Boys Basketball: El Camino Ready To Battle

The season was going along well for the team when senior guard Aaron Torres, a captain for the Eagles, tore his ACL and found out he'll be out for the rest of the season.

After that, El Camino's coach and players say they came together to play harder and more together.

"Ever since (Aaron) left, we came together as more of a team... and we realized we had to play for him," said senior guard Darryl Ball, adding that he tapes his wrist and writes Torres' number 12 and initials and the word "family" on it before every game. "I know he played hard so it makes me do better."

The Eagles are 8-9 on the season, which includes a December win over and losses to (ranked No. 9 by The Sacramento Bee), No. 10 Del Campo and . Capital Athletic League play begins next week with the two highest-ranked area teams as El Camino hosts No. 5 Antelope on Tuesday before heading to No. 18 Cordova on Jan. 19.

"We're pretty resilient, having gone through injuries to the team," Eagles coach Tony Phulps said. "Antelope is the best team in the league... and is our biggest rival but we're just taking it one game at a time."

El Camino is led by Ball and fellow senior Ryan Johnson.

"Ryan is a smart basketball player who understands the game and Darryl hustles," Phulps said. "He's not the biggest kid but he'll guard anybody."

Johnson credited his teammates senior guards Joel Rookard and Dee Kuwabara, a standout on the team.

"Joel comes off the bench and is able to manage the team well and Dee helps us with scoring," Johnson said.

Phulps and players say they're looking to the big matchups with Antelope, Cordova and Rio, the first game of which is at El Camino on Jan. 31.

"We know we're talented if we play together," Ball said. "Antelope is good competition for us and we'll have to play our best against them."

---