Interesting Debuts on Tap as Boys’ Basketball Season Opens

Two boys’ basketball coaches and a player to watch make their debuts with new teams tonight at the Taco Company Invitational, formerly known as the Loara tournament.

Anaheim has joined the Saxons in co-sponsoring the tournament, and the new name is a result of a group of restaurants run by Anaheim Coach Jose Marco Castellanos.

In first-round games today at Anaheim High, Costa Mesa plays Whittier Christian at 6 p.m. Costa Mesa is coached by Bob Serven, longtime assistant at Santa Margarita who has also served as head coach at Newport Harbor.

Another first-round game in the Colonist gym marks the debut of Irvine Coach Mark Decker. The Vaqueros play No. 7 Servite at 7:30 p.m. It will be the first game for Servite sophomore center Martin Iti, a 6-9 transfer from Florida.

At Loara High tonight, Valencia plays Santa Fe Springs St. Paul at 6, followed by La Quinta vs. No. 2 Santa Margarita at 7:30.

Other tournaments this week are being hosted by Buena Park, Bolsa Grande/Pacifica, Brethren Christian and La Habra.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

No sense in waiting around for showdowns. Two teams that shared league titles last season open the girls’ basketball season today at 3 p.m., as Diana Barreras and Pacifica (Garden Grove League) face Maile Shimoda and Mater Dei (formerly of the South Coast League) at the Woodbridge tournament. Mater Dei may be vulnerable; several players, including Lindsay Pavlik, just finished the volleyball playoffs.

That’s one of a few attractive matchups this week at Woodbridge. Upstart Capistrano Valley, which has several new players including Nicki Howard (formerly of Dana Hills), takes on proven Edison tonight at 7:45 p.m. In a playoff-caliber game, Edison faces Riverside North on Friday, right after Woodbridge plays Mater Dei. The final, which could feature a rematch of last season’s Edison-Mater Dei quarterfinal game (a 44-42 Monarch victory), is Saturday at 7:45 p.m.

Irvine gets an early test against Sonora on Friday in the Lady Centurion Classic at Century. The tournaments at Century and Fullerton will have their finals on Saturday, the day the South Coast Classic begins at University.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Rosary and El Modena, two teams on the verge of breaking into the county’s top 10, will meet Tuesday at El Modena. El Modena is led by first-year Coach Craig Bennett, a former goalkeeper who helped Chapman to the NCAA Division III semifinals in 1995. Bennett has eight starters back from last year’s team, including two four-year players, forward Vicki Bloom and midfielder Ashley Clift.

Rosary, a playoff quarterfinalist and Golden West League champion last year, now must contend in the Serra League with third-ranked Santa Margarita and ninth-ranked Mater Dei. The Royals are led by senior midfielder Shauna Rech, an All-Southern Section pick last season. Game time is 3:15 p.m.

BOYS’ SOCCER

Top-ranked Santa Margarita will be tested early as the three-time defending Division III champions play at sixth-ranked Capistrano Valley Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Santa Margarita senior midfielder Spencer George will probably draw a lot of Capistrano Valley’s attention. George, who is deciding between Stanford and UCLA, scored 10 goals and had 20 assists last year. He will probably be asked to score more this year for the Eagles, who also return leading scorer Sebastian Galmarini (18 goals and 10 assists). Capistrano Valley, one of the youngest teams in the county last year, didn’t make the playoffs. But the Cougars grew up a lot over the summer and they are the favorites to win the South Coast League title.

SIGNINGS

Galmarini said Sunday he has committed to play soccer at UC Irvine. Galmarini was named first-team All-Division III and second-team Times all-county.

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Times staff writers Martin Henderson, Melanie Neff, Dave McKibben and Chris Foster contributed to this report.