NAU Basketball League aka Northern California Nikkei Basketball aka J League
I think in it's hey day it was known as the Nisei Athletic Union or NAU league, not quite sure what it is called now days but they also have the Optimist Baseball League, the Nikkei Softball league and the Nikkei Hardball league (I forgot what this was called)
San Francisco Giants bullpen catcher and jack-of-all-trades Taira Uematsu at spring training at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (Dan Honda/Staff) ( Dan Honda )
For some, the World Series share is a reward for perseverance.
Taira Uematsu lived on fast-food salaries, first as an intern at Triple-A Fresno in 2006 and then as the Grizzlies' bullpen catcher a year later. He was promoted to the Giants' traveling party in '08 when right-hander Keiichi Yabu needed a translator.
Yabu didn't crack the team the following season. The Giants needed to make cuts to their support staff budget. But Uematsu made himself indispensable by doing the work of three people, and Bochy went to the mat to keep the quiet man whom clubhouse assistant Rob Dean calls, "the Japanese Swiss Army knife."
"It's more a case of what doesn't he do," Bochy said.
Uematsu arrives at Scottsdale Stadium at 5 a.m., fills water buckets and delivers them to the back fields in a golf cart. Then he starts making ice packs and assists Dave Groeschner while setting up the training room.
He catches in the bullpen, throws batting practice and plays long toss with rehabbing players. After practice, he helps stretch players and breaks everything down again. By the time he gets in a quick workout, it's after 7 p.m.
"I just wanted a job and to work," said Uematsu, who plans to keep his share in the bank for now. "I am so appreciative to the players. For me, this is more than my dream."
On a night where Lincoln High School dedicated its home court to former head coach Rick Boyle, a senior guard from Washington crashed the ceremony and had one of his best performances of the season.
Brenden Glapion strengthened his case for Academic Athletic Association player of the year, setting the tone with 10 first-quarter points, and finished with a game-high 30, to go along with five assists, helping the Eagles win 68-60 in Academic Athletic Association play on Wednesday.
Washington senior guard Brenden Glapion goes up for a layup against Lincoln on Wednesday at Lincoln High School. (Photo by Devin Chen)
“[I tried] to do whatever I could do to win,” Glapion said. “I was just trying to be aggressive at the start of the game and carry that momentum throughout the rest of the game.”
With the win, the Eagles (21-8, 13-1) remain in a first-place tie with Mission the AAA’s Lang Division with two games remaining before the playoffs.
Lincoln (17-12, 10-4) couldn’t climb out of a 16-point second-half deficit, committing 25 turnovers and giving up 14 offensive rebounds to the Eagles.
“We just didn’t take care of the ball, and that led to easy fast break points for them,” said Lincoln interim head coach Matt Jackson. “We just have to come out and be ready, not come out and play from behind.”
Washington took advantage of Lincoln’s miscues early and often. After Mustangs guard Chris Young tied the game at 13-13 early in the second quarter, the Eagles answered with a 15-4 run, mostly off layups, capitalizing in the Mustangs’ sloppiness.
Later, with the Eagles commanding a 41-29 lead with 4:45 left in the third quarter, Glapion sank a smooth baseline jumper, followed immediately by a Jeremy Jetton layup, putting Washington up 45-29.
“We did a much better job on [Glapion] the first time we played, and made everything difficult,” Jackson said. “We didn’t come out with the same intensity, especially on the defensive end. We were way too quiet. We need to be disruptive and we weren’t disruptive tonight, and that allowed [Glapion] to have a big night.”
Lincoln would get aggressive immediately after, and on three consecutive offensive possessions, Young would penetrate and draw fouls from the Washington defenders. Young, who finished with a team-high 20 points, spearheaded a 10-0 run that cut the lead to 45-39.
Glapion had an answer though, getting behind the Lincoln defense for a layup to break the Eagles brief scoring drought.
The Eagles also had solid contributions from Jetton, who had 18 points, and LeVander Moore, who chipped in nine points with 15 rebounds, but this night belonged to Glapion.
With Lincoln down 53-46 with just under three minutes remaining, Glapion calmly dribbled between his legs and dropped a three-pointer from the left wing over Mustang center Kevork Demirjian to give the Eagles a 10-point lead with 2:58 left in the contest.
“This is a game our guys wanted. Lincoln gave us our first loss, but we knew if we could play well we would be in good shape,” said Washington head coach Jolinko Lassiter. “Brenden played great tonight, he answered virtually every run they made.”
Washington then went 12-of-17 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
A showdown against Mission on February 22 awaits Washington, a game that could determine the regular-season Lang champion, but the Eagles are not looking past Friday’s date with Marshall.
“Marshall is a good team and they always play us tough,” Lassiter said. “We’re going to have to be ready to play well against Marshall and we can’t focus on Mission until after the Marshall game.”
Scoring Leaders
Washington Branden Glapion – 30 Jeremy Jetton – 18 LeVander Moore – 10 Galen Hall – 3 Three players tied with 2 points
Lincoln Chris Young – 20 Kevork Demirjian – 19 Tre Thomas – 10 Remfel Ganal – 4 Nick Young – 3
San Francisco Giants bullpen catcher and jack-of-all-trades Taira Uematsu at spring training at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (Dan Honda/Staff) ( Dan Honda )
