Cafferata adds to hoops legacy

The shared championship doesn’t suit Cafferata simply because the flamboyant Daly City native aspires to stand apart from the crowd. His colorful attire — whether it’s sporting an NBA game jersey while scouting a local high school game, or a pinstripe suit with a flower on the lapel to dress up the sideline come game day — transcends his unique persona.

With his dress, Cafferata creates as much mystique as Spike Lee with his purple get-up at this year’s Academy Awards.

“I just have my own kind of style,” Cafferata said. ‘I’m extremely different. If everyone had a suit and tie with a purple shirt … I would probably wear a sweat suit. It’s just my own style. I copy no one else.”

Now, Cafferata’s uniquely dressed coaching legacy is set to be enshrined in the Daly City Sports Hall of Fame. As the head coach of the Westmoor girls’ basketball team from 2003-08, Cafferata built a generation of dynasty with the Rams’ four straight Peninsula Athletic League North Division championships.

Cafferata is one of eight people to be inducted May 11 in a ceremony at the South San Francisco Elks Lodge. Others include: Ralph Gage, Jefferson baseball; Donna Imsand, Westmoor girls’ basketball; Terry Lewis, El Camino boys’ basketball; Jim Mason, Westmoor boys’ basketball; Dan Montelongo, Westmoor football; Ted Scott, Westmoor boys’ basketball; and Linda Spaargaren, Westmoor track and field. The 1983 Jefferson football team will also be inducted.

Cafferata said he is honored by the upcoming induction. But the gamer in him wouldn’t let him pull any punches.

“Daly City has a lot to do with coaching,” Cafferata said. “But I’d rather be inducted as a player than a coach.”

So, it’s fitting Cafferata will be inducted by his former varsity coach from Oceana, Mike Ciardella, who himself gravitated toward coaching girls’ basketball as well. Ciardella, now an assistant coach at Sequoia, recently helped head coach Steve Picchi’s team win its first Central Coast Section championship in program history.

Cafferata played for Ciardella at Oceana for two years. A transfer from Jefferson after his freshman season, Cafferata played three varsity seasons for the Sharks in the 1980s.

It was the genesis of Cafferata’s aggressive basketball philosophy, which he describes as, not run and gun, but run and shoot.

“He was an outstanding ball-handler,” Ciardella said. “A tremendous ball-handler and he was a scorer. He was a good point guard. … He could do a lot of different things.”

Cafferata went on to play college basketball at University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He had his career cut short after he was diagnosed with diabetes during his freshman year in 1987.

The disease is a nemesis with which Cafferata contends daily. He takes five shots of insulin and a battery of prescription pills every day, he said. And he is currently in the midst of a set of five surgeries. The most recent one, the third of five, he underwent prior to the 2018-19 basketball season Sept. 7.

Cafferata has long maintained a “no excuses” attitude in navigating the disease. The attitude carries over the aggressive approach he has long employed on the court.

“Just push it,” Cafferata said. “And that’s just me.”

Mission College opens California Community College Athletic Association play Wednesday. As the No. 17 seed in Northern California, the Saints travel to No. 16 Shasta for a Round 1 play-in game. The winner moves on to Saturday’s second round to face No. 1 Diablo Valley.

 Skyline women open Saturday

Seeded No. 11 in the CCCAA Northern California field of 18, the Skyline women’s basketball team opens postseason play Saturday at No. 6 Sierra.

The Lady Trojans, coached by Chris Watters, took second place in the Coast Conference North, finishing two games behind conference champion City College of San Francisco.

Skyline closed the regular season winning seven of its last eight games, using a balanced starting five to find momentum through the past month.

Freshman center Olga Faasolo (Notre Dame-Belmont) is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per game. But the difference between Faasolo’s average and the fifth-leading scorer on the team is a mere 4.2 points.

Other scoring averages include: sophomore guard Giselle Mahinay (Westmoor), 11.1; freshman forward Kalisi Fononga (Aragon), 9.8; sophomore guard Keri La (Oceana), 9.0; and sophomore forward Anaseini Fakava (San Mateo), 7.9.

 Cañada men open at Cabrillo

Drawing the No. 9 seed, the Cañada men’s basketball team missed the cut to host at playoff opener. The Colts will travel to No. 8 Cabrillo to open postseason play in the CCCAA state tournament quarterfinals Friday.

The Colts, who have called College of San Mateo home since last season, finished in third place in the Coast Conference North under first-year head coach Matthew Lee. They finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak.

That streak was capped by a thrilling 108-102 overtime win over second-place Las Positas last Friday. The Colts overcame a 45-26 halftime deficit with a 66-point second half. Sophomore guard Josh Blueford (Mission-SF) erupted for a season-high 32 points, while sophomore Kaden Bradley (Chico) added 28 and sophomore Sean Orr (Westmoor) had 22.

Bradley (15.8 ppg), Orr (13.9) and Blueford (13.0) lead the sophomore-heavy Colts in scoring, while sophomore guard Vinny Ferrari (Burlingame) ranks fourth with 9.4 points per game.