Showcase Turns Into Show of Farce

The Los Angeles City Classic boys’ basketball tournament went from a national showcase event for 20 teams to a major fiasco when four of the 12 out-of-state teams failed to arrive because airline tickets were never purchased as promised by tournament officials, who fell short on raising funds.

To make matters worse Thursday, the tournament was halted moments into the first game when it was discovered by Vice Principal Jack Baroutjian of host site L.A. Fremont that there was no insurance carrier for the event.

The tournament’s start was salvaged three hours later after a scouting director in attendance, Gerry Freitas, called the insurance carrier he uses when staging events, The Camp Team in Wheat Ridge, Colo., and the company agreed to write a policy on the spot and accept payment later.

The teams that had their game stopped, Pasadena Blair and Chester (Pa.), had already left the premises and a key player for Lakewood Artesia, scheduled to play the next game against Norfolk (Va.) Granby, had gone home with his family.

“I’m about ready to explode,” said Lakewood Artesia Coach Scott Pera, as he pondered whether to keep his team around for its opening game or try to get into another tournament at Cerritos College. Artesia chose to stay around, though it had to wait through an extra game for point guard Gary Pinkney to return.

In addition to Artesia, ranked No. 17 in the Southland by The Times, the tournament includes No. 1 Etiwanda, No. 12 L.A. Dorsey and No. 15 Fremont. In addition to Chester, a four-time state champion, regional powers Baltimore Dunbar, Granby and Payson (Utah) were also scheduled to begin play Thursday.

Two coaches whose teams never made it to L.A. were angrier than Pera.

Jimmy Adams, coach of Memphis (Tenn.) Raleigh-Egypt, ranked No. 9 in the South by USA Today, sent his fiancee and daughter to L.A. ahead of the team, only to end up stranded in Memphis. He spent $1,000 out of his pocket to fly to L.A. and then pay for tickets to return with his family.

“We feel cheated and betrayed and embarrassed,” said Adams, who has coached for 35 years. “We had press releases at home, telling everybody about our trip to Los Angeles. Now, we have egg on our faces.”

Adams planned to confront the tournament director, Chuck Findlay, before returning to Memphis and request that his money be refunded. If it’s not, Adams said he planned legal action. “[Findlay] hasn’t returned my calls for 24 hours,” Adams said Thursday afternoon. “Me having to come out here is an inconvenience. I expect some kind of satisfaction.”

Amarillo (Texas) Palo Duro was also planning to open play Thursday but arrived in Dallas the day before to find its tickets had been reserved but never purchased.

“This was going to be our first time going out of state on a plane,” said Coach Jeff Evans, whose team was able to line up games against Dallas-area teams today and Saturday.

Findlay said late Wednesday night that the tournament had fallen short on its sponsorship goals, leaving organizers scrambling to pay for travel costs for out-of-state teams. The tournament’s main sponsor, Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles, sent a marketing director to Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday to purchase airline tickets for the teams that were still able to travel.

“We ended up spending an additional $60,000,” said Serese Teate, marketing director for Roscoe’s, a popular restaurant in the city.

Teate criticized tournament organizers for poor organization.

“They needed to purchase the airline tickets six months ago,” she said. “Especially since it is Christmas time.”