P age B4
J anuary 10, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver
Wilson Trojans Lead Pack In PIL
Bv E ric N oon
The top-ranked Wilson Trojans
boys basketball team looks to be
living up to the high expectations
from the seasons start, and coming
together as a team early on at 5 -1.
The highly talented Trojans are
getting contributions from all five
starters, and Basil Duncantell, whose
known for this steady defense, led
the Trojans with 24 points in a 86-69
over the Grant General Friday night
Duncantell, who had an outstand­
ing football season for the Trojans,
hit seven of nine shots in route to his
career-high in points, to steal the
spotlight for the night.
Wilson, which is undefeated since
an opening loss to Mountain View
(W ash.) on Dec. 1, rem ained
undefeated in the Portland Interscho­
lastic League along with Benson and
surprising Roosevelt.
Wilson’s biggest win of the sea­
son came over Beaverton two weeks
before Christmas 65-64 and gave the
Trojans the top spot in the polls.
I immy Owens, whose averaging
22.4 points for the Generals, led Grant
with 33 as the Generals fell to 1-2 in
league.
“Ever since the Beaverton game.
we are playing like no one can beat
us...like we are No. I in the state,”
said the starting senio r wing
Duncantell. “Until that night, Bea­
verton was like No. I and there was
all the hype, so beating them made us
feel like No. I.”
Wilson'sbigguns.Tyron Manlove
and David Jackson combined for 40
points in the win.
Manlove, who had a near Quad-
Double with 19 points 10 rebounds,
10 steals and six assists, has commit­
ted to Oregon and is really living up
to the hype with his all-around plat.
Jackson, who is bound for Utah for
college, added 21 points and four
steals.
P.I.L. Wide Open
Wilson should take the P.I.L. boys
title with plenty of movement in the
league for the last three spots.
Benson(3-0), who has another strong
squad this year, remained undefeated
in league with a 66-45 victory over
Franklin.
Benson has a solid squad and is
getting contributions from the bench
that will make a big difference
throughout the season.
Jefferson( 2 -1 ), who squeezed by
Lincoln (0-3)56-50, without leading
scorers Tyrone Hammick, has a num­
ber of players who can step up an put
the Democrats back in the play-offs
this year. Demetries Hardin led the
Demo’s scoring with 20.
Roosevelt, whose coming off a
great football season, is a surprising
3-0 in the league, as Scott Millage led
Roosevelt 69-67 over Marshall (2-
1).
Cleveland! 1-2), whohas struggled
early on in the P.I.L., nabbed its first
win in the league with Amos Allen
pouring in almost half of Cleveland’s
points with 42, as Madison (0-3) fell
88-78.
Look for Grant to bounce back
from it’s loss to Wilson and make a
run.
The top three spots in P.I.L. are
wide open with six teams looking to
gain a spot in the play-offs and Wil­
son taking the tie if they remain
healthy.
Although it's early, the P.I.L.
looks like another great league to
watch some top-notch high-school
hoops action.
On any given night, anyone of the
teams can beat another with the great
rivalries and home court advantages
the teams have.
BULLS OUT OF GATE AT RECORD PACE
Are the Chicago Bulls the NBA’s
all-time greatest team?
That question has been raised now
that the Bulls are off to a 28-3 start,
only the fourth team to do so in
National Basketball Association his­
tory. And it will be debated through­
out the season as the Bulls continue
to challenge the league’s best record
ever - 69-13, set by the 1971-72 Los
Angeles Lakers.
Those Lakers, the Bulls, the 1969-
70 Knicks, and the 1966-67 Phila­
delphia 76ers, are the only teams to
begin a season 28-3. And the previ­
ous three teams wfio started 28-3 all
won championships.
One thing is certain. The Bulls
won’t be compared to 28-3 teams of
past years unless they win the title as
well. In fact, the Bulls won’t even be
rated with their three championship
Chicago Coach Phil Jackson
teams o f'9 1 ,’92, and ’93 unless they
win it all.
“If you want to compare us to the
other Bulls teams, we better win a
championship because they won three
of them.” said Steve Kerr, a Bulls
backup guard.
Like all great teams, the Bulls
have Hall of Fame talent. Michael
Jordan may be the greatest player of
all time, but some believe that Scot­
tie Pippen is actually having a better
all-round season. And Dennis Rod-
man - hair changes, tattoos and all -
has fit in beautifully with the Bulls so
far.
“They're obviously the best team,
they may be one of the best teams
ever," M ilwaukee Coach Mike
Dunleavy said Saturday after the
Bulls beat the Bucks, 113-84.
"They've got a great chance to
break the record. They should. In
Pippen and Jordan, you’ve got the
two best players other than centers in
the league. You’ve got the best
rebounder in the game in Rodman.
And they’ve got a bunch of other
guys who know their roles. They’ve
got the whole formula,” Dunleavy
ROMERO DEFENDS IN MANDATORY ROUT
International Boxing Federation
flyweight champion Danny (kid Dy­
namite) Romero makes the second
defense of his title against manda­
tory challenger Mark (Too Sharp)
Johnson on Friday, February 2, at the
Convention Center here, promoter
Bob Arum announced.
The 12-round title bout is the main
event of a five-fight card to be tele­
vised live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6
p.m. PT.
Romero (25-1, 22 KOs) will re­
turn to the ring for the first time since
an eye injury suffered in a loss to
hard-hitting Willy Salazar. In the first
round, Salazar caught Romero under
the left eye, fracturing the orbital
cavity. Despite a closed eye and
double vision, Romero fought like a
true champion.
Showing tremendous heart and
courage, Romero rallied to almost
score a knockout in the fourth, and
was ahead on two of three scorecards
when the doctor stopped the bout
after the seventh round.
Still one of the hottest young stars
in boxing today, “Romero is fast,
quick, with tremendous power. I’ve
never seen anyone at this age possess
the advanced skills he has this early
in his career. He’s for real,” boasts
Bob Arum.
The newly-crowned champion
lived up to Arum’s boasts on April
22, when he battered Francisco
Tejedor for 12-rounds en route to a
unanimous decision and the world
title.
On July 29, Romero defended his
title against Miguel Martinez. A na­
tional pay-per-view audience and a
packed arena saw Romero brutalize
the challenger from the opening bell.
“He tried to take what I own, and he
paid for it.” said Romero. The beat­
ing came to an end when the referee
counted Martinez out in the sixth
round.
The 21-year-old from Albuquerque
made his first defense of the title three
weeks later with a punishing six-round
knockout of veteran Hugo Torres.
said.
But a lot could happen between
now and the playoffs. What happens
if Rodman becomes a distraction
during the post-season, as he did last
year in San Antonio? And is Chicago
really better than Houston or Or­
lando?
Remember, Orlando played its
first 22 games without Shaquille
O’Neal. Also, the center position
remains one of Chicago’s few ques­
tion marks, and the Bulls may have to
deal with both O’Neal and Hakeem
Olajuwon to win a championship.
Chicago’s true measuring stick will
be the post-season. But the quest to
win 70 games has given the Bulls
something to keep the regular season
interesting.
To reach 70 victories, the Bulls
need a 42-9 record from this point
on. Tough, but hardly impossible,
especially with the league's talent
base watered down this season by
expansion. There are plenty of bad
teams out there for Chicago to beat
up on.
“It’s one stage of what everybody
is pretty much expecting - for us to
win 70 games,” Jordan said. “It’s a
mental challenge not to get too com­
placent.”
CHICAGO
BULLS
Michael Jordan
Dennis Rodman
Strickland May
Make All Star Team
D espite P o rtlan d ’s d isap ­
pointing 14-18 record head­
ing into Sunday n ig h t’s game,
Rod Strickland has a chance
to play in the A ll-Star Game
for the first time in his NBA
career.
The Trail Blazers point guard
entered Sunday's game averaging
20.4 points and 9.8 assists.
Strickland has had several
clashes with Coach P.J. Carlesimo,
but Strickland has not let that hurt
his play.
“I’ve just concentrated on do­
ing my job because that’s what I
get paid to do,” Strickland said.
Strickland felt strongly that he
would be traded during the off
season, and he has still not ruled
out the possibility.
“It’s not over,” said Strickland,
referring to the Feb. 22 trade dead­
line. “I’m by no means untradable.
Anything can happen in this busi­
ness.”
Rod Strickland
Ice Bowl Recalled For Green Bay, Dallas
For the first time since the famed
Ice Bowl game of 1967, the Green
Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys
meet for a berth in the Super Bowl
The Cowboys will appear in an
NFC Championship game for the
fourth straight season after playing
San Francisco the last three years.
By contrast, the Packers are in a
title game for the first time in 28
years, when Bart Starr’s touchdown
in the final seconds gave Green Bay
a 21-17 win in the NFL title. The
game time temperature at Lambcau
Field was 16 below zero. The Pack­
ers went on to defeat the Oakland
Raiders in Super Bowl 2.
The Packers defeated the Atlanta
Falcons in the wild card round and
dethroned the defending Super Bowl
champion 49ers, 27-17, in the divi­
sional playoffs at San Francisco.
Brett Favre backed up his distinc­
tion as the NFL's Most Valuable
Player, completing 21-of-28 for 299
yards and two scores.
Tight end Keith Jackson had his
best game since signing with the Pack­
ers at midseason, catching four passes
for 101 yards and a touchdown. Rob­
ert Brookscaught four passes for 103
yards.
Sunday marks the first champion­
ship game for star defensive end
Reggie White, who is in his third
season with Green Bay and 11th in
the NFL.
White and his teammates must
contend with Deion Sanders, who
scored on a 21-yard reverse for his
first NFL rushing touchdown for
Detroit in a 30-11 rout of the Phila­
delphia Eagles in the divisional play­
offs.
Emmitt Smith ran for99 yards and
a touchdown and Kevin Williams
caught six passes for 124 yards Dal­
las' Chris Boniol kicked three field
goals against the Eagles and has been
successful on his last 28 attempts.
Troy Aikman of Dallas was al­
most as effective as Favre last week.
completing 17-of-24 passes for253yards.
Dallas defeated the Packers, 34-24,
on October 8th at Texas Stadium
Aikman shook off an injured right calf
and passed tor 316 yards and two
touchdowns and Smith scored twice
and rushed for 106 yards.
The Cowboys have defeated the
Packers in divisional playoff games
each of the last two seasons and have
won six straight games overall against
Green Bay.
Colts, Steelers Meet For AFC Title
The Indianapolis Colts and Pitts­
burgh Steelers, two teams whose
Super Bowl appearances are from
decades past, seek a return trip when
they meet Sunday in the AFC title
game at Three Rivers Stadium.
The Coltscontinued their improb­
able ride through the playoffs with a
10-7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs
and will appear in their first AFC title
game since the 1971 season.
The last Super Bowl appearance
for the Colts, then based in Balti­
more. was a 16-13 loss to Dallas in
Super Bowl 5 following the 1970
season.
The Steelers have won four Super
Bowls but have not been to the
NFL’s ultimate game since the
1979 season, when they defeated the
Los Angeles Rams, 31-19.
The Colts, who stunned the San
Diego Chargers in the wild card
round, were without star running back
Marshall Faulk due to a knee injury
in the win over Kansas City. Rookie
Zack Crockett was the hero against
the Chargers, rushing for 147 yards.
Lamont Warren was the primary
rusher against the Chiefs with 76
yards. The Colts finished with 147
yards on the ground.
The heart of the Colts is quarter­
back Jim Harbaugh, who threw a
five-yard touchdown pass to Floyd
Turner to key the win over the Chiefs.
Harbaugh also rushed nine times for
48 yards.
The Colts are the first wild card
team to appear in a conference title
game since the Buffalo Bills went to
the Super Bowl in 1992.
Indianapolis can become just the
fourth-wild card team to advance to
the Super Bowl since the AFL/NFL
merger, joining the 1975 Cowboys,
1980 Oakland Raiders, 1985 New
England Patriots and the 1992 Bills.
Kansas City was a second-place
finisher in the AFL when it went to
Super Bowl 4 following the 1969
season.
Pittsburgh advanced to its second
straight trip to the AFC title game
with a 40-21 win over the Buffalo
Bills. Bam Morris ran for 106 yards
and two touchdowns, and Neil
O Donnell threw a 10-yard scoring
pass to Ernie Mills and Norm John­
son kicked four field goals.
Mills, who had 100-yard receiv­
ing efforts in each of the Steelers’
two playoff games last season, caught
five passes for 66 yards against the
Bills.
The Steelers lost the AFC title
game at home to San Diego last sea­
son, 17-13, as O'Donnell’s fourth-
down pass to Barry Foster was
knocked away at the 1-yard line.
The Colts and Steelers did not
meet in the regular season.