No question, Seoul American's boys field a very strong starting lineup, but does coach Steve Boyd's Falcons have the complementing depth behind the front five to spell them when they tire, or step in when one gets hurt?

And can new Kadena coach Dewayne Pigge' keep that marvelous run of three Class AA titles in six years going as he assumes the Panthers' helm from Ken Hudson, who stepped down after last season?

Rare is it that a freshman can enter a high school varsity basketball team's lineup and have an immediate impact.

But not often is that freshman a basketball coach's daughter (Paul Ettl of Yokota's boys). She's already honed her skills in youth ball and played her father in countless games of H-O-R-S-E in the backyard. As a result, Erika Ettl of Yokota has stepped in in style, averaging 18 points in the Panthers' first three games.

This week's Home Team page profiles Ettl. Enjoy. :)

Folks wanting to keep up with all the doin's in the Hong Kong International School Holiday Basketball Tournament, click here: http://dragonnet.hkis.edu.hk/bb/

Now in its 39th year, the tournament this weekend features defending Far East Class AA Tournament champion Seoul American (boys) and Kadena (girls), along with reigning Far East Girls Class A champion Faith Academy.

Talk about living in a pressure cooker. Try carrying three Advanced Placement courses, a non-weighted 3.9 grade-point average and balance that with being a three-time defending Far East wrestling tournament gold medalist ... aiming to do what only one other wrestler, Justin L. Miller of Kubasaki (1996-99), has ever done, to win four Far East golds.

That's Kubasaki's Scott Wood. Read his story in this week's Home Team page.

Speaking of ways it can be done, Devanee' Taylor struck big paydirt by thinking small.

Small, that is, in terms of college size. The Seoul American senior forward in 2009-10 will don the scarlet and grey of Newberry College, a private Lutheran school playing in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference.

She could have tried to walk on at Connecticut, Duke, Stanford or Tennessee, where in all likelihood she would have been shown the end of the bench, if she made the team at all.

Check out the link:

http://www.meacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=98160&SPID=12090&ATCLID=1626394&DB_OEM_ID=20800

In the photograph, note the player at the bottom left, holding up the banner. That's Avianca Manning, formerly of Seoul American, now part of a Florida A&M volleyball team that won its eighth straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.

Pacific star makes good! Falcons Nation, take a bow! And congratulations to Avi!

To those in the Pacific harbouring similar dreams: You can achieve them! Avi Manning is proof positive of that.

Playing at the small-schools level is paying big dividends for a Robert D. Edgren Eagles program that's emerging as a Far East Class A power.

The Eagles won their third straight Class A football title, and added a Class A cross-country title in the first year that Far East meet team titles have been segregated by enrollment. And the Class A cheerleading team title remains the Eagles' province as well.

Read about it in this week's Pacific high school Home Team page.

Musings and mutterings from Yongsan Garrison after Redemption Week comes to a resounding end with one of the great football games of our time:

-- We knew Willie Brown was a good basketball player, but the athletic Seoul American senior seems quite adept where the gridiron is concerned. Try a 24-yard interception-return touchdown and a fumble recovery that set up the game-winning score in the Falcons' 22-21 dethroning of 2007 Far East Class AA football champion Kadena.

-- Trinadai Stansel did much of the rest, running for two touchdowns, then halting big Jordan Ray of Kadena on a two-point conversion try with six seconds left that could have won it.

Musings and mutterings as we near the finish line of what's been an incredible week:

-- Sometimes it takes getting one's toes stepped on to awaken a team and make it realise that a title repeat must truly be earned. Osan American's girls volleyball team showed true grit, righting itself after Morrison Christian Academy rallied from down 0-2 to send Friday's Girls Class A Volleyball Tournament to a second final match. Celine Baldevia, Laura Vega, Nicole Sparks, Angela Thompson and blocking specialist Ieva Bytautaite ultimately prevailed in four sets. But it was anything but easy.