Things learned, observed in Pacific winter sports season Week 11.0

Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer downs yet another Zicam rapidmelt and rues the day the common cold came into being:

-- Timing, said Kadena second-year wrestler Aaron Ahner, is everything. If it is, then he and Kadena mat newcomer Thomas Cioppa sure demonstrated it, in spades, for it was victories by each that spelled the best of good fortune for the Panthers at the 4^th "Rumble on the Rock" Tournament at Kubasaki’s Dragons Den.

-- Kadena could not have won the Friday’s dual-meet portion of the tournament without Ahner uncharacteristically dominating Kubasaki’s first-year 215-pounder Jacob Wood, scoring a 2-0, 6-0 decision that clinched the dual 30-29. All Wood needed to do was score one technical point on Ahner to send tournament officials scrambling for the tiebreaker rules. Ahner wouldn’t have any of it.

-- Then it was Cioppa’s turn. The freshman 108-pounder on Saturday found himself in a fix – he needed to beat Devin Furner of Seoul American twice in the individual freestyle tournament’s double-elimination format; Furner had edged Cioppa in a two-period decision, 7-1 and 9-5, in an earlier round. Cioppa more than responded – he pinned Furner in 1:34 to force a second and deciding bout, then did it again in 3:05. That gave Kadena 89 points, six more than Kubasaki, and a third straight individual freestyle team title for the Panthers.

-- The most pedigreed teams in the Pacific continued their run at the top over the weekend. Kadena won all three of its dual meets, then captured six gold medals. Kubasaki was one dual-meet defeat and one gold medal behind, but keep in mind, the Dragons gave up two weight classes on Friday and three on Saturday. That doesn’t happen, it might be a different game. Still, injuries are a part of the game, in any sport.

-- FAN-TASTIC to see the three new faces at the "Rumble," Seoul, Osan and Daegu American. Their numbers may be thin, but ... there is tons of talent, most of it not quite tapped yet, just itching to compete against somebody other than themselves in Korea. And boy, did they ever get their wish. And did the Okinawa folk get a tad bit of an awakening, realising that Far East won’t be a cakewalk by any stretch.

-- That Robert Rhea, Seoul American’s 129-pounder, is the real deal. Clearly, the transition from folkstyle – he was No. 1 in his district out of Newport News, Va., and has wrestled folkstyle for 12 years – to international freestyle didn’t seem to faze him. Faced up to an honest-to-goodness solid competitor in Mark Chase of Kubasaki and beat him in three periods for the gold.

-- Sidebar to this: Rhea has yet to meet St. Mary’s International’s Kelly Langley, one of the Far East Tournament gold-medal favorites next month at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. And it’s also possible that Marcus Boehler, Nile C. Kinnick’s reigning two-time gold medalist, might compete there, too (he wrestled at 122 at the DODDS duals Saturday at Yokota); Boehler’s on a roll after a rough start to his junior season. Rhea could be in for a bit of an awakening.

-- Brett Hammontree of Osan American will give people fits at 115. Note to 141-pound wrestlers: Do NOT allow Seoul’s Eric Bush to leg-lace you; he’ll smoke you. If Daegu 215-pounder Daniel Santil had more than just two months’ experience on the mat, he’d be unstoppable. Same with 148-pounder Xavian Washburn. Seoul’s Joe Durham (168) and Kenneth Butts (158) are not to be toyed lightly with. If 180-pound freshman John Porter stays with the sport, he’ll be something to see in two years.

-- Bar none, the best weight class in the Pacific this season is 215, so stacked with talent from top to bottom that people have begun calling it "World War 215." Leading the pack, of course, are Ahner and Wood, Wood and Ahner, who’ve gone at it hammer and tongs five times this season, Ahner winning all five bouts, but three of them in three periods. Wood, too, is in his first year of wrestling; Ahner acknowledged that he could be utterly dangerous if he’d had more experience to go with his brute strength. Besides Ahner, Wood and Santil, there are Jake Jackson of Yokota, Zama’s Andrew Cavalier, David de los Santos of Kinnick (if he doesn’t move to heavyweight) and reigning Guam island champion Micah Hansen, a former Yokota pupil of coach Brian Kitts.

-- I’ve seen weight classes stocked with three or four good wrestlers before: 129 in 2000 including Far East Outstanding Wrestler Randall Hull of Seoul American; 122 in 1987, featuring Far East OW Brian Hughes of Kubasaki, and 215 in 1992 with Kinnick’s Cris Mirador. When Mirador went up against Kubasaki’s Jamel Smith, or Hull would take the mat against three equally talented rivals or Hughes battled St. Mary’s International’s Joy Lashley, all activity elsewhere in the gym stopped dead.

-- But I’ve never seen one weight like this year’s 215, with so much talent, any one of whom could step up on any given day and win it all. "A battleground," Kubasaki coach Ron Geist called it. "A brawl," Wood said.

-- If Jeff Pellaton were still in the Pacific, the former Kubasaki coaching great with 13 Far East titles to his credit would have said of Santil: "He is a hoss!"

-- While I would truly love to see funding continue to be made available for Seoul, Osan and Daegu to travel to the 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th and however many more "Rumble" tournaments are held, I’d also like to see the three attend the annual "Beast of the Far East" tournament at Kinnick the first Saturday back to school every January. Then, you’d have all the players there, all the teams attending next month’s Far East Tournament in a full-fledged dress rehearsal. Good way to figure out what moves that work in Korea won’t work in Japan and vice versa, good way to size up the opposition and figure out what to work on after you return home.

-- Yes, that was Scott Tunis, a former 215-pound gold medalist for coach Julian Harden’s Seoul American Falcons, working as his assistant coach at the "Rumble." The 2005 graduate attended New Mexico Military Institute, then Indiana University and is now an Army first lieutenant, back at Yongsan Garrison with the military police. Would love to see him do the troops-to-teachers thing and get a coaching job back at Seoul American, especially since Harden has indicated his coaching days are pretty much numbered. Tunis clearly still loves wrestling and he still enjoys working with the people who do.

-- E.J. King’s program may be starting over, with its third coach in five years, but don’t be surprised if Darnell Vinson, "Beast" semifinalist, makes a deep run at Far East gold in the 180-pound division. And if only he were a little heavier, add him to that nuclear-powered mix that is the 215-pound category?

-- On the hardwood, somebody solved the puzzle that was Matthew C. Perry’s boys basketball team, which had gone 13-3 since losing its first three games to start the season. Yokota got an stratospheric 39 points from Myles Andrews, a career high, in Yokota’s 57-34 romp on Friday. Then Warren Manegan erupted for 10 three-point goals and 38 points as the Panthers survived the Samurai 85-77 in overtime on Saturday.

-- Don’t write off the Samurai; they’re still the real deal. It’s a thing of, if you stop John Ayers, you stand a good chance of stopping Perry.

-- Speaking of hot teams, try Yokota’s girls riding a Pacific-best 14-game winning streak right now. Erika Ettl, Trinity Davis, Sydney Glover and the Panthers haven’t lost since Nov. 27 in the Hong Kong International School Holiday Tournament.

-- Don’t look now, but that may be an Osan American Cougar sneaking up on you. A healthy Jeff Tinsley and the boys (13-2), after an historic Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Division I volleyball campaign, appear bent on duplicating same this season. And the girls, led by their AAA crew of Alina Hauter, Ashley LaFortune and Arielle Andrews, have won seven of eight since returning to school after the Christmas holiday.

-- That said, Osan and Perry’s boys and anybody else in next month’s Division II Tournament at Daegu American are all playing for second place behind Morrison Academy of Taiwan (24-0). Observers everywhere say this may be the best team the Mustangs have ever fielded.

-- Eatery of the week: Whether it was the spaghetti supper – with veggies – on Friday or the taco and curry rice on Saturday or just your average run-of-the-mill hot dog and the bottomless cup of coffee, Kubasaki’s wrestling parents helped salve many a hunger craving during "Rumble" at the Dragon Inn concession stand.

Pitchers, catchers, infielders, outfielders, sprinters, relay runners, throwers, middle- and long-distance runners, hurdlers, jumpers, goalkeepers, sweepers, stoppers, midfielders and strikers report in 29 days.

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Pacific high school basketball ratings, 'Going out on a limb' edition

Unprecedented, I know, but a team that hasn’t been rated all season will enter the Pacific high school boys basketball rankings at No. 1. Morrison Academy of Taiwan has averaged more than 100 points per game, against common opponents outdid Kubasaki against Taipei American on the latter’s home court (Kubasaki beat TAS on a neutral floor and by fewer points), and everyone I’ve canvassed says the same thing: This may be the best Mustangs team ever. And that says an awful lot, considering the talent that’s passed through Taichung, from Paul Buckta in the 1970s to Stephen Titus in the 1990s to Stephen Hovater of the last two years. So, here goes Ornauer out on a limb:

Boys
1, Morrison Academy, Taiwan, 24-0. This Mustangs team, which won 104-41 at Taipei American, is the first since 2007 to hit the court withOUT Hovater, two-time Far East Division II Tournament MVP.
2, Kubasaki, Okinawa, 31-8. Won’t get to face Morrison this season; Kubasaki plays at the Far East Division I level. Already, there’s an offer – assuming the teams win their respective Far Easts – to play a "winner-take-all" game at a Christian mission in Boracay, Philippines, founded by former Faith Academy girls coach Dan Beaver.
3, Kadena, Okinawa, 20-13. Idle last week. Next big test: Feb. 4 at home vs. Kubasaki.
4, Seoul American, 25-7. Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference D-I tournament beckons Feb. 11-12 at Gyeonggi Suwon International.
5, Hong Kong International, 14-3. Much hinges on whether Adam Xu brings his A game; as he goes, so go the Dragons..
6, Faith Academy, Philippines, 15-4. Re: Vanguards freshman Micah Seaborn, see Hong Kong, re: Xu.
7, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 16-1. Looked dominant in weekend tournament at E.J. King, winning all five of its games.
8, Guam High, 4-0. Sure doesn’t look like the Panthers are rebuilding to me ... yet.
9, Christian Academy Japan, 13-4. Still unbeaten in the Kanto Plain, but got a close shave against 4-15 St. Mary’s International the other day in Yokohama.
10, Yokota, Japan, 16-11. Dominated Matthew C. Perry on Friday, then showed it could handle a close call by beating the Samurai in overtime Saturday on Perry’s home court.
Dropped out – Osan American (13-2), Matthew C. Perry (13-8).

Girls
1, Seoul American, 14-2. Virginia AAU transfer Jordan Elliott starting to consistently post double-figure scoring in addition to playmaking, while seeing action for just over one quarter per game on average.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines, 16-3. Will be interesting to see the changes new assistant Julie Stauffer helps implement during the Hardeman Showcase Tournament.
3, Yokota, Japan, 17-4. Still unbeaten since Hong Kong, won twice more down at Matthew C. Perry.
4, Hong Kong International, 11-4. Far East next on the docket for the Dragons.
5, Osan American, 11-4. Seven wins in eight games since the Christmas break helps Cougars shoot three spots up the ladder.
6, Kadena, Okinawa, 7-16. Should make it a season-series sweep of Kubasaki on Feb. 4 at home.
7, American School In Japan, 6-3. Win Saturday over Japanese team shows Mustangs have righted the ship after a mini-slump.
8, Daegu American, South Korea, 14-8. Consistency (or a lack thereof) still an issue.
9, Yongsan International-Seoul, 12-4. Stumbled a bit against Daegu; still doing as well as they've ever done.
10, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 9-6. Eagles had a rough go at Sasebo last weekend, but still have the potential to make plenty of D-II tournament noise.

Think this is all out of whack? Can you do better? Shout it out! Be true to your school, but keep it civil and remember, you’ve entered "THE" No-Hate Zone. J

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Pacific's Best Five basketball players of the past 30 years

OK, campers, this met with tepid results the last time we tried this two years ago. Join in the fun as we try to squeeze new names of the past three seasons into what we called the Pacific's Best Five basketball players of the past quarter century. We'll call it the same thing, only of the past three decades.

Feel free to chime in with any names you feel are deserving. Here's the latest list, which was posted Jan. 2, 2009, along with possible new candidates:



Matthew C. Perry, boys
Mike Hester, F-G, Class of 1996
Jeremy Eck, C, Class of 2000 (all 6-foot-7 of him)
Justin McCloskey, G, Class of 2000
Nate Albia, G, Class of 2004 (part of the five-player Samurai team in the Class A tournament)
Julio Rodriguez, F, Class of 2007
Possible newcomer: John Ayers, Class of 2011.

Matthew C. Perry, girls
Nikki Blackman, G, Class of 1988
Vicki Foster, C, Class of 1990
Tia Fluellen, G, Class of 2002
Cortaza Hall, F-G, Class of 2002
Ashley Taylor, F, Class of 2007
Possible newcomer: Rebekah Harwell, Class of 2012.

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Pacific's top 13 wrestlers of the past 30 years

We tried this two wrestling seasons ago, with smashing results. Now that two years have passed, we’ll add a few more names to the nomination till, in an effort to select the Best 13 Wrestlers of the last 30 years. YOU, the SportsBlog Nation reader and camper, YOU have a BIG say in who will saddle up for the semifinals and then the championship bouts. We’ll select semifinalists mid-week next week, conduct the semifinals after the Kanto Plain tournament on Feb. 5, then the championship bouts the following Wednesday, Feb. 8.This is what we've come up with so far; feel free to chime in with any you feel may have been left out:

101 – T.J. Aguila, Kubasaki, 2001; Ariel Morano Kubasaki 1983, Tom Chavez Kubasaki 1993, Dylan Pablo, Guam High, 2007.

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Do you follow your host country's sports?

My Europe colleague Rusty Bryan was sent this week an e-mail request from Italy for more soccer news south of the Alps. This in response to a thank-you e-mail he sent the same reader.

While as difficult to find space as it is for fringe sports such as rodeo and host-country sports, the request got Rusty – and I – wondering how many Americans take advantage of the opportunities to attend professional sports events over here.

How many have fancied a trip to Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, just a handful of train stops from Yokota Air Base, or to Yokohama from Camp Zama or Yokosuka Naval Base for a Japan Pro Baseball game? Same in Korea, where one can journey about 20 minutes from Yongsan Garrison to see the LG Twins, Doosan Bears or Hanhwa Eagles at Chamsil Sports Complex, which hosted the XXIV Summer Olympic Games in 1988, or a similar distance from Camps Henry, Walker or George to Daegu Civic Stadium for a Samsung Lions game.

Sumo involves a bit more of a journey, a couple of hours from outlying bases to Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan or Fukuoka Kokusai Center for one of the season’s six grand tournaments. Or has anybody chanced a Ssireum tournament in Korea?

IndyCar open-wheel and Grand Prix motorcycle races are staged annually at Twin Ring Motegi, a couple of hours north of Tokyo, and at Suzuka Circuit, near Nagoya. The Formula One circuit made its way to Korea last year for the first South Korean Grand Prix under a seven-year deal worked out by F-1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, the Korea Auto Valley Operation and the host Cholla Namdo regional government.

Tennis sees the Hansol Korea Open held annually at the Chamsil Tennis Center, while the Toray Pan Pacific and Japan Open tournaments are held each year at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and Ariake Colosseum.

For those on Guam, there's the Budweiser Baseball League, the majority of games played at the Paseo Stadium in downtown Hagatna, and the Miller Football League, which features many of our GIs, a lot who used to play high school sports out here.

How about telling us about your experience with such events? Have you attended any, or are TV sports, either from the States or locally, enough to satisfy your hunger to watch sports?

If you did try a Pacific event, tell us about it. Did you enjoy yourself? Was language a problem? Are the tickets too pricey or too hard to get? If it's too hard for you to get to an event, do you follow the local leagues, either on TV or the Internet?

Let us hear from you.

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All-Far East All-Star game: Noble in concept, maybe doomed to failure

In response to my earlier blog post about Team USA expanding for the 2011 Camellia Bowl on March 12 in Kawasaki, Japan, a reader suggests it be taken a step further, piecing together an All-Far East team, and pitting a North squad vs. a South squad in a Pacific-wide contest for bragging rights and to give our young people the exposure they’d get in the States. The game would be held either under the auspices of DODDS or underwritten by a national sponsor.

It’s a nice idea. Selection of All-Far East teams in all sports is a work in progress, something upper management said they want to see happen as part of a new master plan for local high school sports coverage. It began in November with selections of Athletes of the Year in each of the fall sports, and will continue with the first All-Far East basketball and wrestling teams, selected by Stripes with coaches’ nomination input.

As far as holding an actual All-Star Game? It’s been done in the past, but only with local groups and never an actual region-wide game featuring players from all areas. Singapore and Korea since 1991 have played each other in a "World Bowl" series that dates back to when Korea senior football was run by 8^th U.S. Army and 51^st Services youth activities. Back in the 1980s, under the stewardship of former Yokota coaching great Bud Blevins, two games pitting teams from Korea, Guam and the Kanto Plain All-Stars were staged in late November and billed as the "Far East Football Championship."

The question I have is, with the planned expansion of the DODDS Pacific high school football season’s playoffs into mid-November, when do you hold such an All-Star Game? The regular season now begins in late August; on Guam, it would have begun on Aug. 21, were it not for equipment issues. Last November’s playoffs concluded on Nov. 12. The first official basketball practice begins the Monday after, and some basketball teams actually played games seven days after the Far East Division I football championship.

Then, there’s another issue. If the All-Star game is played outside of DODDS Pacific auspices, it could in the most technical of terms threaten the future eligibility of players who participate. That’s one reason why the Camellia Bowl is billed as a "friendship game," rather than an All-Star Game that could be construed as a league- or DODDS-sanctioned event. It’s a very gray area.

I like the idea, as I said. The question is, how do you make it work, given those issues?

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Team USA to expand for 2011 Camellia Bowl

I’m sure it’s the Pacific’s worst-kept secret by now, but the canaries circling the ballfields and basketball courts (and my Facebook page) tell me that Okinawa Activities Council football stars will augment Team USA for the March 12 Camellia Bowl friendship game against Japanese teams from Kanagawa Prefecture at Kawasaki Stadium, southwest of Tokyo. Kickoff is at noon.

This is great news. Pacific’s leading rusher “Neon” Deion Lewis, receiver Brandon Crawford and quarterback Cristian Rivera of Kubasaki and Speed Inc., Thomas McDonald and Shariff Coleman of Kadena, plus others, joining an already strong cadre of players from Tokyo’s Kanto Plain.

Imagine American School In Japan’s Hayden Jardine targeting Crawford. Or Rivera going play-action right, bootleg left and tossing a fullback screen to Zama American’s Michael Spencer for a 64-yard gain. Or T-Mac and Coleman running out of the same backfield as Spencer. Or somebody like James Nollie of Kadena or Kubasaki’s Patrick Snowman pancaking several Japanese running backs.

I can’t wait to see it.

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Pacific high school basketball ratings, semester exam Dead Week edition

By way of explanation, teams that qualify for Stars and Stripes ratings are ones whose seasons either end at the DODDS Pacific Far East Tournaments or play regular-season competition in leagues that include such teams. Thus, IASAS and APAC squads such as Taipei American and International School Beijing won’t appear in these ratings. That said, if anybody out there knows how Morrison Christian Academy’s teams in Taiwan are doing (regulars at the Far East Division II Tournaments), by all means, let me know.

Boys
1, Kubasaki, Okinawa, 30-8. Got worked in the Okinawa-American Shootout semifinals against prefectural No. 1 Konan, but got through the last two grueling weeks still the "team to beat."
2, Kadena, Okinawa, 20-13. Starting to come into its own, reaching Oki-Am Shootout final against Konan.
3, Seoul American, 23-7. Now that intramural season is over, Falcons need more fire testing against post teams to get them honed for Far East.
4, Hong Kong International, 14-3 only losses were to Kubasaki in November and to a Level 1 Hong Kong amateur squad on Saturday.
5, Faith Academy, Philippines, 15-4. Vanguards won the Division II Metro Manila Basketball League crown.
6, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 11-1. DODDS-Japan tournament title will come down to Eagles vs. host Yokota.
(tie) Guam High, 2-0. Paul Floyd and the Panthers broke out of the gate smartly with wins in first two games.
7, Christian Academy Japan, 11-4. Still unbeaten in the Kanto Plain
8, Matthew C. Perry, 13-6. Two weeks between their last game and this weekend’s big test against Yokota.
9, Yokota, Japan, 14-11. Can make a big statement with a big weekend at Iwakuni.
10, Osan American, South Korea, 11-2. Don’t be surprised to see Cougars face Falcons in KAIAC Division I Tournament final on Feb. 12.

Girls
1, Seoul American, 12-2. Falcons girls, like the boys, need a similar working over by post-level teams if they’re to be sharp at Far East.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines, 16-3. Finally suffered a loss in the Philippines; only previous defeats came at Hong Kong in November. Former Vanguards hero Julie Stauffer’s back in country to help coach.
3, Yokota, Japan, 14-4. Survived a tough four-game week-long Kanto Plain stretch and remains unbeaten since Hong Kong.
4, Hong Kong International, 11-4. If they have all the pieces in place by late February on Guam, Dragons could be a D-I Tournament darkhorse.
5, Daegu American, South Korea, 13-7. We’ll see if they rebound from a mid-season skid; they’re 2-1 since then, and may be righting the ship.
6, Kadena, Okinawa, 7-16. Capable of some very, very good things provided everybody’s firing on all cylinders.
7, Yongsan International-Seoul, 12-3. Guardians keep rolling toward a historical season.
8, Osan American, 8-4. Still rolling, won four of five since the Christmas break.
9, American School In Japan, 5-3. Mustangs have hit a bit of a wall, but are still dangerous at any time with Bessie Noll on the court..
10, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 7-4. Like the Guardians, the Eagles could be a D-II Tournament darkhorse.

Have you a better list of ratings than I? Shout it out! Be true to your school, but be civil and remember, you’ve entered THE "No-Hate Zone." J

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Storylines for the rest of the winter season and school year

OK, campers, we're about halfway through School Year 2010-11 and we've already seen some amazing things happen on the field of play. With the spring season just 36 days away, Ornauer will now take a stab at what he thinks will happen the rest of the way. Now, you may not agree with all (or any) of my assessments, but let's face it, that's part of the fun of it. And heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go:

-- Expect Okinawa to halve next week's 4th Rumble on the Rock wrestling tournament. Matt Payne, Mark Chase and Kubasaki will edge Kadena for the individual freestyle title, while Jacob Bishop, Aaron Anher and Kadena will rise up for the dual-meet crown.

-- DODDS Japan basketball tournament Feb. 3-5: Erika Ettl, Warren Manegan and Yokota will relish a home sweep.

-- Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools Wrestling Tournament, Feb. 5: St. Mary's International, with Kelly Langley at 122 pounds, establishes itself as one of the favorites in the Far East Tournament later this month at Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

-- Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Division I basketball tournaments, Feb. 11-12: Tomiwa Akinbayo, Jordan Elliott and Seoul American will break out the brooms, boys at Gyeonggi Suwon International and girls on their home court.

-- Far East High School Wrestling Tournament, Feb. 14-17: Cameron Namocot and the Robert D. Edgren Eagles will soar to a Division II title sweep. Meanwhile, Kadena and Kubasaki will divvy up the Division I spoils, as they did at Rumble, Kubasaki winning the individual free and Kadena the dual meet; the schools run their respective all-time Far East Tournament title haul to 22 and 7.

-- Reigning Far East weight-class champions will repeat: Zama American's Michael Spencer will run the table at 168 pounds for a gold three-peat. Nile C. Kinnick 122-pounder Marcus Boehler will have a tougher road to hoe against Langley; I forecast Langley to beat Boehler in the Kanto tournament, and for Boehler to rebound and win his third straight gold as well.

-- Far East High School Division II Basketball Tournaments, Feb. 21-25 at Daegu American: Host Warriors girls run at a school-year title sweep runs into fierce opposition from Edgren, Yongsan International-Seoul and Morrison Christian Academy; in the end, Daegu will come up short. On the boys side, expect Edgren and Matthew C. Perry, with its superstar John Ayers, to end Morrison's and YIS-Seoul's title run.

-- Far East High School Division I Basketball Tournaments, Feb. 21-26 on Guam: If Kadena's and Kubasaki's boys don't reach center court -- and it's highly likely they will -- you'll have Seoul American, Adam Xu and Hong Kong International and Micah Seaborn and Faith Academy waiting in the wings. With Seoul American's girls prohibitive favorites to repeat, and against Faith in the finals, everybody else is playing for third place.

Long-range spring forecasts:

-- Camellia Bowl, March 12 at Kawasaki: Another runaway Team USA victory, with Spencer torching the Japanese for 221 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries. Could you imagine how Team USA would do if some players from Okinawa, including Speed Inc.'s Thomas McDonald and Shariff Coleman, would come up and play for Team USA?

-- Far East track and field: Kadena's boys and Kubasaki's girls are perennial favorites for category team titles, but Nile C. Kinnick stands the best shot at the overall crown. Expect Speed Inc. to battle Kubasaki junior A.J. Watson for "Pacific's fastest human" title rights; either the 100, 200, 400 relay or all three will tumble. Christian Academy Japan's Shorai Ashida and Kadena's Lotty Smith will resume their high-jump rivalry, with each surpassing the coveted 2-meter mark; just a question of who finishes higher.

-- Far East soccer: Unless Seoul American can find some scoring firepower, I'd say their chances at a Division I gold-medal repeat are as dicey as they were last spring when the Falcons became the lowest-ever seed (5th) to come out of pool play and win the title. Goalkeeper Liz Gleaves is always the X-factor. On the boys' side, look for the pendulum to swing back in Christian Academy Japan's favour. Osan American's girls stand an excellent shot at a Division II title three-peat, although Daegu and Zama, the latter new to D-II, will have an awful lot to say about it; all three squads are senior-laden. If YIS-Seoul goes back to the D-II boys tournament, the title is the Guardians' for the taking for the third straight year.

-- Far East baseball: Wide open, especially since defending champion Kubasaki lost a ton of seniors, including tournament MVP Patrick "Duck" Duffy. Chances of St. Mary's or American School In Japan to come to Far East, now that international schools are invited, are slim; the May 23-26 dates are too late in the school year for the Titans and Mustangs. Perhaps deepest in pitching this year could be Seoul American; we'll see how the Falcons do when Spring Fling comes along in early April.

-- Far East softball: Again, the chase should be wide open; graduation clobbered last year's top three, Kadena, Edgren and Kubasaki. But the presence of last spring's MVP, junior left-hander Desirae Seals of Kadena, could tilt the table back in the Panthers' favour, although I'm sure Katie Darby and Seoul American will have something to say about it.

Think all of this is full of malarkey? You have a better prediction of your own? Shout it out! Be true to your school, but keep it civil and remember, you've entered THE "No-Hate Zone." :)

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What HKIS will bring to Far East D-I Basketball Tournaments

SportsBlog Nation welcomes as a guest contributor: Consul Guy Strandemo of the U.S. Consul General of the U.S. for Hong Kong and Macau. Here he offers his views of Hong Kong International School’s basketball teams in advance of their trip to Guam in February for the Far East Division I Tournaments. Strandemo’s daughter, sophomore Madeline, plays guard for the Dragons and her fleet feet (and shoes manufactured by Pratt & Whitney) have carried her to two Asia-Pacific Invitational cross-country meet championships, also on Guam.

HKIS RECORDS:

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Expect changes to Division I football playoffs

Last week, in a wide-ranging interview with Far East high school athletics coordinator Don Hobbs, it was revealed that some changes will be made to the Division I football playoffs next fall, with possible changes to the D-II system coming in future years.

Hobbs said the addition of regular-season games between Okinawa and Korea “worked very well. It gave the teams some great opportunities and all the teams and coaches said … it really complemented and helped them complete their seasons.”

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How do you like your wrestling? II

As posted by my colleague Rusty Bryan on his Europe Sportsblog, high school wrestling in the Pacific coverage area uses international freestyle rules, while in Europe, on the other hand, wrestling follows U.S. high school rules, usually referred to as "folkstyle," or to the geezer generation, "catch-as-catch-can."

It just sort of evolved that way. The majority of officials in Japan, Okinawa and Korea are local nationals and more familiar with freestyle wrestling, used in international competitions and the Olympic Games. In Europe, on the other hand, American schools are numerous enough and there’s enough familiarity with “folkstyle” for the system to follow stateside rules.

As does Rusty in Europe, I think it'd be interesting to get the opinions of wrestlers, coaches, officials, parents and spectators about which style they'd prefer to use, watch or officiate if the choice were theirs. Is it more fun or more beneficial for U.S. teen-agers to wrestle the freestyle used in the Olympics and in international competitions? Or is it better or more fun to wrestle the traditional U.S. style? Why or why not.

Please don't be shy. Let us know what you think.

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Pacific high school basketball ratings, MLK edition

Boys
1, Kubasaki, Okinawa, 25-7. Yep, they lost to Kadena. You should have seen how the Dragons held up against men in the Martin Luther King Tournament.
2, Seoul American, 21-7. Speaking of teams holding up well against men, the Falcons are a combined 7-5 against company- and post-level teams.
3, Hong Kong International, season complete.
4, Kadena, Okinawa, 15-12. Triple-S has become Quad-S now that Shawn Broughton has transferred in at guard.
5, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 10-1. Finally dropped a game, but still the guidon bearer in Japan.
6, Faith Academy, Philippines, 11-4. It would be amazing if freshman star Micah Seaborn would remain in Manila until his senior year.
7, Christian Academy Japan, 10-4. Even with Miles Peterson gone, the Knights, while beatable, are still competitive.
7, Matthew C. Perry, 13-6. Yeah, I know -- Yokota beat the Samurai by 22 points in November. That was then. Perry's a much better team now.
9, Yokota, Japan, 12-11. A great team waiting to happen. Consistency will be key.
10, Osan American, South Korea, 9-2. Now that Jeff Tinsley's back in the lineup, the best may be yet to come.

Girls
1, Seoul American, 10-2. Suffered their first losses of the season, but against women’s teams at the Martin Luther King Tournament at Camp Humphreys.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines, 12-2. It’s confirmed – former Vanguards great Julie Stauffer will be back in the Philippines working with Faith to get ready for Far East.
3, Daegu American, South Korea, 11-6. Hit a bit of a rut, but Warriors still have potential to make a deep run at a second straight Division II title.
4, Hong Kong International, season complete.
5, Yokota, Japan, 11-4. Yes, Kadena clobbered Yokota at Hong Kong in November. That was then. Yokota is a much better team now.
6, Kadena, Okinawa, 5-12. Again, ignore the win-loss record; six losses came against women’s teams in the MLK.
7, American School In Japan, 4-1. Very quietly, the Mustangs are starting to assert themselves as a competitor for best Japan record.
8, Yongsan International-Seoul, 10-3. Though they stumbled vs. Seoul American, this may still be the best Guardians team in school history.
9, Osan American, 7-4. It’s starting to happen for the Cougars, who’ve won three of four since the break.
10, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 6-4. When Jen Black steps up for the Eagles, the Eagles end up soaring as they did last weekend.

Think this is full of hooey? Can you do better than me? Shout it out! And remember, you’ve entered "THE" No-Hate Zone.

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High school cagers work MLK magic

“Where amazing happens,” the NBA’s trademark slogan, was apparently borrowed by the organizers of this weekend’s 17^th Martin Luther King Invitational Basketball Tournament, given the results of games involving the high school teams participating in the event and preparing for next month's Far East Division I Tournaments on Guam.

Take Kubasaki’s boys. Clearly, they came to compete, given their 3-3 record in pool play and their opening 82-80 win over the Kinser Warriors, an unbeaten top seed into the tournament’s double-elimination playoffs on Sunday.

“Great tournament for us,” coach Jon Fick said of his Dragons, who entered the tournament 21-2 on the season but got some physical seasoning against adult teams that are quicker, bigger and stronger. “Credit to my guys. They made the most of it. They came to play and followed their formula for success.”

That formula led to Kubasaki winning four of its nine games in the tournament, and leading and/or having a chance to win four others, a 51-45 overtime loss to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, and a last-season 50-49 defeat against T.O.C. during pool play; a 74-67 loss to T.O.C. in bracket play in which the Dragons trailed by 25 only to rally within five in the closing minutes; then a misleading 67-45 loss to the GW in which Kubasaki led early in the first half and stayed within single digits until the final five minutes.

The oldest fundamental in the game, free-throw shooting, saved Kubasaki against Kinser. Kentrell Key hit the game-winning freebies with 2.5 seconds left. Prior to that, C.J. Crenshaw shot 5-for-6 from the line down the stretch. And Kai Yamaguchi took three clutch charges in the second half.

Then, there was the play of freshman C.C. Daniels, new to Kadena High School, whose girls perhaps staged the most improbable victory the entire weekend, 87-86 in triple-overtime over the George Washington women in the highest-scoring women’s game in Foster Field House history. Kadena had gone 0-4 in pool play, falling 47-37 and 42-30 to the Patriots in the tournament’s round-robin phase.

“That’s amazing. We got one over the ladies. And the way we got it was a team effort,” Kadena athletics director Michael Ochoa said of players such as Daniels, who hit a clutch shot in the second overtime before fouling out – “She fouled out, but every foul helped us,” Ochoa said – plus sophomore guard Maria Vaughan and senior post Anissa Fitz, whom he said “were spot on.”

Kadena was 4-6 entering the tournament, but had won four of its last seven games. “ The girls are great. They have a lot of life. We just keep on rolling.”

The clock struck midnight for the Panthers in a blowout 65-18 loss to Lady Ballaz before a 70-63 defeat against GW in a knockout bracket final contest Sunday evening.

Even in defeat, there were some valuable lessons learned – and respect earned – by Seoul American’s girls, last year’s finalists in the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Tournament at South Korea’s Camp Humphreys. The Falcons were knocked out of playoff consideration this year, but came away with the same valuable preparation for Far East, and even received a compliment from the team that vanquished them in Sunday’s final pool-play game 34-28.

“We had them,” coach Billy Ratcliff said after his Falcons led at halftime 13-10 before succumbing to a Bulldogs team fielding five collegiate veterans. Humphreys coach told Ratcliff that if Seoul American were in the Korea Traveling League, the Falcons would play in the championship numerous times.

“That says a lot,” Ratcliff said.

His starters normally see just six to eight minutes of playing time in the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference. That they played full games at Humphreys, seeing different types of defenses, falling behind and having to scrap back “gets us ready for the ‘Big Dance,’” he said.

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Military sports must find ways to survive

Since 1992, I’ve been covering Martin Luther King Invitational Basketball Tournaments on Okinawa, and have seen some incredibly great basketball as well as not-so-great over the years.

Based on what I saw over the weekend at the Camp Foster Field House, I hold some reservations about the tournament’s future, given that just 17 teams, the fewest since the tournament’s inception – and only three women’s teams, an all-time low – participated in the event.

Fault lies not with the organizers, the teams or the players, each of whom stepped to the plate and did the best they could given the operations tempo of the day, and the fact that there was a competing post-level Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Tournament at South Korea’s Camp Humphreys.

The ops tempo is what’s killing interservice sports. Don’t get me wrong – I know these organizers, teams and players have a sworn duty to defend the country, and that duty means preparing for and executing war, and if that comes at the sacrifice of recreation, so be it.

It’s that the quality of player, and consequently the quality of play, has dipped sharply over the course of the last 10 years, after the Okinawa MLK reached its peak in competitive level around the year 2000.

That all changed after Sept. 11. From that point, many of the greater-light players ended up deploying in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, and even those left behind were hard-pressed to find ways to the basketball court because they're having to cover sorely undermanned duty sections.

The MLK was even canceled for four years in mid-decade in the 2000s, only coming back three years ago along with its softball Firecracker Shootout component when Marine Corps Community Services decided to bring back the events.

Softball has been dramatically competitive. The basketball? Not so much, especially this year’s MLK, which many observers remarked resembles “just another on-island open tournament,” in the words of longtime referee Earl Gittens of the Okinawa Athletic Officials Association, which founded the tournament along with MCCS back in January 1992.

To be fair, none of the Korea teams could travel to this year’s tournament due to duty commitments; Areas I (Camps Casey, Red Cloud, Stanley, Hovey), II (Yongsan Garrison) and III (Camp Humphreys) plus Osan Air Base are usually regulars at the Okinawa MLK, while the Korea MLK serves as a fallback for those post teams that can’t travel to Okinawa.

This year, the Humphreys MLK fielded 16 teams, including Seoul American High School’s boys and girls teams. While as big as Pacificwide tournaments, each lacked a certain something, character, atmosphere, excitement due to the lack of inter-area teams at each.

It would be easy to simply shrug your shoulders and say it’s a sign of the times, that invitational and open tournament such as these are going the way of the Apatosaurus or the Flying Wedge because of military realities.

Except for one thing – they still serve as outlets for elite athletes, such as military academy or college graduates and All-Service veterans and/or candidates to further their ambitions to play at the All-Armed Forces level.

With only the Marine Corps holding regional tournaments and the other services selecting its tryout-camp attendees by resume, invitational/open tournaments remain the only avenue for Army, Air Force and Navy players to demonstrate their skill – and occasionally, their All-Service coach spends the time and money to journey overseas to scout those tournaments, particularly the Firecracker and the Pacificwide Open Softball Tournament every Memorial Day weekend at Yongsan.

It’s a given that military folk are hired to defend the country, not play ball. But as long as the All-Armed Forces program remains part of the military, and its byproduct as a recruiting and retention tool, there still has to be room made for invitationals and open tournaments.

Find a way.

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Korea high school wrestling in need of repair

DODDS Korea high school wrestling, and as a consequence wrestling in the entire Pacific, is faced with some deadly serious problems, which might likely threaten the sport’s existence as a whole in the peninsula unless they’re repaired, and quickly. Like in the next year or two, else extinction might be the only option.

Coaching posts at the three wrestling schools on the peninsula have resembled revolving doors. Too few wrestlers are out for the three DODDS Korea teams this season. And as such, there are too few competitive opportunities for them, other than beating each other up in the practice room and an average of 12 bouts – total, not per dual meet – in the schools’ weekly tri-meets.

In any sport, coaching continuity is key to any team’s success. Osan American has had three coaches in four seasons and seven total since last winning the league in 2000; Dave Dufour took over the team this year from David Hemmer, who coached the last two seasons. Bill Riggs coached Daegu American for four seasons until this year, when Luke Spencer assumed the helm. Even Seoul American, a model of stability since 1993 when Julian Harden took the helm, has undergone a shakeup; Harden, too, stepped aside last year, then stepped back in this season for Chris Dickinson. But Harden insists this will be his only season back.

Along with the lack of continuity, the inroads and ventures that the three schools made late last decade with Korean clubs have gone out the window. One club in particular near Daegu American School would host the three DODDS entities for clinics, practice dual meets and mini-tournaments.

The numbers out for wrestling this year are frightening. Osan has but seven wrestlers and Daegu just three. Even Seoul, for the last 11 years the peninsula title-holder, is fielding just 11 wrestlers and giving away 101 pounds and heavyweight. Their 168- and 180-pound wrestlers, Joe Durham and John Porter, have yet to face one competitor this season.

In years past, Seoul American was a regular at the Nile C. Kinnick Invitational “Beast of the Far East” tournament at Yokosuka Naval Base, then later all three schools participated for a couple of years in the E.J. King Invitational at Sasebo Naval Base, Japan. Unfortunately, DODDS Korea district began attaching stipulations to the total cost of ferrying the schools to Japan, forcing families to come out of pocket right down to the last dollar spent on a driver to move teams from airport to base and back.

Tthat left only the six league tri-meets, and with Seoul American fielding the most athletes, that tilts the playing field well in the direction of Falcons Navy blue and white. Fault lies not with them; that’s just how it is.

Thankfully, this season, DODDS Pacific has identified Korea wrestling as a “need” sport, that is to say lacking the same competitive opportunities as their counterparts in Japan, Okinawa and Guam. As a result, Seoul, Osan and Daegu will compete later this month at the “Rumble on the Rock” wrestling tournament at Kubasaki High School.

Likely, because of their lack of experience and Kubasaki (21 Far East titles) and Kadena (six) being seasoned, pedigreed teams, their DODDS Korea counterparts will get their heads handed to them.

That’s fine!

It’s win-win for all sides.

DODDS Korea teams get to step on the mat with somebody they don’t normally see, and vice versa. It gives them yardsticks to measure themselves, and things to work on when they return home, and three weeks in which to work on them before Far East.

Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools teams don’t have those issues; the DODDS and international schools have a full dual-meet schedule and at least four tournaments a season. “Another Saturday for us,” Yokota coach Brian Kitts said after Saturday’s E.J. King Invitational. The outlying schools, Robert D. Edgren and E.J. King, aren’t as fortunate, not being part of the Kanto Plain, but they do get four tournaments a season.

Guam High is likewise rich in opportunities; the Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam has a full regular season, an end-of-season tournament and the Eagle Open in early January.

Okinawa is not as bad off as Korea, but still lags behind the Kanto Plain and the IIAAG. Kadena and Kubasaki wrestle four dual meets this season, plus the “Rumble” and “Beast” tournaments. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, there won’t be a fourth Okinawa-American Friendship Tournament this season, a good competitive opportunity gone, but hopefully for just this year.

The DODDS Korea three should relish the opportunity to compete in “Rumble,” and DODDS Pacific also needs to look into ways to fund Kadena, Kubasaki and DODDS Korea for one in-season trip to either “Beast” or the E.J. King Tournament.

As Harden said so eloquently after Saturday’s tri-meet at Osan: “We’ll be at the bottom of the barrel until we get this thing fixed.”

This is too good a sport to get short shrift. It instills the sort of discipline that young men (and women) can use to better them as people as well as athletes.

Fix the problems. Now.

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Martin Luther King hoop tourneys highlight holiday weekend

Martin Luther King basketball tournaments this weekend, at Okinawa's Camp Foster Field House and the Super and MP Gyms at South Korea's Camp Humphreys. Only two teams from out of area, both traveling to the 17th MLK on Okinawa.

Mostly open and unit teams participating in the Okinawa MLK, and post-level teams in the Korea MLK. But it's also time for Seoul American's boys and girls, Kadena's boys and girls and Kubasaki's boys -- all contenders for Far East High School Division I Tournament titles -- to get their own brand of "physical education" against bigger, tougher adult teams. A few players will end up black and blue, but they'll be better for it all around.

As hot as the Foster Field House gets in summer, it's a freezer in winter; gonna bundle up this weekend. See y'all there.

Elsewhere this weekend, Robert D. Edgren, Matthew C. Perry and E.J. King travel to Nagoya (boys) and Kobe (girls) for the second of two in-season Western Japan Athletic Association tournaments.

DODDS Japan teams converge on Sasebo Naval Base for the E.J. King Invitational Wrestling Tournament. Seoul American can clinch its 11th straight DODDS Korea regular-season title outright if it wins one dual meet in the fourth tri-meet of the season at Osan American.

And, of course, full regular-season slates in the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools and Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference basketball leagues.

47 days.

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Things learned, observed in Pacific high school wrestling Week 4.0

Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer takes stock of the Pacific wrestling scene following the tournament that’s become so renowned and important, it’s known by one word, "Beast":

-- Another dominating performance by Shonan Military Academy in last weekend’s "Beast of the Far East" wrestling tournament at Nile C. Kinnick High School. Four gold medals. Two silvers. 74 team points, 14 better than runner-up Kubasaki and 29 more than third-place Kadena. Gives the Japanese school which wrestles year-round two team gold medals and two silvers the past four years.

-- Did overhear a rumbling or two about why Shonan was even in the tournament in the first place, "taking away medals that belong to ‘us.’" A bit of explanation: They’re there to give all the DODDS and international school teams a chance to take stock of where they are, see what they need to work on, where they can improve and even learn a new move or two from those guys, who are clinical technicians well skilled in their craft.

-- That’s not to say Shonan belongs in the Kanto Plain regular season. But they give a certain added "edge" to an already great tournament that should be a mandatory dress rehearsal for Far East.

-- Nobody asked me, but DODDS-Pacific should fund Kadena’s and Kubasaki’s trip to "Beast" each year, just as they’re planning to fund Seoul, Osan and Daegu American’s trip to the "Rumble on the Rock" tournament later this month.

-- His name is Cameron Namocot. Remember it well. The Robert D. Edgren youngster enjoyed quite the coming out, dominating at 122 pounds and pinning Yokota’s Kai Novelli in 3:13 for the gold.

-- High-risk moves can bring high rewards, but they can also bring trouble, especially against experienced wrestlers who know well how to counter. Case in point: the 129-pound final, in which Keith Johnson of Edgren had his way early thanks to a few reverse-guts. But his opponent, Kelly Langley of St. Mary’s International, caught Johnson in mid-gut and turned it into a pinfall victory. "I was lucky to catch him like that," Langley said.

-- Every time I watch Jacob Bishop of Kadena use that reverse leg lift to tilt his opponents’ shoulders to the mat, I kind of hold my breath; in so doing, Bishop leaves his own back exposed to the mat, and the wrong opponent might end up catching him and taking advantage. That said, it’s worked up to this point for him; he won the 148-pound gold with a technical fall over Yokota’s Josh Chamberlain.

-- Reigning two-time Far East champion Michael Spencer of Zama seemed somewhat annoyed when Jeffrey Koo of St. Mary’s International scored points on him in their 168-pound final. Two emphatic Spencer throws followed and he made short work of Koo, pinning him in 1:03.

-- In addition to Spencer, reigning Far East runners-up acquitted themselves nicely, for the most part. Steven Walter of Kubasaki put away Shonan’s Ren Suzuki in short order, 19 seconds at 101 pounds; teammate Matt Payne used a nice head-in-arm to bag Hayato Yuki at 180 pounds; and Jon Goddard nailed Yokota’s Michael Litman in 2:19 for the 141-pound gold.

-- Most noteable among bouts involving Far East silver medalists, Kadena’s Aaron Ahner and Kubasaki’s Jacob Wood went at it hammer and tongs at 215, with each looking as if they’d gone to war by bout’s end. The final round of Creed-Balboa I came to mind as I watched those two in the closing seconds of Ahner’s 2-1 decision.

-- One noteworthy streak came to an end Saturday, as Zama’s Yurie Tanaka, who had won her first seven bouts and gold medals in her first two tournaments, finally came out on the losing end at 108 pounds, falling 2-0 to eventual champion Yuuya Ikawa of Shonan; she lost again in the consolation round 2-1 to Kinnick’s Brandon Yoder.

-- Tanaka confessed to being somewhat unnerved, knowing she’d gone unbeaten for so long, adding that losing removed that gorilla off her back. "I’m not happy that I lost, but it helped," she said.

-- "Beast" kind of had an old-home week look to it, as former Zama students Bishop and Cory Peckins (158), now at Kadena, and first-year Kubasaki wrestling coach Ron Geist, a former Zama football coach and choir master, spent time chatting with Zama softball coach Veronica Tipton-Jones and her husband, Parish, who’d come to watch their son wrestle.

-- Congratulations to Seoul American, who by beating Osan 34-25 and Daegu 44-4 clinched at least a tie for its 11^th straight DODDS Korea wrestling league regular season title; the Falcons need but one more dual-meet win in the next three tri-meets to seal the deal. That said, you know that all three schools can’t wait to travel to "Rumble," at Kubasaki on Jan. 28-29, and wrestle somebody besides themselves and against teams with full lineups.

49 days.

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Things learned, observed in Pacific high school basketball Week 7.0

Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer bids a not-fond farewell – finally – to jet lag and considers the new landscape in Okinawa basketball:

-- That loud screeching noise you heard on Friday emanating from Kubasaki High School’s Dragons Den was the emergency brake being pulled on the Dragons’ bid for their first Okinawa Activities Council season series victory over Kadena in six years.

-- So, who was responsible for pulling the brake on the Dragons’ express, which yielded 21 wins in Kubasaki’s first 22 games?

-- The biggest question mark going into the season for Kadena was point-guard depth, with Taiyo Robertson and L.J. Hubbard having donned their caps and gowns last June 10 at the Okinawa Civic Center, leaving the Panthers with senior Xavier Jones at point with a lot of question marks behind him.

-- Those have been resolved. Emphatically. And perhaps for the next three years, thanks to the presence of Shawn Broughton, a sophomore and son of Kadena coach and three-time All-Army player Ray Broughton. The younger Broughton just transferred in over the Christmas break, broke into the Panthers’ starting lineup right away and immediately paid dividends.

-- Try 19 points and seven assists, as the Panthers downed the Dragons 91-81 to slice Kubasaki’s lead in the season series to 2-1. Jason Sumpter led five Kadena players in double figures with 27 points in what Panthers coach Robert Bliss termed the best game Sumpter has played in Kadena uniform.

-- Depth issue solved. And with the Panthers well stocked in post players both young and experienced, Bliss and Broughton should have the tools needed to make a deep run at the school’s first back-to-back Far East Division I Tournament titles in 19 years, and perhaps beyond.

-- That said, does this mean the OAC season series has been turned on its ear?

-- Hardly.

-- It only got some new life breathed into it.

-- This was precisely the slap across the face with a wet squirrel that Kubasaki needed to remind itself that the Dragons still have a lot of ball left to be played, that there’s plenty of improvement to be made and that the two teams will only get better and better, as they meet again in this week’s 17^th Martin Luther King Invitational, next week’s Okinawa-American Shootout and their final regular-season meeting Feb. 4 at Kadena.

-- Besides, this is still a very motivated Kubasaki crew. Seniors Kai Yamaguchi and Kentrell Key still possess bellies full of fire, aching for redemption from the past couple of subpar seasons and wanting to exit in the same grand style that the Panthers did a season ago. Remember, Kubasaki has won both tournaments, the Hong Kong International School Holiday and New Year Classic, in which they’ve entered this season.

-- And these two arch-rivals simply love meeting each other when the stakes are high and when titles are on the line. This thing is FAR from over.

-- One group of Panthers did succeed in their bid for OAC championship riches. Anissa Fitz scored 20 points and Desirae Seals 13 as Kadena’s girls made it three wins in three tries against the Dragons, 73-26 also on Friday.

-- Coach Mike Ochoa and the Panthers made good on a few new wrinkles they tried, some new plays and a 3-2 zone trap used by the Mystics, a women’s open team that plays in the MLK and other Pacificwide tournaments.

-- Amid all that, Kubasaki’s girls, who had been winless in 11 tries, finally got their first regular-season victory Saturday at home against Club Anna. D’An Hurst, a sophomore who has ably stepped in to fill the shoes of Dragons’ uber-scorer Gabby Falco, had 24 points and Bianca Johnson added 14 as Kubasaki won 64-50. Congratulations!

-- Even without Jeff Tinsley, and despite going scoreless in the fourth quarter, Osan American’s boys still had enough to come away with a road victory over their Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference and Far East Division II rival Daegu American. Nate Baldevia’s 11 points helped the Cougars hold on for a 40-37 edging; Osan led 40-22 after three periods.

-- The Cougars girls did likewise, with Chantal Colmore scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds, Arielle Andrews adding 14 points and Ashley LaFortune and Alina Hauter pulling down five boards as Osan edged Daegu 49-46.

-- That said, don’t read too much into either Daegu loss. The Warriors played with just six players (three were ineligible) and the girls missed 21 foul shots. No team can win when they miss that many shots at the line, with no hands in your face and 10 seconds to shoot.

-- Will Rogers might have said of Matthew C. Perry’s John Ayers: "He never saw a shot he didn’t take." Well, the Samurai senior – who has pretty much had to play his own shooting guard role and that of departed point guard Chase Dariso’s as well – starred in a nail-biting late-late show at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni’s Ironworks Gym last weekend, scoring 24 points as Perry held off a late Zama American charge 50-48 on Saturday, after having done the same Friday 55-52, with Ayers scoring 26 points.

-- Maybe Zama’s girls ought to play the third quarter in all four quarters of every game the Trojans play. They trailed 10-3 after one period on Friday, but outscored the Samurai 20-5 in the third quarter and pulled away 48-31 behind Briana Myrick’s 22 points. Same thing on Saturday: Perry led 12-4 after one quarter, then Zama outscored the Samurai 21-5 in the third and won 53-43; Te’Asia Snowden’s 26 points paced Zama.

-- She wears No. 22, but the figure 18 was most suitable for Yokota freshman Trinity Davis on Saturday at snowy Robert D. Edgren High School. Six hours apart, she scored 18 points each as the Panthers routed the Eagles 63-31 in the first game and 54-34 in the second. Looks as if Yokota’s got its mojo; at 6-0, the Panthers lead the DODDS Japan standings.

-- But just two games back, the E.J. King Cobras (5-3) are poised to strike after splitting their weekend series with Nile C. Kinnick. Lia Martin’s 16 points and 10 rebounds powered the Cobras to a 44-37 win over the Red Devils on Saturday, scant hours after Mashiya McKinney’s 18 points boosted Kinnick past E.J. King 39-32 in the first game.

-- Yokota’s and Edgren’s boys battle atop the DODDS Japan standings should be a good one this season; the Panthers stand at 6-1 and the Eagles 5-1 after they split their series. That DODDS Japan tournament Feb. 3-5 at Yokota should be a battle royal.

49 days.

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New faces coming to 4th Rumble wrestling tournament

Expect three new faces at this year’s 4^th Rumble on the Rock wrestling tournament at Kubasaki High School on Okinawa.

DODDS officials, coaches and tournament organizers confirmed Friday that Seoul American, Osan American and Daegu American of South Korea will travel to Okinawa for the two-day tournament scheduled for Jan. 28-29.

This is great news for the three DODDS Korea entities, which get valuable Far East tournament preparation as a result.

The three schools will compete against Kubasaki and Kadena of Okinawa in the combined dual-meet and individual-freestyle tournament at Kubasaki High School’s Dragons Den. Kadena and Kubasaki are two of the most decorated programs in DODDS Pacific Far East Tournament history with 27 combined team titles.

Seoul American coach Julian Harden expressed excitement at the opportunity, the first time that the three Korea schools will have their travel funded for an in-season invitational.

"The time frame is perfect for us," said Harden of the event which takes place at the end of the month and the end of the instructional second quarter. "It gives us time to come back and work on things."

Especially for the three schools’ younger wrestlers, it will be an "eye opener," Harden said. "We’ll be facing quality wrestling programs. It gives us an idea of what to anticipate what we’ll face when we go" to the Far East tournament next month at South Korea’s Camp Humphreys.

The trip to Okinawa likely means the last tri-meet of the DODDS Korea regular season, which had Seoul and Osan originally scheduled to travel to Daegu on Jan. 29, will be pushed back to Feb. 6.

Since its inception in 2008, Rumble had featured three Tokyo-area international schools, who until this year had been barred from competing in Far East tournaments.

That ban was lifted last spring, and now American School In Japan, St. Mary’s International and Christian Academy Japan have been invited and indicated they will participate at Far East.

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Pacific high school basketball ratings, New Year's edition

UPDATES and corrects with No. 8 boys team.

Here they are, finally, after a long delay induced by a spate of unexpected results in the New Year Classic, and of course, that insidious disease, jet lag.

Boys
1, Kubasaki, Okinawa, 21-1. The "Special K’s," Kai Yamaguchi and Kentrell Key, won’t match the Dragons’ 1987-88 unbeaten season; still, may be the most talented Dragons bunch since the 1996-97 Far East champion team and is thus far the Pacific’s "team to beat."
2, Seoul American, 15-4. Tomiwa Akinbayo and the Falcons have rebounded nicely from last year’s sub-par season; will get some good fire testing in the Camp Humphreys’ Martin Luther King tournament later this month.
3, Hong Kong International, season complete. Assuming the Dragons accept their invitation to Far East, expect seniors Adam Xu, Zach Carlson and Eric Lee to make a ton of noise on Guam.
4, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 7-0. Jacob Sterry and the Eagles are off to their best start in 13 years, and could be in great position to add a basketball banner to the ever-expanding collection on the wall in the Eagles’ Nest.
5, Yokota, Japan, 11-8. Cast aside their performance in the Hong Kong Tournament; with Warren Manegan back in the lineup, this is a different group of Panthers.
6, Kadena, Okinawa, 11-8. Not the same group that captured last season’s Division I Tournament title, but still a threat every time out thanks to their Triple-S post players, Jaylen Street, Jason Sumpter and Skylar Warren.
7, Faith Academy, Philippines, 11-4. It would be amazing if freshman star Micah Seaborn would remain in Manila until his senior year.
8, Yongsan International-Seoul, 7-1. Guardians may well be in the running for their second Division II title in four years.
9, Osan American, South Korea, 6-1. May be the best bunch to wear Cougars teal and black since the 2003 Division II tournament champions.
10, American School In Japan, 6-5. Don’t sleep on this bunch of Mustangs. No true standout player, but as deep a team as coach Aaron Rogers has had in many years.

Girls
1, Seoul American, 8-0. With all their holdover talent combined with experienced newcomers Tillie Trousnon, Mecca Perkins and Jordan Elliott, the rest of the field is playing for second place at the moment. They’ll join the boys in the MLK tournament later this month at Camp Humphreys.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines, 11-2. Former two-time Division I Tournament MVP-turned-professional trainer Julie Stauffer returned to the Philippines to help conduct some holiday workouts. The last time the Lady V’s won the Division I title? With Stauffer as an assistant coach in 2009.
3, Daegu American, South Korea, 10-4. Kristina Bergman and the Warriors got some good seasoning during a Christmas tournament on Guam.
4, Kadena, Okinawa, 4-6. Don’t let the win-loss record fool you. Just like last season, the Panthers started out slow, but have won four of their last five games heading into the break.
5, Hong Kong International, season complete. Like the boys, Madeline Strandemo and the Dragons girls stand to make quite a dent at the Division I tournament should they accept the invitation.
6, Yokota, Japan, 7-4. Looks very strong against its Japan opposition; hopefully, their 1-4 ledger in the Hong Kong tournament was a mere blip on the radar.
7, Robert D. Edgren, Japan, 4-2. No Ashley Hawkins? No problem for the Eagles, who simply move Jen Black into that vacated point guard spot and appear not to have missed a beat.
8, Taejon Christian International, South Korea, 5-3. Not since the teams of the glory days of the 1980s have we seen Dragons teams this competitive. Becca Roberts and TCIS beat Osan American for the first time in 14 seasons last month.
9, American School In Japan, 2-1. Bessie Noll and the Mustangs might have much to say about who does what in the Kanto Plain and at Far East by the time all is said and done.
10, Osan American, South Korea, 4-3. Any team with Arielle Andrews on the court stands a chance to at least be very competitive; never count out the Cougars, especially with no shot clock in Far East tournaments.

Don’t dig what you see? Think you have a better Top 10 than me? Shout it out! And remember, you’ve entered "THE" No-Hate Zone. J

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