Amador Valley annual basketball tourney begins Dec. 3 Amador Valley annual basketball tourney begins Dec. 3 (November 28, 2003)

ABC competition longest running tournament in the state
by Heidi Massie

If you love high school basketball, Amador Valley High School's annual ABC Tournament is for you. The AVHS varsity boys and girls basketball teams each host an annual eight-team basketball tournament known as the Amador Basketball Classic (ABC) every December, which runs Wednesday through Saturday the first two weeks of the month.

The classic begins with the girl's tournament Dec. 3-6. The boy's tournament begins the following week, running Dec. 10-13.
Varsity Girls Tournament

The 2003-04 Amador Lady Dons enter this year as the defending EBAL League Champions, NCS Finalist and Northern California Semi-Finalist finishing with a 25-7 overall record. Leading the Dons are returning starters Jenna Nicholson and Sara VanderHorst. Kristen Hart takes over the Point Guard and will be supported by senior Jessica Juan, and juniors Leah Munley, Whitney Metz and Ellysa Thome. Sophomore Brook Thompson and freshman Shawte King also look to make significant contributions to this year's team.

This young and enthusiastic group is looking forward to continuing the Lady Don's history of success.

This year's ABC brings in one of the strongest overall fields ever. Acalanes, led by East Bay First Team member Katie Curtis, and Castro Valley, coming off a 25-game win season with all five starters returning, bring a tradition of success to the tournament. Newcomers Tracy West High, led by University of Pacific-bound Dominique Carter, and Moreau Catholic, bring two of last season's state qualifiers into an impressive field that also includes Skyline High School, Oakland High School and defending ABC Champion Madera High,
Varsity Boys Tournament

The boys ABC is the longest running eight-team high school basketball tournament in the state of California and has been held every December since 1961. Traditionally the tournament attracts some of the best high school teams and players in the state to play in Pleasanton.

This year's ABC field is looking stronger than ever. Look no further than the host school, the Amador Dons, led by coach Don Underwood, now in his 24th year as varsity coach. This year, the Dons return with seniors Andy Bocian and Stuart Yoshida, two starters from the 2002 ABC champion and 2003 EBAL co-champion Dons, leading a senior-laden supporting cast. Bocian, a 2003 Northern California "top-100" selection, led the EBAL in 2002-2003 with a 93.9 free throw percentage. Both Bocian and Yoshida were popular ABC All-tournament selections in 2002.

The tip-off game at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 10, is a rematch of the 2002 tournament opener between Washington (Fremont) and Fairfield. Fairfield is looking to improve over their 2002 third-place finish while Washington aims to avenge last year's first-round loss. The 7:30 p.m. game pits the 2002 champion Dons against the 2001 second-place finisher Cordova (Sacramento).
Girls ABC Tournament Schedule: Wed. Dec. 3 (Lower Bracket) 6 p.m. Castro Valley vs. Acalanes 7:30 p.m. Oakland High School vs. Amador Valley
Thurs. Dec. 4 (Upper Bracket) 6 p.m. Moreau Catholic vs. Skyline 7:30 p.m. Tracy-West vs. Madera
Fri. Dec. 5 3 p.m. Consolation semifinal (Upper bracket) 4:30 p.m. Consolation semifinal (Lower bracket) 6 p.m. Championship semifinal (Upper bracket) 7:45 p.m. Championship semifinal (Lower bracket)
Sat. Dec. 6 3 p.m. 7th place game 4:30 p.m. Consolation Championship 6 p.m. 3rd place game 7:30 p.m. Championship Final
Boys ABC Tournament Schedule: Wed. Dec. 10 (Upper Bracket) 5:30 p.m. Washington (Fremont) vs. Fairfield 7:00 p.m. Amador Valley vs. Cordova (Sacramento)
Thurs. Dec. 11 (Lower Bracket) 5:30 p.m. Hayward vs. Nevada Union (Grass Valley) 7:00 p.m. Granada (Livermore) vs. Merced
Fri. Dec. 12 3:30 p.m. Consolation semifinal (Lower bracket) 5 p.m. Consolation semifinal (Upper bracket) 6:30 p.m. Championship semifinal (Lower bracket) 8 p.m. Championship semifinal (Upper bracket)
Sat. Dec. 13 3:30 p.m. 7th place game 5 p.m. Consolation Championship 6:30 p.m. 3rd place game 8 p.m. Championship Final