The Palo Alto Palominos are flying high on the basketball court this year. With players such as Steve Casas, Tony Jasso and Tommy Haskins, the Palominos wrapped up an eight-game wining streak during the regular season with zero defeats.

“The speed of the game is fast, and every body plays at another level than high school,” said Steve Casas, a sophomore Kienesology major.

Coach Steve Ochoa, a Math Skills Specialist, deserves a lot of the credit for mixing the right chemistry of players on the court during game time. During the 1999 semester, Steve Ochoa taught at Palo Alto as a math instructor and decided to start a basketball team from the ground up at Palo Alto College. He called St . Philip's and San Antonio College and they

immediately jumped on the idea. Tryouts for the boys, basketball team brought out 50 players, so he made up two teams that year. This year, he only had one team because most of the students had jobs and couldn't participate.

The 2000 team has all the same players from last year, Tommy Haskins, Steve Casas, and Tony Jasso, David Staminoff, Jose Neri, George De la Cruz, Jeff Lujano, Richard Alvarado, Mario Espinosa and Gerard Leach make up the team. Six new players include, Braun Zimmerman, Eric Williamson, Russell Switzer, Ronnie Richardson, Mike Apolinar and Tony Santos.

“ I played the game in high school and wanted to continue playing the sport,” said Tony Jasso an undecided major. “I love to compete and enjoy the game.”

Two fun players to watch play basketball are Staminoff and Santos, who have similar styles. One is a pure shooter, and the other is the point guard. Santos' intensity in the game sets the tone and the hustle on the court. Staminoff sets up for his shots by getting open and spotting up behind the three point line.

“I started playing the game as a little boy and fell in love with the sport and have continued to play it all my life in school and the college level,” said Santos, a sophomore, undecided major.

The Palo Alto Palominos Basketball team practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Gymnasium. The majority of the games fall on Fridays around 4:00 p.m.

For more information on the basketball team, contact Ochoa in GE 111 or at 921-5459.