The 11th annual Maryann Wallace Pangburn 7th/8th Grade All-Star Basketball Game could be considered a preview of tomorrow’s prep stars.
Taylor Snaer and Lani Tu’uaga, for example, played in last year’s annual hoop event. Both were instrumental in recently leading East Union High to a Valley Oak League title.
Other former players include Kyaira Jacobs (Manteca High), Mary Cotton (Lathrop High), Donja Payne (East Union), Jayda Jackson (Manteca High), Ala Tu’uga (East Union), Kyshanti King (East Union), Eddie Cotton (Lathrop High), Jorge Cedano (Manteca High) and Miguel Sequiera (Manteca High).
The future appears bright for Emma Gilmore of Brock Elliott Elementary School, who will be playing in her third all-star game featuring Acorn League players.
This game will be held this Saturday at Manteca High’s Winter Gym, beginning at 1 p.m. with the girls’ contest.
Admission is $5 per adult and $2 for a student. Proceeds will go back to the participating schools.
Gilmore will be playing for the South team led by Edward Fang and Keith Johnson – both are coaches at Nile Garden – and will feature Taylor Zalunardo (Joshua Cowell), Mariela Navarro (Golden West), Brea Vieira (Stella Brockman), Ashlynn Neese (Nile Garden), Isabell Tanforan (Veritas), Aaliyarae Jacobs (Walter Woodward), Alexa Zuniga (New Haven), Amil Gaskins (Sequoia) and Cami Hutson (Shasta).
James Sanders of Mossdale Elementary School will coach the North.
His squad consists of Akira Thornsavanh-Surigao (Great Valley), Jatziry Garcia (Neil Hafley), Tallon M. Cervantez (George McParland), Tatianna Lowery (Joseph Widmer), Jasmine Ponce (Lathrop), Aaliyah Hassan (August Knodt), Rian Dela Cruz (Mossdale), Anahy Ramirez (French Camp), Jada Ikharo (Lincoln) and Madilyn Martinez (Komure).
The boys’ game will follow.
David Dixon of Komure Elementary School in Weston Ranch will coach the North squad featuring Mario Williams (Great Valley), Daniel Huerta (Neil Hafley), Blake Little (George McParland), Eli Silva (Joseph Widmer), Cameron Loyola (Lathrop), Robert Richard (August Knodt), Izaias White (Mossdale), Ethan Hough (French Camp), Micha Crawford (Lincoln) and Darrion Lilly (George Komure).
The South will be coach by Chris Bauer of Brock Elliott Elementary School.
He’ll have Amr Hauter (Joshua Cowell), Ervin Mendiola (Golden West), Bryson Davis (Stella Brockman), Peyton Jay Nieman (Nile Garden), Richard Nguyen (Veritas), Anthony Grady (Brock Elliott), Joe Menor (Walter Woodward), Zach Grabowski (New Haven), Santiago Sanders (Sequoia) and Quinn Martinez (Shasta).
Crawford and Davis played are returners from last year’s all stars.
Maryann Wallace Pangburn was born and raised in Manteca – she was the daughter of Kathy and Bob Wallace, who is also the current Manteca Unified school board president – attending Shasta and Lincoln and graduating from MHS in 1989.
She died tragically from brain cancer in 2008, leaving behind her husband Michael Pangburn (currently a teacher at Lathrop High) and daughters Mikaela and Megan. Both attend MHS and, respectively, are a senior and freshman.
Wallace Pangburn, who taught and coached at Sequoia and Woodward, loved basketball, volleyball and her family.
She especially enjoyed playing hoops at MHS and, as a teacher, would use the NCAA March Madness games as a teaching tool in her classroom.
An example of that was her fifth graders learning the location of those teams in the bracket as part of their geography lesson.
For more information, contact event organizer Gary Dei Rossi at 209.969.4858 or email drdeirossi@yahoo.com.

AT A GLANCE
WHAT: 11th annual Maryann Wallace Pangburn 7th/8th Grade All-Star Basketball Game
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 22
WHERE: Manteca High, Winter Gym
START:  1 p.m.
ADMISSION: $5 adult, $2 student