2000-2001 Season Summary

The Falcons returned from a 24-3 season in which they brought home the first league title in over two decades to find themselves without any returning starters. At last season’s post league meeting, the coaches ranked Saratoga’s prospects for the upcoming season as gloomy. When ranking all the team’s in the Santa Clara Valley "A" and "B" leagues, the league coaches put Saratoga next to last. Determined to prove everyone wrong, the Falcons began their mission on November 1^st.

It was evident from the outset of the season in November that a main theme of the year would be rebuilding and overcoming adversity from all angles of the game. After all, the team only returned four players and lacked experience at many positions. However, the Falcons worked hard and discovered new strength within themselves. Although the team was hindered by inexperience, sickness, and injury he early in the season, the players showed heart and came through to compile some nifty early season victories. On the season’s first night the Falcons Eric Lee putback seemed to give the Falcons a victory over Monta Vista (ranked 8^th by the league’s coaches out of 14 teams the previous season). However, due to a timing error the Falcons were forced to re-do the play. Not to be denied, Justin Zebb hit at last-second three pointer and the Falcons prevailed over the Matadors. This proved to the team that the Falcons had to be taken seriously. A 37-31 come-from-behind win against Cupertino (ranked 7^th by league coaches) a week later strengthened this notion and boosted the confidence of the team.

After experiencing their first loss of the season against American, the team rebounded from its loss and won third place in the Cupertino Tournament the following night with a 56-51 victory over Homestead (ranked 6^th by league coaches). After a poor performance in the Los Gatos Shootout, the team was determined to perform better in their own tournament. In the 9^th Annual Saratoga Shootout the Falcons played their best basketball to that point. After squeaking by Lincoln on the first night they set their sites on high flying St. Lawrence who featured the tournament’s #2 all time scorer. Daniel Ruby, Eric Lee, and Jesse Alejandro combined to Dan Logan who had scored over thirty the night before to 13 and the Falcons prevailed. In the championship the next evening the Falcons defeated Cupertino for the second time and did the unthinkable — winning their own tournament for the second straight season. After defeating Lambrick Park (their Canadian host from last season) the Falcons stood at a stellar 9-2 and stood ready for a successful league season. The following evening, however, the Falcons lost Daniel Ruby in warmups to a sprained ankle. Without Dan (#2 in scoring, #1 in steals, #1 in blocked shots) the Falcons struggled and matters only got worse when illnesses were compounded by reserve center (now starting) Mark Elfving’s injury to his back. The Falcons lost both of their final non-league games and stumbled into one of the best leagues in the county at just over half strength.

In league the Falcons, struggled getting off to an 0-4 start and then faced Wilcox (ranked 12^th and first in league). The Falcons led most of the contest and only faltered late in the contest, but served notice that they could be a factor for the rest of the season. The Falcons then ran off a mini-streak of their own winning two out of three and then giving their rivals, Los Gatos, a scare before eventually falling 56-51. The season ended with the Falcons having to win their last game on the road at Santa Clara to go to the Central Coast Section playoffs. Despite playing excellent defense, the team went cold from the floor shooting only 18% and suffered a loss. Despite this, the team really gelled over the course of the season, playing beyond early expectations and had fun in the process. The seniors continued the Saratoga tradition of giving complete effort while on the court and showing class off the court and the juniors are determined to once again win the league and return to CCS.