BURLINGAME, Calif. — In a West Catholic Athletic League stacked with some of the best basketball programs in northern California, Valley Christian has historically not been part of that conversation.
Between 2007 and 2024, the Warriors never won more than four games in WCAL play and went winless in the league four times. But 2024-25 represented a major breakthrough for Valley Christian, which finished 8-6 in league play, played in the Central Coast Section Open Division bracket and advanced to NorCals.
With Bryant Clark and Teniola Bamisebi back for their senior seasons and Evan Lee coming on board as a transfer from WCAL rival Saint Francis, the Warriors entered this winter with their highest expectations in two decades. And so far, they’ve met them — if not exceeded them.
Valley Christian hardly broke a sweat in winning the 48th Burlingame Lions Club Invitational last week. The Warriors (5-0), the only WCAL team in the tournament field, won all three games by double digits, including a 68-43 rout of the host Panthers in the championship game. Clark, the tournament MVP, scored a game-high 16 points against Burlingame, including multiple thunderous dunks after coming away with steals.
“Once we get the defense going, it just sets the tone for the rest of the game. Defense turns into offense,” Clark said. “I feel like we’re a pretty solid team, especially when it comes to defense.”
Clark opened the tournament with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 73-50 win over Woodside Priory, which defeated Half Moon Bay and Leigh to win the consolation side of the bracket. Lee led the way with 18 points in Valley Christian’s semifinal win over Sacred Heart Prep before Clark took the reins again the next night.
It would have been a truly perfect week for the Warriors had Bamisebi, their 6-foot, 9-inch center, not sustained a severe ankle sprain in the third quarter against Burlingame. Bamisebi had scored seven points already in that quarter before landing awkwardly underneath the basket. He returned to the court on crutches to accept his T-shirt for being named to the all-tournament team.
Valley Christian coach Colin Pfaff said he was impressed with his team’s depth, with players like Jadon Shabaglian and Samuel Li making impacts off the bench.
“Our league is so good, and this could be the best team we’ve had at Valley in a while,” Pfaff said. “Maybe better than last year, maybe not. But we’re tough. We’re really competitive, we’re hard to score on. The team has realized that when we do things right and how we’re supposed to, we’re really, really good.”
Maher brothers lead Burlingame to second-place finish
The Panthers (5-2) have not won their own tournament since 2011, but they made their third championship game in the last five years with a huge second half to beat Hillsdale and then a surprisingly comfortable 56-38 victory over Palo Alto. And while Burlingame has had plenty of strong outside shooters over the years, this year’s Panthers are led by a pair of brothers in the post — sophomore Lucca Maher and senior Rowan Maher.
It’s not like Burlingame has no backcourt presence, as Jean-Luc Uharriet was 8-for-11 from 3-point range in the opening-round win over the Knights. But the frontcourt is the key to the Panthers’ depth, with David Parrot complementing the Mahers. Lucca, who averaged double-figure scoring on varsity as a freshman, now leads the team with 16.1 points per game this year.
Burlingame hit a wall in the final against Valley Christian, especially over the middle two quarters, where the Warriors outscored the Panthers 43-16. David Lopez’s team gets another shot at a WCAL squad in its newly-renovated home gym when Serra comes to town on Friday night in front of what is sure to be an energetic post-final exams crowd.
“We can be one of the top teams in (the PAL-Bay Division),” Lopez said. “We still have a lot of work to do. We’re a team that has experience but is also young at the same time. Right now, we’re trying to figure out how to compete at this high level.”
Palo Alto beats shorthanded SHP in third-place game
The Vikings won the Lions Club tournament in 2023, then enjoyed a 25-6 campaign last winter, making it all the way to the NorCal Division III championship game before losing to The King’s Academy. Most of the core from that team has graduated, but Palo Alto was able to reload under coach Jeff Lamere, with 3-point marksmen Ben Laris, Rocco Smith and Gabe Andrade leading the way.
That trio overcame a poor shooting night against Burlingame in a 62-54 win over Sacred Heart Prep to take third place. Laris hit five 3-pointers in the first half alone as the Vikings (5-2) built a 19-point lead. The Gators (3-2), who were without leading scorer Alex Osterloh due to an undisclosed injury, clawed back in the second half but had dug themselves too big a hole.
Osterloh had 27 points and 10 rebounds in a first-round win over Half Moon Bay, then scored 19 more points in SHP’s semifinal loss to Valley Christian. The Gators will host Bellarmine in another big test Friday night.
“We played without a competitive edge for the first 16 minutes of the game (against Palo Alto),” SHP coach Jeff Wulbrun said. “When we had our backs against the wall, we showed some life and we showed some competitive fire. But by that time, it’s too late. You can’t play half a game. I’m really disappointed. Just because you’re missing one player, that shouldn’t happen.”
Laris scored 17 points for the Vikings in the third-place game, Andrade had 16 off the bench and Smith added 15. Only Laris had even cracked 10 points a night earlier, when Burlingame scored 28 points off turnovers and 38 of its 56 total points in the paint.
“Last night (against Burlingame), we set the game of basketball back a few years offensively, and that was really tough for us, but I was proud of how we bounced back,” Lamere said. “For our guys, it’s a hat off to them for being able to take a film session and come in here and really get it going. But at the same time, you have to make the shots. And for Ben Laris to hit those shots like he did just really gives us a lot of confidence.”
