There’s no stopping the Los Gatos National Junior Basketball (NJB) boys program.
For the second consecutive year, two teams from the Los Gatos NJB chapter won the All Net National Tournament. In 2024, the fourth grade and eighth grade boys teams took home titles. In the recently completed 2025 winter season, the fourth grade and fifth grade boys teams reigned supreme.
In performances that were borderline sublime, both Los Gatos squads won their respective National Tournament championship games in dominating fashion. The fourth graders avenged their only defeat of the season, dismantling Whittier Gold 44-18 in the title contest March 9 at the Maps Sports Facility in Garden Grove.
Just a day earlier in pool play, Whittier Gold beat Los Gatos 47-44, the only blemish in a 17-1 season. How did Los Gatos manage to thoroughly dominate Whittier Gold in the rematch?
“Our kids executed everything from our offensive strategy to our defensive strategy,” coach Nathan Sanders said. “Everyone’s shots were falling, we were clicking on all cylinders and we made some adjustments on defense that basically took away what they did to beat us the first time.”
Ten of the 11 Los Gatos players scored, a testament to the balance and depth of the team.
“Last year we had dominant post players, but this year’s team was faster and really deep,” Sanders said. “All 11 kids could play. Whoever I put in, we didn’t lose much on the court. There’s not many teams that can say the entire team contributed but we had that.”
The fourth grade team roster includes Chasin Chikelu, Cyrus Mortezaie, Dean Drew, Dylan Shanker, Gavin Evenson, Gus Widell, Hunter Sanders, Nathan Williams, Oz Azriel, Thomas Leitch, Vidit Noti and assistant coach Nir Azriel.
Los Gatos defeated Redwood City 26-22 in a semifinal where points were hard to come by. Evenson had two steals in overtime which led to four points, accounting for the difference in the final score. Sanders’ son, Hunter, was a stalwart throughout the season.
The point guard controlled the tempo, took care of the basketball and was superb in shutting down the opposing team’s guards. Leitch and Drew also excelled defensively, while post player Williams controlled the boards, limiting opponents’ second-chance scoring opportunities.
Los Gatos received solid outside shooting from Widell and Noti, who knocked down 3-point shots in the championship game. Nathan Sanders said one of the best moments of the season came after the final buzzer sounded to conclude the fifth grade team’s victory.
The fourth grade squad—who had finished their game five minutes earlier and was playing on an adjacent court—ran over to congratulate the fifth graders’ victory.
“It was pretty awesome,” Sanders said. “We were able to celebrate together and it was a great bonding moment.”
Several key players from last year’s fourth grade team starred on this year’s fifth grade championship-winning team, highlighting Los Gatos’ arrival as one of the premier boys programs in NJB. The fifth graders were even more dominant than the fourth graders, going 4-0 in the National Tournament and winning every game by 15 points or more.
How dominant was the fifth grade team from start to finish? Its National Tournament title run capped a perfect 19-0 season that saw many games decided by halftime.
The fifth grade team roster includes head coach Anthony Sherman, assistant coach Matt Cossel, Solomon Petros, Jack Janda, Allen Xiang Hao, Aziz Khouzam, Parker Fanoe, Liam McDonald, Sean Garcia, Vonn Marshall, Jax Cossell, Grant Zillman, Paul Weitz and Felix Fairley.
A team email message said, “Fairley’s height was a clear advantage, Khouzam was an unstoppable force with rebounds, Garcia’s shooting was on point and Marshall’s offensive shooting was seamless.”
