Correa, Recek shine at City/County basketball games

Clovis West’s Josiah De La Cerda (4 points), Brandon Recek (20 points) and Eseosa Ogbeide (4 points) helped the North to a 129-85 win over the South in the City/County game held at Fresno City College. Paul Meadors/Clovis Roundup

The 48th Annual City/County basketball games were played at Fresno City College on June 30, with four total games pitting some of the best seniors in the San Joaquin Valley against each other.

In all, there were four Clovis Unified girls and five boys who played in the event that started at 1 p.m.

The City/County format has changed over the years; instead of two games now there are four mixed teams (North, South, East, West) created through a draft, a process where each head coach chooses teams from a pool of players.

The standout of the day was Clovis High’s Taylor Correa, who led her South team to a 75-67 win over the North with 21 points, including five 3-pointers.

“I felt great out there,” Correa said, who was an All-TRAC selection this season. “There was no pressure and our coaches made it clear we were all there to have fun which definitely made it easier to shoot.”

Correa was named the South’s Most Inspirational Player.

“The most fun part about the game was being able to play with players I’ve competed against since I was younger,” Correa added.

Clovis West’s Makayla Warren scored two points for the North.

Earlier in the day, the East girls team beat the West 56-48, with Clovis East’s Sarah Ortiz scoring nine points and Zaiah Padilla two for the West in a losing effort.

In the marquee game, the North boys beat the South 129-85 that featured a trio of Clovis West players: Brandon Recek (20 points), Eseosa Ogbeide (4 points) and Josiah De La Cerda (4 points).

“It’s my last high school game ever so it was just fun for me,” Ogbeide said. “We really wanted to win but we were having fun along the way.”

In the other boys game, the West beat the East 121-90 as Clovis West’s Fernando Guardado scored seven for the East.

All the games were extended to 10 minute quarters, two more minutes than the normal eight.

Chris Hernandez, who starred at Clovis West from 1998-2001, was inducted into the City/County Hall of Fame, but couldn’t make it to the event from Seattle where he now resides. After graduating from Clovis West, where he won two TRAC and two D-I Central Section titles, Hernandez was a two-time Pac-10 All-League selection at Stanford and played overseas for six years.

Paul Meadors is a man of many talents. He is a elementary school teacher, Junior High athletic director, and basketball coach in Traver, CA, in addition to serving as the Sports Editor for the Clovis Roundup. He is also the author of the humorous book “Letters to eBay,” and he has recorded a piano album of his own compositions titled “Surviving the Storm.” He lives in Fresno with wife Lori and daughters Georgie, Alex and Ruthie.