For the second year in a row, LA Team Handball dominated the competition at the Second Annual Sandball Tournament in Ventura hosted by Santa Clarita TH.
The two day tournament featured eight teams from LA, Santa Clarita, Fremont, and Pasadena. LA fielded two teams:

Chupa la Trumpeta consisting of our more experienced players (Truninger, Maunula, Hinson, Abdalla, Rohner)
and
Nacho Balls consisting of our young and hungry guys (Vigneux, Geiger, Namdar, H. Pollino, M. Pollino, Palencia, Malmskov, Lee).

Playing cat and mouse with their opponents on the first day both LA teams won their respective groups, ultimately setting up a possible battle of the local giants in the final.
The semifinals were two totally different stories. Nacho Balls managed to win one half but lost the other against a motivated Cal Heat team.
A penalty shoot-out, where the young Nacho team put on an exciting show, decided the game in their favor.
Now up to the Trumpetas to match the accomplishment of their “teammates” to join them in the final, their semifinal against the Icelandic team was a walk in the park.
A dream-final of the two LATHC teams was perfect.
The first half of the final looked as if the old men of Chupa la Trumpeta had finally run out of steam, showing problems adjusting to the quickness of the youngsters by losing it 9:7.
Able to correct their deficiencies and pick up the pace, the Trumpetas charged to an 11:4 blowout in the second half.
Even though the cumulative score was in favor of the Trumpetas, tournament rules called for a shoot-out based on each team winning one half.
Scoring only twice, the Trumpetas came out flat against the Nacho Balls which only missed once to claim the championship.

Overall, LATHC swept all the hardware and remains “King of the Sand!”

1. Place: Nacho Balls
2. Place: Chupa La Trumpeta

Tournament Top Scorer: Mika Maunula (Trumpeta)