The Running Rebels, a boys third-fourth grade NJB basketball team, won the regular season and tournament championships. Members of the team included (front row, l-r) Jake Jensen, Michael Shawhan, Steven Stege, Mark Hasson and Riley O'Conner, and (back row, l-r) coach Bill Jensen, Matt Ellis, Ramm Fadrilan, Andrew Daou, Mitchell Knauf, Christian Walker and coach Dave Stege.
Rebels, Raptors, Cats are NJB champs
Season's end brings winners
By Dick Sparrer
The Rebels were running, the Raptors were preying and the Wildcats were winning.
And they were all rolling to championships in the National Junior Basketball season.
The Running Rebels, a third-fourth grade boys team, ran to a regular season championship with a 10-0 record, then backed that up with three straight victories at the Division III Slam Dunk Tournament. The Rebels knocked off Wild Goose of Los Gatos 47-35 in the tournament championship game. Members of the Running Rebels, coached by Bill Jensen and Dave Stege, were Jake Jensen, Michael Shawhan, Steven Stege, Mark Hasson, Riley O'Conner, Matt Ellis, Ramm Fadrilan, Andrew Daou, Mitchell Knauf, and Christian Walker.
The Raptors entered the NJB South Bay Division II full Court tournament seeded No. 12 in a 13-team field, but they won four straight games to clinch the championship.
Kevin Connery popped two clutch free throws to break a 14-14 tie to give his team the lead in the title game, then scored the final two buckets of the game to help the Raptors secure a 21-19 win over Berryessa.
Connery and Kyle Blair shared game-high scoring honors for the Raptors, and Steven Krach hit a key bucket for the champs. Spencer Doyle and Mikey O'Connor dominated play on the boards.
The Raptors opened the tourney with wins over teams from Coyote Creek and San Jose, thanks to the efforts of point guard Spencer Lopes.
Blair fired in 22 points and Jeremy Bays tossed in 14 to lead Gatos to a 44-42 win over Saratoga in the semifinals. Dylan Groves and Jeff Kugele also played well in the win.
The Raptors were coached by Harvey Sackett and Mel Blair.
The Raptors won the NJB Division II championship. Members of the team included (front row, l-r) Mikey O'Connor, Dylan Groves, Steven Krach, Jeff Kugele and Kevin Connery, and (back row, l-r) coach Harvey Sackett, Spencer Doyle, Jeremy Bays, Kyle Blair and coach Mel Blair. Not pictured is Spencer Lopes.
The Wildcats, an eighth-grade All-Net team, won the San Jose March Madness Tournament with a 50-47 overtime win over MVP of Oakland.
Bryan Schiefelbein, who finished with 13 points in the title game, hit a three-point bucket with one second remaining to give the Cats the victory. Nick Nino's field goal with 22 seconds left in regular sent the game into overtime.
J.P. Bellotti poured in 17 points and snagged 11 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 36-34 win over the San Jose Blue Chips in the first game of the tournament. Dan Dressman added 12 points.
Bellotti and Dressman tossed in eight points apiece to lead the Cats to a 35-33 win over NorCal of Oakland. Nino, Stephen Chang, Nick Kay and Jordan Couch were defensive standouts in the win.
The Wildcats improved their season record to 21-5 with the three wins.
Wrestling Placers
Bobby Pease, Kevin Cho and B.J. Lawler each placed at the 1999 California Kids Folkstyle State Championships held at Clovis High School in Fresno.
Pease finished second at 95 pounds, Cho was fourth at 100 pounds and Lawler was fifth at 80 pounds.
The three Fisher seventh-graders competed in the "schoolboys" category for 13-14-year-olds. There were over 225 wrestlers in the field.
Pease was a county champion last season for Fisher, Cho was a league champ and finished second in the sectionals, and Lawler was fourth at the sectionals.
Soccer Stars
Ben Frazier, Don Hilliker and Jordan Stuhlmueller, all soccer players at Los Gatos High, completed the first weekend of the under-18 Olympic Development Program state camp, and are now among the 36 finalists vying for the 22 spots on the state team.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
