The boys and girls basketball teams from LACES, the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, have captured double CIF Division 4 championships last Thursday at the Roybal Learning Center, and they will start the road through the State tournament beginning tomorrow.
Not only are they crack students, the LACES players obviously are excellent athletes, too.
Athletic Director Manasa Chanaiwa is coach of the boys team that will play Windward School, and Coach Dion Thompson’s girls team will meet Brentwood School.
It seems there are plenty of well-endowed private schools in the same small school division as the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Students who have powerhouse teams.
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What is amazing is that LACES is a small LAUSD public school, No. 1 in the District, clearly with a focus on academics.
It is not often that sports teams from the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies do so well. This double victory is big.
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Here is an excerpt from a report on the LACES girls victory over Animo:
Defense was the focus for LACES. The Lady Unicorns pressured the taller, stronger Animo players into shot after hurried shot, stymieing any momentum they might momentarily seize.
The result of LACES’ efforts in the game could be summed up with one eye-popping statistic: Animo shot a woeful 5 for 26 from the free throw line, a 19 percent success rate in a game that was decided by 12 points.
The contest was heavy on defense in the first half, with LACES barely cracking 20 and Animo scoring just 15 at the break. Both teams came out firing in the third period, with the score at 39-24 heading into the fourth.
“I think we just got tired in the first half,” said LACES girls’ head coach Dion Thompson. “The rest energized us for the second half.”
Sidney Tanioka agreed that her LACES team was satisfied with their control of Animo’s scoring, but came out with a more balanced attack in the third quarter, deploying effective play structures, crisp passing and accurate shooting.
“We had good defense and pressure,” she said, “but we were better focused at both ends after halftime.”
The boys of the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies overcame Rancho Dominguez, a high- profile team with seven-foot players in the post, and a roster with several others closer to 7' than 6'. Rancho was seeded No. 1 going into the city championship, having gone undefeated in their Crosstown League.
Ms. Tanioka may be contacted at roxannet@pacbell.net
