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Sports

Pali High Boys Hoops Wins LA Watts Games

The Dolphins beat Dorsey in the championship game; boys lacrosse also takes first.

Palisades High's boys basketball coach James Paleno has reason to be optimistic about next season. After all, the Dolphins reached the City Section Division I semifinals and they have eight players returning.

After watching his team take first place in the Gold Division at the LA Watts Summer Games on June 18, Paleno must feel even better about Palisades' chances in the Western League, perennially the strongest in the City.

"We've worked hard and should be pretty good next season," Paleno said, holding the trophy the Dolphins were awarded after beating Los Angeles Dorsey 58-53 in the championship game. "This is a good group of kids. We beat some good teams and I'm especially pleased that we beat some City teams along the way."

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The game was tied 29-29 at halftime before Dorsey built an eight-point lead. The Dolphins, however, took control in the last 10 minutes.

As one of the top four seeds, Palisades had a first-round bye, then defeated Fremont and Valencia to reach the semifinals. There, the Dolphins came from behind to defeat San Diego Hoover. Defending Western League champion and City Section Division I runner-up Westchester also played in the tournament but failed to reach the finals.

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Tyler Duke poured in 22 points in the championship game and fellow wing player Donovan Johnson added 19. A tournament committee selected guard Ryan Ford, a starter on junior varsity last year, as the Most Valuable Player after his nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the final.

Games were held at LA Southwest College and Westchester, Locke, Serra and Dorsey high schools. 

The Dolphins are playing in the Westchester Tournament this week.

Pali High's boys lacrosse team also took first place, defeating Culver City in the gold medal game.

In the seven-on-seven passing tournament, the Pali High football team finished in third place behind Banning and LA Jordan. 

The mission of the LA Watts Summer Games is to build bridges of understanding among high school youth. The Games strive to promote positive interaction, respect and achievement through spirited competition in athletics.

The Games were started in 1968 as a response to the 1965 Watts Riots and the annual competition consists of 17 boys and girls athletic events.

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