Page 6 December 19, 2013 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Up and Adam High School Sports Revving Back Up By Adam Serrao High school basketball isn’t the only thing that’s tuning up into full effect these days. Another sport that isn’t often talked about around sports circles but is certainly gaining a lot of respect and credibility around the United States, let alone here in Torrance, is in the dead heat of play right now. Soccer here in Torrance might just be the most competitive out of all of the high school sports played and the rivalry matchup between South High and West High last Friday night at West showed precisely why. It had everything that true soccer fans would want and love: an underdog story, cool, crisp air and a bright green pitch to play on for these two inner-city rivals. In the end, the 3-1 Spartan victory provided a result for the two teams that hasn’t been seen in over 12 years of competition. Perhaps the most impressive soccer team in the Torrance area as of late has been the South High Spartans. Though it finished in second place in the division standings last year behind North High, some might say that South in fact had the better team. The playoffs proved exactly that, as the Spartans went on to the CIF Southern Section Boys soccer championship where they unfortunately fell to Ontario by a final of 3-2. Despite all of South’s recent success, there has still been one thing that it hasn’t been able to do. That is to beat the West High Warriors. That’s why this game was so important to South and Ryosuke Inaba played just that way. The game was tied 1-1 in the first half and it was Inaba who scored South’s first goal. The contest remained close throughout the first half, as many competitions between South and West do. The pivotal moment of the game, though, came at the end of the first half just before the two teams left the field for a break. Ian Melnyk of West was whistled for a hand-ball inside of the box. The penalty drew an automatic red card, which subtracted a player from the Warriors for the rest of the game. That oneman advantage was all that South High needed. South head coach Chad Lagerway knew of the advantage that his team maintained with West a man down. “I was talking about moving the ball around, using the extra space because West had to chase down a man, and we’d get chances,” he said. Seconds after Lagerway gave his team that pep talk, Taylor Kang sent a shot into the corner of the net to give South a 2-1 advantage in the game. Up one goal and one man on West, South then listened to the coach, moved the ball around and pretty much played keep-away for the rest of the game. It was Inaba, however, who put the nail in the coffin in the 67th minute. Taking the ball off of a deflection, Inaba tapped it in past the goalkeeper to give his team the almost insurmountable 3-1 lead. “I just ran my butt off, was lucky enough to get past the defenders and get a touch on it,” Inaba said of his goal. The victory for South was its first over West since 2000. Despite the loss, West head coach Mike Shimizu remained optimistic about his team. “It looked like we’re finding the pieces,” Shimizu said. “I was pleased with how we played. We had a lot of opportunities and good intensity.” Shimizu and his team figure to see many more of those opportunities as this season rolls on, as this will certainly not be the last that is heard from either of these two teams this season. Torrance High The South High Spartans aren’t the only ones making noise this year in the world of soccer. Just across the city to the east, the Torrance Tartars are putting up quite an incredible season themselves. Last season, the Tartars suffered a disappointing first round playoff loss to Duarte and have seemingly vowed to avenge that loss and get back to the playoffs this year. As it stands now, the team is certainly on the right track. With a 3-2 non-league victory over St. John Bosco last Thursday afternoon, the Tartars moved into second place in the Pioneer League standings, just behind Centennial. With two goals in the first half of play scored by Tommy Nash and Marcos Ambriz, Torrance took an early lead. Bosco scored early on in the second half to tie things up, however, before Roger Mies broke the tie in the 70th minute to take the eventual, nailbiting victory for the Tartars. League play starts in the middle of January for the Tartars, when the team will really be forced to prove its worth. North High As the North High Saxons struggle to get going in the first half of their soccer season (0-5), the basketball team has been doing quite the opposite. At 7-1 under head coach Luke Dupperon, the Saxons currently sit in first place in the Pioneer League standings. Workman, from the City of Industry, was the Saxons’ latest victim as Mo Ndwadili led all players and had an absolute monster game with 28 of his team’s 72 points while adding 17 rebounds in the 72- 54 victory. Koh Flippen came through with 14 points and topped Ndwadili with 18 rebounds as the Saxons destroyed Workman and went on to win the Orangewood Academy Tournament. The Saxons are ravaging their way through the basketball season thus far, losing only once to undefeated Mira Costa in the Mira Costa Pacific Shores Tournament. Costa, of course, went on to win its own tournament, but were it not for that loss, North would not only be undefeated thus far, but would also have two tournament victories to its name. League play starts midway through January for the Saxons, as other teams are hoping that the division standings aren’t already too far gone by that point. • Harry’s & McCoy’s Moving Time Starts At Your Door Guaranteed Price/Single Item Moves FREE Use of Boxes & Wardrobes Free Estimates Time starts at your door Free use of boxes & wardrobes Short notice moves Home-Office-Apartments Local and Long Distance Licensed & Insured – CAL-T-160-989 Family Owned & Operated for 66 Years 310.329.3493 “Moving handled with patience and kindness!” The Kobe Factor By Adam Serrao At the mention of the name Kobe Bryant, basketball fans think of a player who is already in rarified air. Kobe, the shooting guard out of Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion High School. The same Kobe has been to 15 All-Star games in his 17-year career. The same Kobe is a five-time NBA champion and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. Recently, however, Bryant’s legacy has been somewhat pushed aside while his name and ability to lead his team are under scrutiny. The Lakers, who without Kobe were one game above .500 at 10-9 and only one game out of the Western Conference’s eighth seed, were said to be exceeding expectations. The addition of Bryant was sure to assist in the Lakers’ winning ways. Kobe’s emergence into the lineup, however, was accompanied by a losing streak, with three quick defeats in his first three games back, including a 25-point blowout to the Oklahoma City Thunder and home setbacks at the hands of the Toronto Raptors and the Phoenix Suns. Thus, the questions emerged. Are the Lakers really better with Kobe? Or does his presence on the court hinder the abilities of his otherwise young and hungry teammates? The days of the Los Angeles Lakers walking on the rafters amongst some of the best teams in the NBA have come and gone. That fact is what needs to be noticed first and foremost. These Los Angeles Lakers as we have come to know should still have playoff potential within themselves, especially with one of the best players to have ever played the game on the active roster. The Lakers looked to gaining one of those playoff spots before Bryant emerged in the lineup. With three road wins in a row and as winners of six of eight games, the Lakers, under head coach Mike D’Antoni, looked as if they were onto something. Add into the mix that the Lakers had thus far ventured through the league’s sixth-toughest schedule and some might say that the perennially hated D’Antoni was actually earning his keep. By sharing the ball, hoisting up three-pointers, running the pick-and-roll and playing enough defense as any D’Antoni-led team would be allowed to play, these Lakers were opening eyes around the league. Those years of winning championships have most certainly come and gone for the Lakers, as we have seen in recent years. But the Lakers looked as if they were capable of winning before Bryant stepped out on the court to reclaim his role as one of the best in the league. Perhaps Bryan, however, is not the reason for his team’s lack of success recently. Jordan Farmar tore his hamstring after undergoing an above average start to the season and Steve Blake has been ruled out for six weeks with an elbow injury. Now, the point-guardless Lakers are forced to have Bryant handle the ball. That means things could either get worse or with time, they’ll gel together and begin playing as a unit. “It’s a learning experience,” Bryant explained. “Since we are a young team, you have to constantly remember that it’s a marathon--not a sprint. You have to allow them to play and make mistakes and you have to be there to tell them and go over certain things that they can do differently.” Bryant certainly plans to remain in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future, so the fine-tuning must begin. Or at least the attempt. Whether the Lakers are better with or without Kobe may not be known until the key players on the roster are healthy. One thing is for sure –the media and fans here in L.A. want to see Bryant on the court. Most fans, if posed the question of whether or not they would take 40 wins with Kobe on the team, or 45 without him, would unquestionably take the 40 wins with Kobe. The fact is, these Lakers are not championship material either way, but Kobe is the show. The best the Lakers will possibly do is make it into the playoffs as a seventh seed, like last year, and inevitably get swept by one of the league’s powerhouse teams as in the last two seasons. Even if the team is worse off with Kobe as the show, the fans will get what they pay to see. The Lakers may even be lucky enough to get a lottery pick and escape the purgatory in which they currently find themselves. •
Torrance 12_19_13
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