Southern Section Sizes Up City

UC Santa Barbara-bound Branduinn Fullove of Simi Valley High, UCLA-bound Josiah Johnson of Montclair Prep and Vanderbilt-bound Russell Lakey of Harvard-Westlake head the list of Southern Section boys’ basketball players selected to play against the City Section in the Battle of the Valley 2000 scheduled for April 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Cal State Northridge.

Rice-bound Kate Beckler of Alemany and New Mexico State-bound Sinnamonn Garrett of Crescenta Valley top the list of Southern Section players that will meet the City Section in the girls’ game at 5:30 p.m. at Northridge.

The Southern Section boys, coached by Brian Haloossim of Campbell Hall, are loaded with offensive standouts. Fullove was Marmonte League player of the year and Lakey earned the same honor in the Mission League.

High-scoring Todd Tomlinson of Moorpark and Gene Myvett, Golden League player of the year, also will play for the Southern Section.

Size will be provided by the 6-foot-8 Johnson, 6-9 Tyler Newton of Burroughs and 6-5 Carlos Arroyo of Bell-Jeff.

The City Section, coached by Don Loperena of Monroe, will counter with 6-8 Gregg Guenther of Taft and 6-5 Justin Saad-Anthony of El Camino Real, both All-City honorees.

Midwin Francis of Granada Hills was one of the City’s top rebounders, and Ronald Gray of Taft and Bobby Mitchell of Reseda are prolific shooters.

Beckler and Garrett will try to help the Southern Section girls win their third consecutive game against the City.

The Southern Section will be coached by Nori Parvin, who guided Newbury Park to a Marmonte League championship and a berth in the Division II-A semifinals.

Two players who helped Harvard-Westlake reach the state Division III final last season, Brooke Porter and L’Tanya Robnett, add to the Southern Section’s impressive lineup.

The City has a balanced roster that includes guard Leslie Mui of Sunset Six League champion Grant and forward Tiffany Furrell of West Valley League co-champion El Camino Real.

The City will be coached by Raquel Alotis, who led Chatsworth to the West Valley co-championship and the City Championship semifinals.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ROSTERS

BOYS

Southern

Section

Gene Myvett, Littlerock

Tyler Newton, Burroughs

Carlos Arroyo, Bell-Jeff

Jesse Foster, Campbell Hall

Hassan Bassiri, Campbell Hall

Josiah Johnson, Montclair Prep

Russell Lakey, Harvard-Westlake

Eric Geffner, Harvard-Westlake

Branduinn Fullove, Simi Valley

Todd Tomlinson, Moorpark

Reny Maynard, Alemany

Adam Segal, Royal

Coach: Brian Haloossim, Campbell Hall

*

City

Section

Quenton Harvey, Cleveland

Grant Pledger, Cleveland

Dax Grooms, Kennedy

Robert Palafox, Monroe

Gregg Guenther, Taft

Ronald Gray, Taft

Justin Saad-Anthony, El Camino Real

Midwin Francis, Granada Hills

Jorge Price, Granada Hills

Bobby Mitchell, Reseda

Adam Drell, Chatsworth

Maike Hernandez, San Fernando

Coach: Don Loperena, Monroe

*

GIRLS

Southern

Section

Kate Beckler, Alemany

Jamie Dirksing, Newbury Park

Kristen Galbreath, Royal

Sinnamonn Garrett, Crescenta Valley

Tenie Hartounian, Hoover

Jolene Hayward, Littlerock

Elise Metcalf, Simi Valley

Brooke Porter, Harvard-Westlake

Lannette Richardson, Quartz Hill

L’Tanya Robnett, Harvard-Westlake

Alma Sandoval, Alemany

Christian Sanchez, Hart

Coach: Nori Parvin, Newbury Park

*

City

Section

Octavia Askew, Birmingham

Jennifer Barber, Kennedy

Andrea Bermas, Reseda

Tiffany Furrell, El Camino Real

Rasheda Gray, Monroe

Lisa Hawkins, Taft

Elizabeth Hernandez, Canoga Park

Shakaria Jones, Monroe

Ofalangi Mailangi, Birmingham

Lucy Mansourian, Van Nuys

Leslie Mui, Grant

Silvia Simiano, San Fernando

Coach: Raquel Alotis, Chatsworth

BATTLE OF THE VALLEY

WHAT: Top high school senior boys’ and girls’ basketball players from the City and Southern sections.

WHERE: Cal State Northridge

WHEN: April 7, 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

TICKETS: $6 bleacher seats, $8 stadium seats