Tologs Struggle Against Tough Tigers Offense
The Flintridge Sacred Heart Tologs continued their summer basketball league play in South Pasadena to play in a nightcap against host Tigers of South Pasadena High School.
In a game mired by turnovers and scoring droughts, the Tologs could not keep up with the outside shooting of the Tigers, as South Pasadena defeated Flintridge Sacred Heart, 47-27.
The Tologs zone defense could not stop the hot outside shooting, as the Tigers made eight three-point shots in the game, including six in the second half.
South Pasadena guard Kendall Shinmoto made three of her four long-balls in the second-half, as she topped all scorers with 12 points. Tiger guards Kara Yoshihara and Sarah Waldorf were also hot from beyond the arc.
“We’ve been playing man defense all summer. We’re trying to run set plays now and double down on defense,” said Tologs Head Coach Richard Caballero. “They are not doubling down fast enough, but this is the first time we executed this defense.”
South Pasadena started quickly, building an 8-0 lead, as the Tologs looked disorganzined running the new zone defense.
However, Vanessa Romero put the Tologs on the board with a three-point play with 12 minutes to play in the first half, ending the Tigers’ run and cutting the lead to 8-3.
Neither team attempted a field goal over the next three minutes, with each team exchanging turnovers on eight consecutive possessions, before the Tologs regained some control and tied the game at 8 with 7:45 remaining.
After a Tiger timeout, South Pasadena regrouped and went on a 10-1 run over the next six minutes.
However, Zeeyna Haddad made sure the Tologs closed out the half strong. With Romero making the first of two free-throws, Haddad rebounded the second and immediately scored, cutting the Tiger lead to six.
One possession later, Haddad drilled an 18-foot baseline jumper just before the buzzer sounded, making it 18-14 at halftime, giving Flintridge Sacred Heart momentum at the break.
The Tologs tried to capitalize on this energy, as Michelle Martinez scored on the team’s first possession of the second half, to cut the Tiger lead to 18-16.
Yet the Tigers figured out the Tologs’ zone defense, going on a 12-0 run to make it 30-16.
Martinez ended the Tiger run with a baseline layup, as the Tigers would go on a scoring drought of their own for the next five minutes.
Shinmoto scored for the Tigers, ending the Tologs’ 5-0 run, with a three-pointer — the first of four consecutive field goals for the Tigers over the next two minutes, which extended the Tiger lead to 42-24.
“We aren’t used to running a zone offense, especially since we just called up a few players from JV, who never saw a zone,” said Tiger Head Coach Ralph Punaro. “It took us some time to adjust, but we made out shots and the zone offense worked.”
The Tologs were led by Martinez with 7 points, Romero with 6 points, and Haddad was a monster on the glass with 11 rebounds.