Palma hoops

 An encouraging 5-0 start to the season has been tamed by a recent skid that has seen the Chieftains drop five of their last six games going into tonight's meeting with Pacific Grove.
 Granted, the level of competition intensified with four losses coming from teams that reached the State Northern California divisional playoffs the previous season.
 The expectation this season was there would be a learning curve for Palma, who was just 14-13 last year and 6-6 in league after three straight undefeated Gabilan Division seasons.
 Its struggles this year have been offensively. Palma has failed to score 40 or more points in three of its losses. But that was expected. The theme has changed.
 Defense is keeping Palma in games, as evident by its effort last week in a loss to Monterey. It still has two more games to tuneup for a competitive league.
 Colin Neff has been a bright spot offensively, averaging over 10 points a game for the Chieftains, while Brenden Cannon and AJ Suniga have provided glimpses of their offensive potential.
 Still, if the Chieftains are going to be a factor in the Gabilan Division, it will start with its defensive effort.