Dave Ornauer

Pacific SportsBlog

Okinawa-based sports reporter Dave Ornauer on military-related sports in the Far East.

Pacific high school basketball ratings, Christmas Eve editions

Happy holidays to all, whichever one you celebrate.

Here are the final Pacific high school basketball ratings for 2007.

And remember: This is THE "No-Hate Zone."

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go:

Boys
 1. Seoul American, 12-1. Falcons could put as many as 25 games under their belt before regular-season play resumes on Jan. 9.
 2. Kadena (Okinawa), 11-2. Jamil Barney continues to play like a beast heading into the holidays.
 3. Kubasaki (Okinawa), 8-5. Better than their record suggests. Dragons must start figuring out how to finish games.
 4. St. Mary's International (Japan), 8-4. Off to a 5-0 start in the Kanto Plain. May be coach Fred Sava's best team since 2002 Class AA champions.
 5. Zama American (Japan), 10-1. Trojans will be involved in next month's New Year Classic in a peripheral way; they host Seoul American on New Year's Day and play Kadena at Yokota two days later.
 6. American School In Japan, 4-0. No action since last ratings. Mustangs resume Kanto play on the second weekend of January.
 7. Seoul Foreign, 9-3. Loss to Seoul American leaves Crusaders as clearly No. 2 team in Korea
 8. Yokota (Japan), 7-3. Next big test comes at New Year Classic, which Yokota hosts Jan. 2-5.
 9, E.J. King (Japan), 5-4. Fearsome Foursome's return to lineup gave Cobras boost last weekend.
10. Faith Academy (Philippines), 8-5. Kirk Long may be gone, but Vanguards are still three-time Class A champs until somebody knocks them off.

Girls
 1. Kadena (Okinawa), 10-1. Like the boys, the Panthers girls set the sun on 2007 by making it 2-of-2 over Okinawa arch-rival Kubasaki.
 2. Seoul American, 12-1. Quite easily handled Guam champion St. Paul Christian last Friday 75-50 in Seoul.
 3. International School of the Sacred Heart (Japan), 5-0. Symbas continue the best two-season run in school  history.
 4. Faith Academy (Philippines), 12-3. Reinforcements will arrive after the start of the year; star Mary Shaw's shoulder separation won't keep her down long.
 5. St. Paul Christian (Guam), 18-2. Outmatched by taller Falcons in rare interarea matchup on Dec. 21, but still expected to threaten for Class A title.
 6. Yokota (Japan), 9-1. Loss to Sacred Heart only blemish on Panthers' record.
 7. E.J. King (Japan), 9-3. Still going strong heading into holiday break.
 8. Southern (Guam), 12-1. Question being, can they regenerate in February to challenge for a Class AA title run?
 9. Christian Academy In Japan, 3-1. Need a few more games to gauge how deep a run they'll make in Kanto and Class AA.
10. Zama American (Japan), 6-2. Trojans continuing best start since 2005-06.

Remember, keep it real and keep it on topic. *smile*

yokota

Yokota is 7-3 not 6-3

25 years!!

Mr. Ornauer .... How about creating some all 25 year teams?? Maybe the top 10-12 players form the each of the schools since you began covering the area??

Re: 25 years!!

Good juice! Definitely something to consider. I'll chew on that over the holiday and see what we can arrange. Perhaps consult with the "Three Wise Men" during next week's New Year Classic at Yokota.

suggestions

Mr. Ornauer, perhaps making a list of the best AA big school far east players and A small schools Far East players over the past 25 years should be appropiate since they had two different tournaments they went into

New Years Classic

Though not part of the New Years Classic at Yokota, who won the game played between Zama and Seoul American at Zama on January 1?