Bryce Gumby-West Reading All-Stars

The West Reading All-Star team was assembled just a few days ago, but they looked like they had been playing together for years. They faced Franklin High School from Sacramento on Saturday morning at Berks Catholic. The game was part of the West Reading-Sacramento Cultural Exchange program which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The West Reading squad was comprised of eight players from five Berks County high schools. Former Holy Name boys basketball coach Tony Balistrere served as the head coach. His team jumped out to a quick 7-0 advantage. Bryce Gumby, a rising sophomore at Berks Catholic, said they did a great job of sharing the basketball and getting quality shots. The Wildcats evened the score at 14 and trailed 20-18 after the first quarter. West Reading limited Franklin to twelve points in the second period for a 37-30 halftime lead. Gumby took over in the third quarter. He drilled three 3-pointers and jammed eleven points into those eight minutes. West Reading outscored the Wildcats 24-15 in the third period and never looked back. Despite struggling offensively in the final quarter, they pulled out a 72-64 victory. Gumby, who also plays football for the Saints, finished with a game-high 19 points. He sank five of his team’s ten shots from beyond the arc. Gumby told me that playing in his high school’s gym made him feel very comfortable. He thought that Mark Rajnath and Andrew Galentuomo stood out. Rajnath, a rising senior at Schuylkill Valley, added 13 points including ten in the first half. He also played well on the defensive end of the floor. Rajnath averaged 7.6 points in 14 games for the Panthers this year. Galantuomo is a rising sophomore from Gov. Mifflin. The 5-4 guard chipped in with seven points and some nifty assists. Keith Neal helped to set the tone early. The rising senior at Oley Valley had nine points in the first half. He ended up with a dozen. Neal averaged 6.1 points for the Lynx this season. Aiden Schippers of Wyomissing pulled down a team-high five rebounds to go along with six points. Jaden Kelly and Ethan Gallardo of Oley Valley combined for 13 points off the bench. Franklin outscored West Reading 19-11 over the last eight minutes. Aydan Claro came alive in the fourth quarter with eleven points. The rising senior finished with a team-high 14 points. Treyson Manfredi, a rising junior, contributed twelve points and seven boards. He’s the son of Wildcats’ head coach Ken Manfredi who played for the Sacramento All-Star team in 1990. He went up against an extremely talented West Reading unit that featured Reading High legend Donyell Marshall and Pottstown star Del Savage. The Franklin players visited Washington, D.C. this week. They’ll get a chance to see New York City on Sunday before flying out of Philadelphia on Monday morning.