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Escoto to Coach Sylmar Basketball

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

After nine seasons as an assistant coach for two successful programs, Bort Escoto was named to replace Jose Fernandez as the Sylmar High basketball coach.

Fernandez left Sylmar to take a high school coaching position in Northern California.

Escoto, 28, who at 18 began as an assistant at Cleveland High, is the fourth coach in five years at Sylmar and will inherit a team that finished 13-10 and won the Mid-Valley League championship. It was the school’s first league title in basketball since 1971.

“I hadn’t heard much about Sylmar until last year when they did so well,” Escoto said.

As an assistant to Bob Braswell at Cleveland for six seasons (1986-91), Escoto helped guide the Cavaliers to runner-up finishes in the City Section 4-A Division in 1986 and ’87.

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Escoto assisted former Chatsworth Coach Sandy Greentree the past three seasons.

He is eager to make Sylmar a contender in the Valley Pac-8 Conference, which is dominated by North Hollywood and Grant.

Chuck Miller, the former girls’ basketball coach at Sylmar and current softball coach, will assist Escoto.

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