Youth Scene: LB Team 1 grabs tourney title

A busy day on the court Saturday paid dividends for the Laguna Beach Team 1 Division 3 boys’ basketball team which won all three games to claim a championship in National Junior Basketball Laguna Beach/Laguna Hills Tournament championship action.

Laguna Team 1, the No. 4 seed for the tournament, played its Laguna Beach brethren, Laguna Beach Team 2, in its tournament opener. Laguna 1 advanced by scoring a 63-29 victory against a Laguna 2 team it had lost to during the regular season. Bryce Ford set the tempo with 14 first-half points and Laguna 1 pulled away in the second half.

The win sent Laguna 1 on to a semifinal game against the tournament’s top seed, Laguna Hills UCLA, which sported an 11-0 record and had twice defeated Laguna 1 during the regular season. In the third meeting between the teams, Laguna 1 got off to a great start and went into the half holding a 30-16 lead. Laguna Hills UCLA rallied in the second half to cut the lead to four but Laguna, which was led on defense by Max Burchi, was able to hold on in the final minutes and advanced to the tournament final with a 60-53 victory.

The championship game pitted Laguna 1 against second-seeded Laguna Hills Boise St. Laguna 1 again came out strong and controlled the game with the help of hot-shooting from Griffin Naess. Laguna 1 ran out to an early lead and gave a strong performance throughout in an eventual, 41-20 title-clinching victory.

During halftime of the division final, the selections to the league’s all-star team were announced and included Ford and Jackson Sirianni of Laguna Beach 1.

The Laguna Beach 1 championship team is Noah Neufeld, Leo De Michele, Max Burchi, Griffin Naess, Jackson Sirianni, Bryce Ford, Ben Neufeld, Bridges Paddock, Blake Draper and Maddox De Bretteville. The team is coached by Chris Sirianni.

— Reader submission

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Youth Water Polo

10U coed team takes Silver

Laguna Beach Water Polo’s 10U coed team won silver Feb. 15-16 at the fourth annual KAP7 International Tournament.

The Laguna Beach group, coached by Albie Beeler and Rob Carver, played tough against Foothill Club Water Polo in the division final but lost, 14-8.

The 10U coed team members who participated in the tournament were Sai Bassett, London Boyd, Tess Brobeck, Brady Bumgardner, Hannah Carver, Chasen Corlett, Didi Evans, Nate Evans, Estella Gomez, Tom Leggett, Myha Pinto and Holden Seybold.

— Reader submission