SAN DIEGO SECTION BASKETBALL : 1-A Boys : Tall Calipatria Put to the Test

There is one thing that Calipatria and La Jolla Country Day have in common.

They each made it to the San Diego Section 1-A boys’ basketball final. That’s where the similarities end.

La Jolla Country Day, with a minimum height of 6-foot 4-inches on its front line, gears its game to getting the ball into its big players and controlling the backboards.

Calipatria’s tallest player is center Sean Taylor at 6-1. The other four starters look--and play--as if they would be more at home on a 400-meter relay team.

“It’s basically height against speed,” said La Jolla Country Day Coach Bill Cahoone, who hopes the championship game won’t be a repeat of the teams’ first meeting early in the season at the Mountain Empire tournament.

Calipatria ran La Jolla off the court in a 78-58 rout, but Cahoone said that game was an aberration for his team, which has since won 17 straight.

Calipatria is seeking to avenge a different loss. In last year’s 1-A final, the Hornets were defeated by Army-Navy Academy. Coach Terry Taylor said his team suffered in part from inexperience and disorientation in the large confines of the Sports Arena.

“The depth perception in there is different,” Taylor said. “I don’t the kids were used to that . . . We’re basically the same team. We were all juniors last year. So we’ve got another year of experience and maturity.”

Leading La Jolla Country Day (22-3) is 6-4 forward Phil Holoubek, who has averaged 25.5 points and 11 rebounds a game.

Calipatria, which has lost only once (to El Camino) in 22 games this season, is led by 5-10 forwards Mario Ortiz and Alfonso Romero, both of whom are averaging more than 15 points a game.