Los Banos Rotary Club History
Service Clubs Honor Basketball Teams

Some sixty boys comprising the basketball teams of the high and grammar schools, were feted Tuesday evening at a dinner sponsored by the Lions Club, and participated in by the Rotary and 20-30 Clubs. The Memorial hall, where the dinner was held, was filled nearly to capacity.

Ray Pesco, basketball coach at Santa Clara University, was the speaker of the evening and did an excellent job of holding the interest of both boys and oldsters as he talked basketball and the things that contribute to the making of a great team.

Pesco particularly commended the grammar school staff for its foresight in encouraging athletics in the lower school and pointed to the two teams present as examples of its benefits. He discounted the popular conception of juvenile athletics as a means of discouraging juvenile delinquency, stating that athletics should stand on their own merits and be encouraged for the wholesome benefits derived by the players and for its practical teachings of the competitive system and American way of life.

Coach Pesco also showed motion pictures of the Santa Clara basketball team as it played City College of New York in Madison Square Garden last December, and explained the style of play developed by the west coast team as compared with the somewhat different style of play used by eastern teams.
The high school teams were introduced as a group by Coach Carlyle Loftin and the grammar school teams by Coach Phil Clark. A trophy, awarded by the Merced Lions Club, was presented to the grammar school A team for having won the county championship, and was accepted on behalf of the team by Captain Joe Padilla.

Lion president Harold Humphrey acted as toastmaster for the evening and made the introductions. Lion Sid Smith was program chairman.

April 2, 1948

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