SPORTSCOPE : Area Teams to Show Stuff in Summer Games

The San Gabriel Valley will be well represented when teams from throughout the Southland compete in the 23rd annual Los Angeles Summer Games boys’ basketball tournament that starts Saturday at sites throughout Los Angeles.

There will be 17 teams from the valley competing in the 128-team tournament--the largest summer prep basketball tournament in the nation.

The only seeded teams from the valley are No. 19 Pasadena and No. 20 Pomona, but Muir, Diamond Bar and Ganesha are also expected to field outstanding teams.

In first-round games Saturday, Pasadena plays Campbell Hall at 3 p.m. at Crenshaw High, Pomona faces Perris at 3 p.m. at Fremont High, Diamond Bar takes on L.A. Jordan at 9 a.m., Ganesha meets Palos Verdes at 11 a.m. at Jordan High, and Muir plays Washington at 1 p.m. at Banning High.

Under Coach Bill Duwe, Pasadena has been one of the top teams in the valley the past two seasons. The Bulldogs, who finished with a 23-6 record and reached the Southern Section 5-A semifinals last season, have high expectations again behind 5-11 point guard Raymond Maberry.

Maberry, who will be a senior next season, averaged 14 points and 6.7 assists last season. Another leader for the Bulldogs could be 6-3 senior forward Kenric Marshall.

Pomona, which has also received a top seed, returns one of the top players in Southern California in senior Johnny McWilliams. A 6-6 forward, McWilliams averaged 23.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 3.6 steals to lead the Red Devils to a 20-7 record last season. He is a two-time All-Southern Section selection and was voted The Times San Gabriel Valley player of the year as a junior.

Muir, after finishing with a 15-11 record and second to Pasadena in the Pacific League last season, should also be strong in its first season under former Alemany High Coach Rocky Moore. Top returning players include guards Phillip Turner and Jacque Vaughn and forward Erid Scott.

Ganesha is another squad that could be primed for a good season under a new coach. The Giants will be coached by Mel Sims, who guided the Muir girls to the state Division II final last year. Ganesha, 10-13 last season, will build around talented 6-7 forward Damon Boykin.

Diamond Bar should also improve its 15-11 mark of last season behind returning starters Damian Hyams (6-3) at forward and Tre Wheat (5-11) at guard. Hyams averaged 18.6 points and eight rebounds last season and Wheat 6.7 points and 9.8 assists.

Other first-round games Saturday include Temple City vs. South Torrance at 10 a.m., South Pasadena vs. Verbum Dei at 2 p.m. and Sierra Vista vs. Westminster at 3 p.m. at Jordan; Alhambra vs. Dominguez at 10 a.m. and San Marino vs. Buena at noon at Banning; Bassett vs. Redondo at noon and Duarte vs. Cypress at 2 p.m. at El Camino College; Walnut vs. Culver City at 11 a.m. at Westchester High, and Bosco Tech vs. Crenshaw at 9 a.m., Garey vs. Carson at 11 a.m., La Salle vs. North of Riverside at noon and Marshall Fundamental vs. Franklin at 1 p.m. at Crenshaw.

The top seeds are Long Beach Poly, Lynwood, Crenshaw and Manual Arts. Preliminary round games are Saturday and Sunday and the final rounds June 30 and July 1 at El Camino.

The valley is also represented in other sports including girls basketball, football and baseball. Ganesha is the valley’s top threat in girls basketball; Nogales, Pomona and San Marino are seeded in football, and Gladstone and Arroyo are among the top teams in baseball.

Junior Matt Solters of the University of La Verne, one of the top pitchers in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference the past two seasons, has been selected to the American Baseball Coaches Assn. NCAA Division III All-America first team.

Senior outfielder Alan MacLeod was a second-team selection.

Solters, who was recently selected to the Division III All-West Region team along with MacLeod, had a 9-3 record and 2.82 earned-run average with 123 strikeouts and 40 walks in 108 1/3 innings. He also had 11 complete games.

MacLeod, La Verne’s top offensive performer, batted .414 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs.

Diamond Bar High has started its search for a replacement for Athletic Director Bill Cline.

Cline, who has been Diamond Bar athletic director the past four years, announced recently that he is resigning to concentrate on his position as instructional dean at the school.

Cline, who will help select the new athletic director, said applications will be accepted through July 6 and the Walnut Valley Unified School District hopes to make its decision by late July.

Applications are with the district office at (714) 595-1261.

Swimmer Javier Obando of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut has been named to the community college All-America team in the 200-yard backstroke.

Obando, a freshman from Bishop Amat High in La Puente, established school records in the 100 and 200 backstroke at the state finals last season. He finished sixth in the 200 in a time of 2:03.05 and 13th in the 100 at 56.95 seconds.

He also set a school record in the 400-yard individual medley earlier in the season at the South Coast Conference finals. Obando is the first Mt. SAC swimmer to receive All-America honors in seven years.