BASKETBALL NEWS

Freedom High School, Nazareth raise their stock after holiday tourney titles
By Bruce Buratti
January 01, 2010, 12:20AM

View full sizeExpress-Times Photo | JIM MIDDLEKAUFFFreedom's Jonathan Payano was MVP of the Route 33 Classic.Christmas basketball tournaments are a way for teams to step out of their own backyards and evaluate themselves against teams from other parts of their state, and in some cases, country.

In other cases, it's a chance for teams to stay home between Christmas and New Year's and bring in other local teams that they normally wouldn't face during the regular season, or teams from outside the region.

Five teams -- Notre Dame of Green Pond, Freedom, Nazareth, Whitehall and Northern Lehigh -- all won tournaments and perhaps gave themselves some momentum as we step lightly into 2010.

Who had some defining performances? Jonathan Payano, one of four guards that Freedom coach Joe Stellato regular employs on the floor at one time, was named MVP of the Route 33 Classic in the Patriots' own tournament. Payano scored 30 points in Freedom's wins over Delaware Valley and East Stroudsburg South.

Notre Dame of Green Pond won the Easton Rotary Classic for the second straight year with Joe Giangiobbe, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, earning MVP honors for the second straight year. After a downer loss to Saucon Valley on Dec. 15, the Crusaders have won four straight and re-established themselves as the team to beat in the Colonial League.

Chuck Dibilio was the MVP of the Honesdale Tournament, leading Nazareth (4-2) to two easy victories including a 71-30 shellacking of Western Wayne in the tourney final. Dibilio, a junior guard who was also an Express-Times All-Area first team pick in football, scored 39 points in the two games and is averaging 20.6 points per game.

A performance that was lost in all the flurry of tournament games was that of junior Josh Parris, a junior guard at Palisades. Parris scored 30 in the Pirates' 48-45 loss to host Fleetwood in the opening round then added 26 in Palisades' 52-47 win over Brandywine in the consolation game, the Pirates' first victory of the season.

Al Blount of Bethlehem Catholic also had a big two games in the Emmaus Exchange Tournament. Blount, a 5-8 senior point guard, rang up 31 points in the Hawks' first-game 87-75 loss to Upper Dublin and he came back with 21 in Becahi's consolation victory over Germantown Friends.

Blount is averaging 25.6 points per game and his WORST game this season offensively was a 20-point outing against Wilson-West Lawn in the third game of the season. Blount's leaving some shots for his teammates, too; Bethlehem Catholic's other guard, junior Jake Hungartner, is averaging 20 points per game for the 5-3 Hawks.

Defense, however, is not Becahi's calling card. In spite of the emphasis placed on defense by coach Al Blount Sr., in preseason, Bethlehem Catholic is giving up 63.5 points per game.
Once the holidays are past, Becahi might consider being in a little less of a giving mood.