Basketball

The two-week winter break for Central Oregon schools has reached its midpoint. But there has been little respite for area basketball teams.

Starting Monday, the workload of those players will increase. Teams representing a combined 50 schools — from Oregon, Washington, California and Alaska — square off in four Central Oregon tournaments to end 2015.

Here in Bend, the three-day Les Schwab Oregon Holiday Hoopfest, now in its eighth year, boasts 16 boys teams and 18 girls squads that will compete at the three main high schools and at Pacific Crest Middle School. And at the Sisters Holiday Tournament at Sisters High, another 16 boys and girls teams will play for three straight days.

Nearly a month into the season, these tournaments could see teams reaching their peak before league action begins in early January.

“It’s kind of the first chance we get to take a breath without school, and we can be together as a group,” says Sisters boys coach Rand Runco, whose Outlaws host the Sisters Holiday Tournament.

Another area team, Madras, is scheduled to be in the eight-team boys bracket at Sisters.

“It’s just imperative. I find that Christmas break really sets up the season.”

“This is where, I think, a lot of teams start to turn the corner after this break,” says Summit girls coach Ryan Cruz, whose Storm will play in the Holiday Hoopfest. “They start to kind of find themselves and they start to find a rhythm.”

For the boys teams from Bend High, Mountain View and Summit, the Holiday Hoopfest, split into two eight-team brackets, includes potential matchups against teams not only from Oregon — such as Marist of Eugene, which placed fifth at the Class 5A state tournament last season — but from Washington (Camas and Vashon Island), California (St. Joseph Notre Dame) and Alaska (Wasilla).

In the Hoopfest girls tournament, which is divided into six three-team pools, local teams Bend, Mountain View, Ridgeview and Summit will match up against teams from Oregon — such as Pendleton, which advanced to the 5A state tournament last year and is one of 11 5A teams in the Hoopfest field — as well as from Washington (Camas) and California (St. Joseph Notre Dame).

“It’s great for our players,” Cruz says. “I really believe, whether it’s before even stepping on the court, just sitting up in the bleachers, seeing the crowds of people start to come in to support the boys and then be there for the girls. It’s fun to see full bleachers. … The community wants to come out and support that. It’s a tournament that our players look forward to every year because of that. It’s just one of the few times in the season, particularly for the girls, where we see full stands as fans are starting to watch basketball across the state.”

Last week, Runco’s Outlaws played at the Seaside Holiday Classic, as did Madras. Runco describes that tournament on the Oregon Coast as a “team-building experience,” while the Sisters tourney is a chance for each participating team to create momentum heading into league play — and an opportunity for many players to “get their basketball legs.”

“We kind of figure out who we are,” Runco says of the Sisters tournament. “It’s a time when we can make some of our last adjustments or last trials because it seems like once league hits, it’s survival. … It really kind of allows us to see where we really are. And hopefully we’re getting better.”

Not only that, Runco adds, but this style of a tournament allows for Sisters — and every team in the field — to prepare for a potential trip to the state tournament. The format at the final site is similar to the Sisters Holiday Tournament: eight teams, three games in three days, survive and advance.

“It’s almost practicing that kind of flexibility in schedule,” Runco says, referring to the state tournament experience. “You may practice in the morning or you may play at 10 in the morning or later. To me, the tournaments are great, especially since we’re always shooting for postseason play.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com.