmine-Jefferson at 6 p.m. Monday at Inglewood High School. The Sea Hawks continue play on Wednesday, Dec. 1 against Chatsworth in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Serra High School.
Bell-Jeff was a CIF semifinalist in 2009 and lost to state champion Harvard-Westlake in the CIF State Championship tournament. Chatsworth reached the second round of last year’s L.A. City playoffs.
Redondo comes off a 13-15 season in which the Sea Hawks had no seniors on a team that tied for second in the Bay League.
Mira Costa will compete in the Gold bracket and open with Poly of Sun Valley on Monday followed by a Tuesday game with Hawthorne at St. Bernard High School.
The Mustangs return a strong nucleus from its 2009 squad that went 22-8 and reached the Division 1-A quarterfinals.
Four-year starter Kylie Nakamine (5-5) will run the offense from the point guard position. Other key returners include forwards Jenna Stephanoff (5-11) and Ashley Reese (5-7), guard Marie Lauzon (5-5) and center Joelle Herron (6-1). ER
