Bulldog tournament a success; Sobrato coach hopes to grow it to
eight teams next year
Morgan Hill – The Sobrato Bulldogs boys basketball team captured second place in their inaugural Bulldog Chase Tournament, falling in the championship game to Mesa Verde 50-40 on Friday.
“It was fun. We came up short, but we battled hard,” said Sobrato coach Lawrence Crawford. “We had a good game plan, but they (Mesa Verde) executed too well. I probably needed to rest my guards some more.”
Sobrato knew it would be in for a tough game after seeing Mesa Verde dispose of the Evergreen Valley Cougars in game one of the Bulldog Chase, 68-53.
In game two of the tournament, Sobrato put up 82 points, the most in the team’s short history, as they crushed the Greenfield Bruins 82-53 on Thursday night.
Mesa Verde’s (10-4 overall) quick, versatile play proved too much for Sobrato as the Mavericks pulled away in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs (4-7-1 overall) hung in and fought hard the entire game.
“It was great,” Mesa Verde coach Patrick Pavelchik said of the tournament. “There was a great staff and the school was real hospitable. The tournament was run really well and the kids played hard. Sobrato’s a good young team. Our team won out with hustle in the end, but their guards gave us a lot of problems.”
Guards Marqus Crawford and Mubarik Abdullahi were both named to the all-tournament team to represent the Bulldogs. Marqus led Sobrato with 16 points and four rebounds in the game against the Mavericks.
“It was a hard game,” said Marqus. “We have some more work to do. We handled their full court trap pretty good. It feels pretty good to win second place.”
“We’ll take it,” Abdullahi added about the second place finish. “Their (Mesa Verde) point guard was fast, all he did was pass and they also had a really good shooter.”
Sobrato has one final preseason game against Terra Nova at home on Saturday before kicking off Tri-County Athletic League play against Salinas at home on next Tuesday.
“I think that we will be well prepared for league play,” said coach Crawford. “I think teams will find out that we are ready, even though our record might not illustrate that and we will be competitive.”
In the third place game between Evergreen Valley and Greenfield, the Evergreen Valley Cougars rolled over the Bruins, 74-35, to capture the third place finish.
“It went well, real well,” said coach Crawford. “One of the things that is most important is to get support. I am grateful to the parents and community for helping out and pitching in.”
