Battle at the Bay: Top Guards, Part 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mission Bay head coach Marshawn Cherry's Battle at the Bay has given us upsets, dramatic finishes and stellar performances over its four installations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fifth annual showcase gave us all that and then some by the halfway mark of the event. Punctuated by the Game 3 70-69 thriller between Santa Fe Christian and Montgomery, the showcase provided a great day of hoops. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first reports, I discuss the guards that stood out in the games I attended. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='994955' first='Kollen' last='Murphy'], Rancho Christian</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Murphy, the dynamic lefty point guard, displayed the speed and athleticism that put him on the radar at Ontario Colony. An area where he looks improved is his perimeter shooting, as he knocked down three 3s in the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='994926' first='Angelo' last='Gil'], Mission Bay</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gil muscled his way to 12 points in a 44-35 win over a good Mission Hills team with a good back court of its own. An underrated area of Gil's game is his willingness as a passer: He locates shooters off of his dribble penetration with crisp passes into their shooting pockets. His physicality is also on display in his on-ball defese, where he cuts off drives and forces defenders into turnovers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Ozzeno Diallo, Hoover</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The athletic scoring drive came alive down the stretch for the Cardinals in the double OT game. Diallo, a right-hand dominant scorer, can force the issue at times, but if he gets a step on his defender he is a gifted finisher through contact. He scored 23 points, tied with Santiago Estrada for the team lead. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Jeremy Love, Santa Fe Christian</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An underrated piece of the Eagles win was the on-ball and position defense and slashing of Love, who played one of his best games of the season. Love is an aggressive perimeter defender who is strong enough to defend the post in a pinch. The 5-11 combo guard can attack the basket and is an excellent finisher off the bounce. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='1630675' first='Alek' last='Sanchez'], Montgomery</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-3+ combo guard's court vision, feel and playmaking was a big reason for the Aztecs near comeback. While possessing pedestrian athleticism, the left makes up for it with his smarts, getting into the paint to make plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->