BECKMAN HIGH SCHOOL, IRVINE,
CALIFORNIA – 30MAR2008 - Scene of the
National Junior Basketball (NJB) Championship
Tournament. The Almaden Valley NJB Chapter’s
Sixth Grade Girls AllNet basketball team,
GhostBusters, won in five straight victories to take
the National Title.
The team was led by two point guards, Nicole
Johnston and Kristin Pitzen, they have been
teammates since Third grade in the NJB basketball
program. As interchangeable point and shooting
guards, they beat man-to-man and zone defenses
alike on pick & roll and give & go’s. The pair
accounted for 44% of the team’s points.
Gabriella Sanfilippo and Weishan (Sandy) Liang
were point and shooting guards respectively.
Gabby’s speed placed pressure on the opponents
leading point player and she often took outlet passes
coast to coast for layup baskets. Sandy’s defense
and anticipation led to many turnovers and her
midrange shooting was a foundation for the team’s
offense. Unfortunately, Brianna Martin, shooting
guard, did not make the trip.
Front row, left to right: Nina Mandracchia, Adriana Piazza,
Sandy Liang, Caeli Harr, Sabrina Sherrin
Back row: Christine Dong, Nicole Johnston, Gabbie
Sanfilippo, Kristin Pitzen
Coaches: Greg Pitzen, Sal Mandracchia, Greg Johnston
The road to First Place in the Rawling’s Division of
the NJB tournament was a straight path for the
GhostBusters from wire to wire in every game.
The first four games by the Almaden Valley 6th
grade girls invoked the ‘mercy’ rule starting the
fourth period (if a team is ahead by twenty points in
the fourth quarter, the game time becomes a running
clock). The final victory over the Hanford, CA team
for the Championship was by a margin of 13 points.
AllNet basketball is a competitive category of the
NJB program. All-Net supports players with
advanced skill, higher interest in the sport and an
eye for a High School future in basketball. The
rules follow the CIF High School standard with the
addition of a ‘mercy’ rule. Four, eight minute
periods make up the game and the clock stops on all
whistles (except for an active mercy rule). There
were three referees for the championship game.
Christine Dong, Adriana Piazza and Sabrina
Sherrin were the GhostBuster’s power forwards.
Christine anchored the defense on the outside wing
of the full court press and down low in the 2-3 zone
defensive formation. Christine provided valuable
offensive rebounds and put-backs. Also, her midrange shot off the dribble gave herself many scoring
opportunities. Adriana forced turnovers of the
opponents when they were on transition from her
pressure defense. Her offensive range drew the
defense outward. Sabrina played power defense.
Her assignments put the opponent’s center under
tough pressure and out of their game. She shot
from the outside baseline.
The center position was played by Nina
Mandracchia and Caeli Harr. Nina jumped the
start of the game and worked the center of their
zone defense plus bodied the opponent’s big girl.
She excelled at rebounds at both ends of the court.
Her offense was balanced in shots and assists. Caeli
pulled rebounds and looked for quick transition
breaks or dribbled out of pressure when passing
lanes were not open. She played the center of the 23 zone and denied easy baskets.
The GhostBusters finished league play with a 10
and 2 record. Following the league games, the
tournament phase begins to determine the National
champion. The Ghostbusters performed well and
qualified to represent Almaden Valley’s NJB
chapter in Irvine California for the National
Tournament in the second division, ‘Rawlings’.
Regular season Coach Art Fonda could not make
the tournament and passed the reins to veteran
Coach Greg Pitzen. Pitzen chose long-time
coaching partner, Greg Johnston to support the team
in Nationals.
Eleven teams competed in three Pools for the
AllNet Girls 6th Grade bracket. Each Pool played
games on Saturday to determine their standings for
play and position on Sunday. GhostBusters
remained in the winner’s bracket throughout the
tournament.
The GhostBuster opponent’s in the Championship
game were the Hanford Allstars. The Hanford team
made it to the final game with impressive scoring.
Throughout the tournament the Coaches played a
three guard formation with a power forward and a
big. After an offensive play, the GhostBuster’s go
immediately to defense, full court. The pressure led
to 8 points after forced turnovers. The team system
applies full court pressure until the lead would build
to 20 and then fall back to half court. However, the
final game drew the most work from the players. A
team benefit was a strong bench through all
positions that enabled end-to-end defensive
intensity with steady substitutions.
During the first quarter, the coaches made a
GhostBuster system adjustment to keep the ball out
of Hanford’s best player’s hands. The assignment
was effectively handled by Gabbie, Sandy or
Kristin. With two minutes left in the game, the
Hanford Allstars put their second team on the floor.
At the game ending whistle, GhostBusters, Coaches
and parents rushed the court, proud and victorious.
The drive back to San Jose was easy.
Pool Play
GhostBusters Vs Porterville Hotshots
43 to 15
GhostBusters Vs Covina Valley Allstars
GhostBusters Vs Fallbrook Lady Warriors
49 to 27
45 to 25
Championship Semifinal
GhostBusters Vs Vallejo Explosion
57 to 23
Championship
GhostBusters Vs Hanford Allstars
42 to 29
Player Points
G1 G2 G3 SEMI FINAL
_______________________________________________
Nicole Johnston
Kristin Pitzen
Nina Mandracchia
Gabby Sanfilippo
Christine Dong
Sandy Liang
Adriana Piazza
Sabrina Sherrin
Caeli Harr
5
6
2
9
4
3
4
8
2
9
13
8
4
3
8
1
2
2
15
10
7
4
3
4
2
8
13
7
6
5
2
6
5
6
14
10
6
2
2
6
1