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Getting in position

Cortez Bank faces Hernando Fire in the JV finals on Saturday.

By Mike Camunas, Times Correspondent
Published February 15, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Lance Aram Rothstein | Times] Forest Oaks All-Stars' Brian Lembcke, left, steals the ball from Cortez Community Bank's John Parker during the playoffs at Faith Presbyterian Church last weekend. [Lance Aram Rothstein | Times] Forest Oaks All-Stars' Aaron Kelly, left, tries to contain Cortez Community Bank's Tyler Bergantino at playoffs on Saturday.

BROOKSVILLE

Cortez Community Bank has two alternative options in its sights.

It will either finish its 2007-08 season as the Hernando Youth League version of the 1972 Miami Dolphins or the 2007 New England Patriots.

The second option looks unlikely for the junior varsity squad as a first-round bye allowed Cortez to await its semifinal opponent. Forest Oaks All-Stars stood between Cortez and a championship game after a 72-51 upset victory over Cemex.

Forest Oaks seeded fourth at the time and had already dropped a game to the third-seeded Cemex team earlier in the season. Forest Oaks was playing its best ball of the season and hoped to provide a legitimate challenge for Cortez in the playoffmatch-up.

Cortez, on the other hand, came into the game confident as always. The top-seed had arguably four of the best players in the Junior Varsity 13- and 14-year-old Division. Among coach Mike Bennett's starters are point guard Matthew Bennett, small forward Danielle South, power forward Jonathan Parker and center Tyler Bergantino.

"It's easier to work with players on the court that know the fundamentals and little things about the game," Matthew Bennett said. "Tyler, Jonathan and Danielle all know what plays need to get called and how to get open when it matters."

All four stars also play basketball for their respective schools.

Bennett plays for the JV program at Central High. South does the same for the girls' JV team, and Parker and Bergantino star for the Challenger K-8 middle school program that has also yet to drop a game.

That confidence and dominance ended up to be too much for Forest Oaks as Cortez booked its spot in the HYL Championship Final with a 68-53 win. Bergantino was instrumental in the victory, scoring a season-high 24 points.

No other Cortez player had topped 20 points before that.

"All the players on this team have improved over the course of the season," coach Bennett said. "I think that is the most important thing."

Although Hernando Fire & Safety was the No. 2 seed, the team didn't look very strong in a first-round squeaker with Midway Services. Midway, the lowest-seed in the division, gave Fire all it could handle in a 66-61 loss.

In the final game of the regular season, Cortez pounded the Hernando Fire in a 44-23 rout. In that contest, the "Big Four" for Cortez were able to spread the ball around as Bennett, Bergantino and Parker all scored double-figures with South adding six points.

The group of four players averages 42 of the 44 points per game by Cortez Community Bank, the best evidence of the four players' dominance.

Bergantino leads the way with an average of 14.6 points per game over seven games with Parker (11.9), Bennett (11.1) and South (4.8).

"You have to be aggressive to play down low (in this league)," South said earlier in the season. "I think we do that better than any other group we play against."

Where: Faith Presbyterian Church, 200 Mount Fair Ave., Brooksville.

When: Saturday

On tap

Junior Varsity (13 and 14)

(1) Cortez Community Bank (9-0) vs. (2) Hernando Fire & Safety (5-4),2:30 p.m.

Advanced (11 and 12)

(2) Florida Insurance Brokers (7-3) vs. (3) Down Force (6-4), 10:30 a.m.

(1) Brooksville Blue Print (9-1) vs.winner of game 1, 12:30 p.m.

Beginners (9 and 10)

(2) Patriot Lending (8-2) vs. (4) B&B Hobbies (5-5),11:30 a.m.

(1) Springstead Orthodontics (9-1) vs. winner of game 1, 1:30 p.m.

[Last modified February 14, 2008, 20:09:51]