Thursday, Dec. 06, 2012

Los Banos boys basketball season gets off to shaky beginning

The Los Banos boys basketball team knew the beginning of the season was going to be rough.

In addition to losing 12 seniors from last year, the Tigers's semifinal football run meant much of the team was out of practice and out of basketball shape.

But at the Modesto City Tournament last weekend, some parts went a little rougher than others as LB went 0-4.

"The football players had a long season, and the way they went out was emotional. They put a lot into the season," LB coach Mike Bonillas said. "I knew the first week would be hard for us. Kind of a trial-by-fire deal."

The Tigers kicked off the tournament with an 87-21 loss to Golden Valley, followed Thursday by 56-45 loss to Pitman. The Tigers lost 83-65 to host Modesto on Friday, then dropped a 72-33 loss to Johansen on the tournament's final day.

"I thought we played well at times, and certain groups played well," Bonillas said. "We put the football guys in, and we kind of lost what we were doing.

"I gave those guys their jerseys two days after football ended. I know it's hard to dribble a basketball after playing football for 14 weeks."

Couple with a nonleague loss to Chowchilla last week, and the Tigers are 0-5 to open the season. LB will get a chance to rebound Tuesday against Dos Palos, which is also 0-5 after Wednesday's loss to Pacheco.

"We've just got to get some practice time in and kind of find ourselves and what we're going to be good at," Bonillas said. "You know, get the competitive juices flowing in practice."

The JV and freshman teams are busy this week with the Tiger Classic, which began Thursday with Los Banos and Pacheco facing off (results were unavailable at press time).

Enterprise reporter David Witte can be reached by phone at 388-6565 or by e-mail at sports@losbanosenterprise.com

Enterprise reporter David Witte can be reached by phone at 388-6565 or by e-mail at sports@losbanosenterprise.com