Taking third place overall in the Pete Arellano Memorial Tournament, the Escalon varsity Lady Cougars won two and lost one basketball game this past week.
The squad was involved in the tournament at the Cougar Dome, which opened on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and continued with games Thursday and Friday, Dec. 5 and 6.
Argonaut, Bret Harte, Central Catholic, Davis, Escalon, Johansen, Linden and Millennium were the teams taking part. This was the 48th year for the tournament, hosted from the start by the Escalon Lions Club. It was later renamed and dedicated to the longtime Lions Club member, EHS teacher and coach, Pete Arellano, after his passing.
Escalon took on Linden in the opening round Wednesday and roared to an 88-5 victory. In round two, they fell in a tough game to Davis, 62-57, missing opportunities and seeing one opponent from Davis score 32 points against them. Had Escalon gotten past Davis, they would have played for the championship but had to settle for taking on Johansen in the third-place game at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Argonaut ended up in seventh place while Bret Harte won the consolation round game. Escalon took third place with a victory in their Friday night game over Johansen, and Davis earned the championship with a closely contested game against Central Catholic.
“We beat Johansen 60-31 for third,” said Escalon head coach Joseph Dalpogetti. “Our press was working well. Lilly Brasil had four three’s.”
For the tournament, Escalon standouts were Madi Babasa, Ari Velasco and Aiden Hohenwarter.
“Madi was named All-Tournament with 20 points per game (average) over the three days,” Dalpogetti added.
Hohenwarter, a senior who is likely to see more time as a starter this season, said the team is focusing on coming together after losing several key players to graduation.
“We’re learning how to work together better, we’re learning as a team and we’re growing as a team,” Hohenwarter said, adding that she is comfortable with her role on the squad. “I feel like I’m kind of the same as last year, just playing it up in the paint and being strong.”
Babasa, a returning starter, agreed that the preseason is a good time to work on a variety of plays and schemes, as well as continuing to improve.
“I feel like just the adversity, losing our first game against Tokay definitely helped us build more strength, it just helped us grow as players,” Babasa, a junior, explained. “Those losses are going to help us get better.”
Another returning starter, Ari Velasco, is coming off a stellar freshman campaign at the varsity level and looks to build on that this year as a sophomore.
“I’m personally excited for when we get to league … preseason is just the growing part,” Velasco pointed out, noting that when league play begins, the team can show what they have learned.
Last year’s team went to the Section finals, falling there, but put together a hugely successful season.
“We have to have the same work ethic, especially losing so many seniors, we’ve got to have the same culture and competitive nature that we had last year,” Velasco said.
