ICC SPORTS UPDATE: The Year of the Undefeated – Part 2
[ This article “The Year of the Undefeated” is written in a two-part series. Find “Part 1” here. ]
ICC Adult Basketball
Last week we witnessed history being made in our local adult volleyball league. This week we turn our focus on to the other popular sports league played during the winter months: ICC Adult Basketball – where local history is also being made.
In the 2025 season of ICC Adult Basketball we saw teams and players coming from Idyllwild, Pine Cove, Mountain Center, Garner Valley, Anza, and the Santa Rosa Reservation. All games were played at the Idyllwild School on Wednesday evenings.
March 12th: the Final Regular-Season Games
With The top two teams getting first-round byes in the final playoffs tournament, it was an intense race for playoff seeding during the last regular-season games.
The #1 seed was more or less secured by Pines to Palms Electric (led by captain Carl Dewese), however the #2 seed was up for grabs between Black Panthers (captain Mauricio Palacios) and Bomb Squad (captain Tino Macias). This would be the chance for one these two teams to capitalize and secure the #2 seed during the last day of regular-season games.
The lower #4 and #5 seeds were also being fought for between the Monsters (captain Brian Kretsinger) and the Green Hornets (captain Travis Garrison) which could have a huge impact on who they would be facing-off in the first round of the playoffs.
Team Santa Rosa (led by captain Ashlie Bohannon) was pretty much locked into last place #6 seed but had a chance to move up to #5 seed if everything went their way.
After the regular season games were over, the Bomb Squad and Black Panthers had a tied record of 6 wins, 4 losses. The tiebreaker rule had to come into play (total points of all games exclusively between the two tied teams) which Bomb Squad won by a mere 2 points over the Black Panthers (42-40).
Pines to Palms Electric (#1 seed) and Bomb Squad (#2 seed) would both have first-round playoff byes, while Black Panthers (#3 seed), Monsters (#4 seed), Green Hornets (#5 seed), and Santa Rosa (#6) would battle it out in the quarterfinals.
March 19th: the Playoffs (a.k.a. “March Madness”)
3 Black Panthers vs #6 Santa Rosa (Quarterfinals)
4 Monsters vs #5 Green Hornets (Quarterfinals)
Before the playoffs tournament even started, the #4 Monsters unfortunately had to forfeit their playoff run as they would not have enough players to form a team. This gave #5 Green Hornets a free ticket to the semi-finals.
In the other quarterfinals game, it was pretty evident that the #3 Black Panthers – the only team who came close of winning against #1 Pines to Palms Electric (they lost by 2 points back in January) – would most likely defeat Santa Rosa who had only won 1 game in the entire regular season.
But this is the playoffs. This is March Madness where any “Cinderella team” has a chance to somehow defeat their heavily-favored opponent.
And that’s exactly what happen at Idyllwild School on March 19th, 2025, at around 6:25pm. In a shocking turn of events – last place #6 Santa Rosa had defeated the #3 seed Black Panthers.
Santa Rosa came out swinging and took an early 5-point lead. They then followed with smart passing, solid defense, and accurate shooting from beyond the arc by captain Ashile Bohannon. And when the clock showed all zeros, that lead still remained. Santa Rosa would advance to the semi-finals while simultaneously eliminating the Black Panthers… incredible!
5 Green Hornets vs #2 Bomb Squad (Semi-finals)
6 Santa Rosa vs #1 Pines to Palms Electric (Semi-finals)
In the first semi-finals game, the Green Hornets were looking good with great rebounds by Liam McCampbell and good outside shooting by Tristán Wettlaufer and Travis Garrison. However they were without the extra help they needed to keep up with Bomb Squad who had their full roster.
As Bomb Squad continuously rotated their talented players (like PJ Gorczyca, Derrick Calloway, and Louis Estrada) the Green Hornets were running out of steam as their substitution bench was empty. Bomb Squad would eventually win the lead and the final score as time expired – Bomb Squad was were heading to the finals.
In the other semi-finals match, Santa Rosa’s magic would not work against the #1 seed team. Pines to Palms Electric, who had yet to lose a game, added to their winning streak by vanquishing over Santa Rosa in the semi-finals by double digits, and head to the final championship game against #2 Bomb Squad.
Although going into the championships with high hopes for Bomb Squad, it was “business as usual” for Pines to Palms Electric who took advantage of all their offensive and defensive weapons.
Toby Posey has the height and hustle to block shots and is also deadly from beyond the 3-point line. Sean O’Keeffe and Carl Dewese both have the court-awareness for excellent passing and tricky fast-breaks, all while making it hard for their opponents to score – true playmakers. Chad Szopinski and Michael Smith have the ferocity and agility for smart rebounds and quick turnovers: no matter where the ball is at – they make sure they get it.
Overall, all five players have great shot accuracy from anywhere on the court, great vision and team chemistry, and all hustle with a sense of urgency like every moment of every game is on the line.
It is no wonder that Pines to Palms Electric ended the season as the 2025 ICC Adult Basketball champions… with an undefeated season!
12 victories and 0 losses – the 2025 Pines to Palms Electric (ICC basketball) will join the 2025 Village Hardware (ICC volleyball) and the 1972 Miami Dolphins (NFL football) as one of the few rare teams to win the league championship while finishing the entire season undefeated.
Congratulations to Pines to Palms Electric!
ICC ADULT BASKETBALL 2025 FINAL STANDINGS:
1st Place: Pines to Palms Electric (captain Carl Dewese)
2nd Place: Bomb Squad (captain Tino Macias)
3rd Place: Santa Rosa (captain Ashlie Bohannon)
ICC Youth Baseball
Last week to register for ICC Youth Baseball!
Tee-Ball (ages 4-6), minor league (ages 7-9) is “coach pitch”, and major league (ages 10-14) is “kids pitch”. Little league season starts April 8th and runs to June 5th.
To register and for more info go to www.idyllwildcommunitycenter.org – “Play Ball!”
