Servite Summer Basketball Tournament : Western’s Size Sparks High Expectations

With Western High School’s 87-77 victory over Millikan in the quarterfinal round of the Servite summer basketball tournament Saturday, the Pioneers served notice to their Orange County foes.

After all, Western had not beaten Millikan in the six seasons Greg Hoffman has been coaching the Pioneers. Furthermore, Millikan is the defending Southern Section 5-AA champion and, with two starters back from that team, figures to be a contender again this season.

“This is a step up for Western,” Hoffman said. “I’m really proud of them.”

Western advanced farthest among county teams in the tournament, before losing to Lakewood, 82-58, Saturday night in its semifinal game.

Despite the loss, Hoffman has every reason to be optimistic. The Pioneers have a hot-shooting guard in Sam Sabbara, a solid supporting cast, a number of experienced players and--and this is the most encouraging part for Hoffman--a trio of 6-foot-5 players.

Western had a 17-6 record last season and 17-7 the year before, but Hoffman believes the Pioneers’ added height may signal more victories next season.

“We’ve never had size,” Hoffman said. “We always had the good point guard and tough inside players, but now we have size. It lets you play at another level.”

Robbie Shelton, Nurishi Stevenson and Josh Byrd are all 6-5 juniors. Shelton, who handles the ball well and has a quick first step, is the most impressive of the three. He played on the junior varsity last season and averaged about 15 points a game.

Stevenson is improving rapidly after spending his sophomore season on the varsity.

The entire cast plays hard, hustling after loose balls and deflecting passes and generally wreaking havoc on the opposition.

And no one plays harder than Sabbara, a 6-1 senior guard who has started for three seasons on the varsity. He plays a hard-nosed brand of defense, passes deftly and has a soft touch on his jump shots.

He had 32 points, including four three-pointers in the second half, in the victory over Millikan. In a 71-66 first-round victory over Servite, Sabbara had 30 points and 15 assists. He had a team-high 21 in the loss to Lakewood.

“I think Sabbara is one of the top two or three guards in the county,” Hoffman said. “He’s just a great, smart kid.”

Tom Barraza, a junior guard, will add to the Pioneers’ strength in December. He has a stress fracture and has not been able to play in the tournament.

Tournament Notes

Western’s loss in the semifinals leaves an all-Moore League championship. Long Beach Poly faces Lakewood in the title game at 6:30 tonight. Poly defeated St. Monica, 79-71, in the other semifinal. Western plays St. Monica in the third-place game at 4:30. . . . Mater Dei plays Marina in the consolation game at 1:30. In the consolation semifinals Saturday, Mater Dei defeated West Covina, 64-48, and Marina defeated Servite, 69-59. Cherokee Parks, Marina’s 6-11 junior center, flew in from the Nike camp in Princeton, N.J., to help the Vikings get past Servite.