Courtesy photo
Pictured L-R: Peter Chalmer (Coach), Alex, Nolan, Grant, Ezra, Leon, Dean, Connor, Kareem, Eli, Jack. Coaches: Nate Cheung, Erwin Ong.
The Los Alamitos-Seal Beach National Junior Basketball 2nd Grade Division 4 boys team won the recent Southern California Championship, with a 34-28 win over Long Beach on Feb. 22, at the MAP Sports Facility in Garden Grove.
The Championship was game tight, but with chip on their shoulder from a loss in pool play, Los Alamitos banded together as a team playing tight ball and making good looks and shots throughout, learning from the game the prior day to secure victory.
From initial tipoff against Long Beach with Connor O’Dell winning the jump feeding the ball to Jack Proper who drove in with a fake shot and quick assist to Leon Chalmers in the corner for a jump shot to start, the team was off to the races. Whether it was skilled ball handling and playmaking from Nolan Cheung and Kareem Jabi, to shot blocking smack downs from Dean Stone and Ezra Ong and continual steals by Alex Medizadeh and Grant Nguyen, and leading team scorers Eli Skiles and Jack proper everyone played their part in the fight together.
“In just three weeks, these 10 strangers became a team. Watching them learn to trust and support each other to accomplish a goal was more rewarding than the final score—that’s what being an ‘All-Star’ is all about,” Head Coach Nate Cheung said.
In Pool Play, Los Al/Seal Beach rolled to a 40-7 win in their first game. Jack Proper and Eli Skiles each scored 15 points to lead the way. In a tight defensive battle, Los Al/SB lost their only game, 20-19 against Juropa Valley. Juropa Valley secured the win with two free throws with :47 left in the game.
Going into Bracket/Elimination Play, Los Al/SB battled in another tight game, holding off Whittier, 24-20. Major defensive steals late in game by Dean Stone helped secure victory. Whittier played tight defense, but Los Al persisted and was playing classic pacer style ball being completely unselfish to move ball away from tight attacks and double teams.
Los Al/SB defeated Whittier again, 32-18, this time with relentless defense, led by seven blocks by from center Connor O’Dell, to reach the title game.
“Los Alamitos has built something truly special in youth basketball. From the 6th graders winning the National Junior Basketball title in Las Vegas last year to Los Alamitos High School capturing the CIF championship, it’s clear this success isn’t accidental, it’s cultural. With over 2,000 local players participating each year, the Los Alamitos NJB chapter, led by Chris Levaque, has created one of the strongest basketball communities in the country. For our kids to bring another title for Southern California back to Los Al and represent this legendary basketball town means everything,” Assistant Coach, Peter Chalmers, said.