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EL CERRITO, Ca. – Age prevailed – but oh-so-barely – Sunday afternoon at El Cerrito High in a clash between most of the best prep basketball players from the Northern California Class of 2014 and their counterparts from 2015.

The seniors prevailed, 90-89, despite some impressive performances by two gifted juniors from Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd.

Coach Lou Richie’s Dragons were 26-4 last season and could rival that record – and contend for sectional and state titles – in 2013-14 behind those aforementioned players from the Class of 2014, Ivan Rabb and Paris Austin.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The fifth “NorCal Clash”, pitting some of the better hoops players from high schools in Northern California, is scheduled to tip off Sunday (Aug. 25) afternoon at 3:30 at El Cerrito High.

Two squads represented by players from the Classes of 2014 (seniors in the 2013-14 school year) and 2015 (juniors in 2013-14) will play.

It’s the fifth version of the contest, which stands at two victories apiece for the classes.

The event of the brainchild of Gerry Freitas (who runs the Hoop Review scouting service), who selects the players and coaches for the event.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – So, how did I go about trimming all of the high school basketball players I saw during a dozen “national-in-scope” evaluation events over about nine weeks to a list of  “the 50 best”?

I did it very methodically and almost as painfully.

In setting the bar at 50, I decided to divide it into five groups of five players (by position) for the “best 25 seniors I saw in the summer”, with three groups of five (also by position) for the “best of the 2015 class” and have a first- and second-team (yep, by position) “best of 2016”.

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LAKEWOOD, Ca. – As for “causes”, they don’t come much more “worthy” than this one.

The second “Golf for Greg” tournament (along with raffle and dinner), held in honor of the late NBA referee Greg Willard, set for Aug. 27 at Skylinks Golf Course.

Willard, who was born and raised in Orange County , died – at 54 – on April 1 of this year after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer approximately a year earlier.

He worked for 24 seasons as an NBA official after working his way up the officiating (he also officiated high school football) in Southern California.

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LONG BEACH, Ca. – There was so much drama in the LBC(C) gymnasium Monday night until the Don MacLean-coached Team USA 2014 Blue squad made just enough plays down the stretch to come away with the adidas Nations championship.

The 81-77 victory over Team USA 2014 Red that was likewise unbeaten over the weekend of action that was held at the Next Level Complex in Garden Grove was played in a Long Beach City College gym that has played host to some of the top high school and community college players in Southern California – and beyond – for more than 50 years.

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