PREP NOTES : El Segundo Surprises Coach in Tough League : Basketball: Coach Rick Sabosky didn’t think his Eagles had much of a chance when they moved to the Camino Real League.

When Rick Sabosky learned that El Segundo High was moving to the Camino Real League in basketball, he did what any rational coach would.

He considered resigning.

The thought of a small public school playing St. Bernard, St. Monica, St. Anthony, Serra and Verbum Dei--traditionally among Southern California’s top basketball schools--didn’t strike him as particularly appealing. Or fair.

As it turned out, Sabosky didn’t quit. But the idea probably crossed his mind after the Eagles were manhandled by St. Monica, 92-43, two weeks ago in their second Camino Real League game.

“I thought we were going down the tubes fast,” he said.

That was then. Today, Sabosky has a different outlook after El Segundo won three straight league games last week to pull into a tie for second place with St. Bernard and Verbum Dei at 3-2.

“Maybe this actually has a silver lining to it,” he said. “It’s nice to say you’d have a better record (in another league), but obviously nobody cares what your record is if you don’t do well in the playoffs. I think this is the right way to do it. I think the better competition makes the kids better.”

Sabosky’s attitude changed considerably after El Segundo beat St. Anthony, 79-76, last Friday, a victory that ranks as one of the most impressive in the school’s history.

Playing at St. Anthony’s infamous “Pit,” an antiquated gym where the fans are particularly hostile, the Eagles rallied from a 48-43 halftime deficit to hand the Saints their first league loss. St. Anthony and St. Monica are tied for first place with 4-1 marks.

“That was a phenomenal win for us,” Sabosky said. “The kids felt real good going in. St. Anthony makes a big deal about ‘The Pit,’ and I think our kids got a little fed up with it. Their fans are real rude. I think it got us as pumped up as it did them.

“The general feeling on the team is that we enjoy going into these places and playing these teams. We know some of these teams have more talent than we do, but the kids know if we do the right things, we have a chance.”

El Segundo (9-8 overall) capped the week Saturday with a 78-52 win at home against Bosco Tech as senior guard Scott Panfil popped for 33 points and five three-point shots. This came after he had 24 points and three three-pointers against St. Anthony.

Because the Eagles are a 2-A Division team competing in a league with six teams that are in higher divisions, they figure to earn a playoff berth even if they don’t finish in the top three. This is because of a new power-rating system that awards points to teams for playing higher-division opponents and will be used to determine at-large playoff qualifiers.

If El Segundo does earn a postseason berth for the fifth consecutive year, Sabosky knows his players will be ready after facing the tough competition in the Camino Real League.

“I think the kids know we can compete against anyone because we’ve seen the best,” he said. “Nobody is going to make us awe-struck after this.”

Sabosky says one of the reasons for El Segundo’s early success in league play is a balanced lineup.

The Eagles have an outstanding shooting guard in Panfil, a bruising center in 6-foot-5, 230-pound Kenny Talanoa, an athletic forward in 6-3 Tate Seefried and two capable ball handlers in guards Tony Bartolucci and Craig Freisen.

Panfil leads the team with a 21-point average, Seefried is second at 14.7 and Talanoa averages 12.8 points and 13.2 rebounds. Bartolucci and Freisen are the top assist men, averaging 5.8 and 4.7.

Another plus, Sabosky said, is that all starters except Talanoa are shooting better than 75% from the free-throw line.

Friday’s victory at St. Anthony marked the second time in less than a year that El Segundo pulled a major upset in a hostile gym.

Last season, the Eagles beat top-seeded Cabrillo High of Lompoc, 73-70, in the quarterfinals of the 2-AA playoffs at Lompoc High.

“We’re comparing (the St. Anthony win) to that game,” Sabosky said. “It was the same kind of intensity.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for El Segundo this week.

The Eagles resume league play Friday night at Serra, where the Cavaliers enjoy a distinct home-court advantage.

Leuzinger basketball Coach Phil Sherman says it’s too early to count Rolling Hills out of the Bay League race. The Titans, three-time defending league champions, started 0-4 before winning their first game Friday night against Santa Monica.

“I look for Rolling Hills to get back into it,” Sherman said. “I know how quickly things can turn around.”

That he does.

Last season, Leuzinger was in trouble after opening league play 0-4. But the Olympians came back to win seven consecutive games and tie Beverly Hills for fourth place, good enough to earn a playoff berth.

“I think it will take seven or eight games to figure out who’s tough and who’s out of it,” Sherman said. “I think the champion will have two or three losses.”

Leuzinger has gotten a boost this season from transfers Adrian McCovey and Ty Meriweather, a pair of 6-5 forwards. McCovey transferred from Fremont High in Los Angeles and Meriweather moved from Kokomo, Ind.

“They’re basically guards,” Sherman said. “They’re both playing out of position. We don’t have a power forward.”

Not in name, maybe, but Meriweather has filled the role nicely. He had 18 points and 19 rebounds Friday in Leuzinger’s 85-63 win over Torrance and has used his long, Kevin McHale-like arms to lead the team in rebounding.

“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” Sherman said. “At one time I thought he wasn’t going to make the team. He turned it around and started playing pretty well after that.

“He’s actually a three-point shooter, but we can’t afford to use him in that capacity.”

Friday night’s Bay League basketball game between rivals Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills will be televised at 3:30 p.m. Saturday by Dimension Cable, which serves the peninsula.

Equipment for the telecast at Rolling Hills is being donated by Mobile Television Productions of Torrance, whose president, Joe Heitzler, is the father of Rolling Hills guard Chad Heitzler.

It never hurts to know people in high places.

PREP NOTES--Perhaps the biggest basketball game of the week will take place Saturday night when much-improved Bishop Montgomery plays host to Mater Dei for first place in the Angelus League. Mater Dei is ranked third in the state among Division I schools by Cal-Hi Sports, while Bishop Montgomery is ranked ninth in Division II . . . Bragging rights on the beach will be at stake Friday night when Redondo plays host to rival Mira Costa in an Ocean League basketball game . . . Hawthorne’s soccer team kept pace with Palos Verdes for first place in the Bay League by beating Leuzinger, 2-1, Tuesday. Jorge Aguinina scored both goals for the Cougars, who improved to 13-4-2 overall and 5-0-1 in league play.