Sang Lee
GLENDALE -- If summer league basketball is an early indication of what
to expect during the regular season, the future's looking bright for the
woebegone Burbank High boys' squad.
As a consistent finisher near the bottom of the Foothill League in
recent years, the Bulldogs look to have a team that will likely finish
closer to the top of the standings come winter.
Thursday, Burbank played well against CIF City Section power Sylmar,
until losing the first-round game, 53-50, in the Vaquero Summer Tip-off
Tournament at Glendale Community College.
Burbank had the lead for most of the game before surrendering its
advantage with less than one minute remaining.
"We just gave them the game," Burbank Coach Ron Quartermann said.
"Last time we played them we lost by two points."
With a little less than a minute remaining, the Spartans' Fernando
Barreda calmly drained both of his free throws to give his team the lead.
Burbank's last chance at a win came and went when Trent Cleveland put
up a three-point attempt that clanked off the front of the rim with 20
seconds remaining.
It was a rare miss for Cleveland, who was hot in the second half, when
he scored 16 of his 18 points.
"[The win] felt good. We had a week and a half off. I didn't know what
to expect from my team," Sylmar Coach Charles White said.
One player who White knew what to expect from was senior center Louis
Darby. Darby finished the game with 25 points, five rebounds and one
acrobatic slam dunk.
"[Darby] is a phenomenal player. He'll be a high [Division] I recruit.
He's doing it on the outside and the inside. The scary thing is he hasn't
reached his potential yet," White said.
Although it may not be a surprise that Sylmar is 8-2 in summer, but
what may raise a few eyebrows is that Burbank is 12-5.
The Bulldogs will continue to ride their new wave of young talent in a
tournament in Las Vegas later this year.
"The main thing this summer is we'd like to get 20 wins," Quartermann
said.
"We have a pretty stiff preseason this year. I'm not going to play
little sissies. We're going to Las Vegas after Christmas."
Another Bulldog player sure to make a name for himself this season is
center Joey Street. He had eight points in the first half and finished
with 11 after going five of six from the field.
With his new breed of soldiers, Quartermann doesn't plan on being a
doormat in the Foothill League next season.
"One thing's for sure: our league will be a war this year," he said.
BOX SCORE Sylmar 24 29 -- 53
Burbank 27 23 -- 50
SYLMAR -- Darby 25, Barreda 12, Dickson 6, Smith 5, Williams 3, Solis
2.
*Three pointers: Barreda 3, Darby, Dickson, Williams, Smith.
BURBANK -- Cleveland 18, Street 11, Rife 10, Flowers 5, Arzumanian 4,
Ballis 2.
*Three pointers: Cleveland 4, Rife 2.
