Ohlone basketball team's bus burglarized

Oakland Tribune, Dec 22, 2008 by Ben Aguirre Jr

NEWARK -- First the team lost its gear, and then the game.

In what turned out to be a losing day for the Ohlone College men's basketball team, the squad dropped its game at the West Valley College Tournament on Sunday, 78-70, but not before the unit had its bus burglarized as the team ate a pregame meal at Hometown Buffet in Newark.

While the team dined at the restaurant near NewPark Mall about 1:30 p.m., burglars forced their way into the bus and took four gym bags containing six pairs of Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoes, four of the team's custom-made "away" jerseys, and several shirts.

Thieves also stole personal items, including a briefcase belonging to an assistant coach -- an elementary school teacher who used the case to carry his student's schoolwork -- and a passport belonging to one of the players, said head coach John Peterson.

"The bus was parked right in the middle of the parking lot, which was busy," a baffled Peterson said Monday. "It was only about 40 paces from the front door of the restaurant."

The team noticed the theft about 2 p.m., just as it was preparing to leave the restaurant and head to the tournament in Saratoga.

But instead of canceling the game and immediately reporting the theft to authorities, the team opted to head to the tournament.

"We had a coach meet us there with our 'home' uniforms," Peterson said.

He later added that because the team has 16 players suit up at each game and now only has 14 "away" jerseys, the team likely will be forced to wear its "home" uniforms for all contests for the remainder of the season.

"We can't go shirts and skins," Peterson said, referring to an older practice in unorganized sports in which one team plays topless.

After the game, Peterson and his team headed back to the mall and looked for items that may have been abandoned nearby.

"We went Dumpster diving," he said. "We searched every Dumpster around that mall."

Peterson then reported the theft to authorities, who on Monday were continuing to investigate.

The coach has been in charge of the Ohlone team for nine years and said he has never witnessed anything like this.

While he's upset by the crime, he's baffled by the fact that anyone would steal the equipment, particularly the jerseys.

"The shoes cost about $125 a pair -- we'll never see those again," he said. "But those jerseys are custom-made. Whose going to wear that stuff? It's not like we're Duke (University)."

Although Peterson would like to see the return of all stolen items, he's particularly interested in the return of the passport and the team's jerseys.

"You can just turn them into campus police or Newark police -- no questions asked," he said.

Staff writer Ben Aguirre Jr. can be reached at 510-353-7011 or baguirre@bayareanewsgroup.com.