LJ b BB: Svelte for the league season

By Ed Piper

La Jolla went with its svelte, streamlined lineup--read small rotation--in its breath-taking win at University City Jan. 3. The move, to stay with starters and not many players more throughout the game--came in advance of the Vikings' entrance into Western League competition beginning Fri., Jan. 10 at home against Cathedral Catholic.

The big three of junior guards Christian Gamboa and Diego Solis and sophomore Max Raulston in the frontcourt anchored the Vikings' attack against UC's pressure, with newcomers Brennan Ross and Vincent Ricchiuti filling out the fivesome.

The approach worked well enough to beat a Centurion team that came in with a 10-5 record. With Solis and Gamboa doing most of the ball-handling--in the face of a torrid three-quarter-court press by the home team--La Jolla limited its mistakes and minimized getting trapped by the press, which was led by Jalen LeFear, Luke Minnick, Kasen Dickerson, and others.

There are two challenges with only employing five team members: One is the fatigue factor. You're going to get tired not coming out for a breather during a 32-minute game. The Vikings did pretty well on that count. No one was visible doubled over, holding on to their shorts during free throws.

The second difficulty can be foul trouble, and La Jolla had to deal with that issue with two players, Gamboa and Raulston. On more than one occasion, the active Max has fouled out, leaving the frontcourt bare of any experienced players.

Against the Centurions, building a 19-point lead in the third quarter, the Vikings faced Christian garnering his third foul. Actually, he was whistled in the second quarter. The LJHS bench appealed to the scorer's table after the third was announced. The black and red claimed their leading scorer only had two fouls. The UC staff member keeping the home scorebook went a little ballistic, standing and shouting more than once. It got pretty loud.

To La Jolla's credit, the visitors' side stayed calm and didn't react.

Finally, it was affirmed that Gamboa did, indeed, have three fouls.

Smartly, he didn't commit his fourth foul till later in the second half. Ditto for Raulston, who also had four fouls down the stretch.

When the whistle blew and a foul was signaled with 7.6 seconds left in the game, some hearts dropped, not knowing if Christian had been called for his fifth foul.

Fortunately, and accurately, the foul was assessed on his defender. Gamboa coolly walked to the free throw line and sank both free throws. (UC was in the double bonus.)