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Sports

YOUTH SPORTS: Thomas Russell Boys Basketball Team Wins County Title

Wolverines wrapped up perfect 13-0 season in style with 59-52 win over Solorsano on Feb. 10.

What a difference a year makes.

8th grade boys basketball coach Tony Suarez noticed the difference in his players right away coming into the new season.

After being eliminated by Solorsano Middle School-Gilroy as 7th graders, the same team stood in the way of a perfect Thomas Russell season and a county championship.

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Led by the all-everything brilliance of point forward Christian Rita and the presence of twin towers Jason Scrempos and David Musika, Thomas Russell steamrolled its way into the playoffs boasting a spotless 10-0 record.

The combination of solid defense and unselfish offense served the eventual title winning squad well en route to a league and county crown.

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“It was a great ride,” Coach Suarez said. “We beat the team that beat us last season. The players came back more mature. They understood where they needed to be on the court.”

Using relentless pressure and a quick strike offense, Thomas Russell won league and moved on to the playoffs.

The Wolverines gobbled up a 54-49 win over Quimby in round one and defeated Chaboya Middle School 58-43 in the County Semifinals.

Everyone at the school got behind the great run by the boys team.

“They worked really hard,” Russell MIddle School Principal Laura Foegal said about the 8th grade boys team. “They were driven to succeed due to the tremendous coaches and tremendous parent support. The stands were always full at the home games. The students would come out in full force.”

In the County Championship game against Solorsano, Thomas Russell had to fight through foul trouble and a late fourth quarter deficit to climb out of.

Both big men, Scrempos and Musika, each picked up three quick fouls in the first half, but were able to play smart and not pick up any more fouls the rest of the way.

Scrempos, who stands 6-foot-2 and Musika who is 5-foot-11, provided the defensive wall down low to make things difficult for the Wolverines opponents all season long.

“Those guys (Scrempos and Musika) have a great understanding of where the other is going to be,” Suarez said. “We run a buddy system. If one guy has the ball, the other player should be cutting to try and get open.”

Up by one with a little over two minutes left to play, Solorsano called a timeout.

“That killed their momentum,” Suarez said. “That allowed our guys to rest. I told them in the timeout that we’ve come too far to lose now. The game and the win was right in front of us.”

Rita, who is the younger brother of Milpitas High sophomore shooting guard Marcus Rita, came through in the clutch, knocking down  a key bucket late to pull his team ahead for good.

Rita led his team in scoring in the win.

The starting backcourt of Jordan King and Duane Jones handled the perimeter nicely in the win.

Dareon Lopez and Willie Chow also got playing time for the Wolverines.

“It was the closest game of the year, I’m just glad we won it,” Suarez said. “We played our game, they (Solorsano) just missed shots.”

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