Palma mystique

If Alisal could have avoided the Palma gym this year, it would be undefeated in boys basketball.
While there is no shame in losing to the likes of state powers Mitty and St. Mary's of Berkeley, Alisal looked a little intimidated in falling to Palma on Thursday.
Of course, a lot of teams can fall into that class when stepping into the Chieftains' gymnasium and seeing what looks like a 100-plus league titles hanging on the wall.
Palma doesn't have a dominant player this year. It doesn't have a glaring weakness either. Opponents shouldn't be licking their chops at a shot at the defending champions.
And while that 6-6 preseason record wasn't impressive, the teams Palma faced were. Palma won't see anything better until the playoffs.