Warming up to the Warriors

When Anani Arandules moved to South Philadelphia in October 2003, she had never seen snow.

The white stuff is hard to find when it’s 62 degrees and sunny in the winter. Those were the weather conditions in Arandules’ native Arizona, but she has adjusted well to the change.

Whenever it snows in Philly, the 16-year-old just breaks out her heavy coat and gloves and has snowball fights with her younger brother and sister.

Arandules, of 15th and Catharine streets, also has acclimated to her new basketball team — so well, in fact, that she is one of the top scorers for the Audenried Warriors.

In Monday’s 56-48 non-league loss to Human Services, the 5-foot-3 junior jump-started the offense by scoring Audenried’s first nine points, and finished with a team-high 25 points.

Arandules, nicknamed "Nini," is one of the more experienced players on the Warriors roster. The guard grew up playing Amateur Athletic Union basketball, which gave her the chance to compete in regional tournaments in Las Vegas and Texas. Arandules now enjoys passing those valuable drills on to her Audenried teammates.

Senior Rashera Sims, of 22nd and Moore streets, said she has learned from the younger athlete.

"Nini knows more plays and knows what she is doing," she said. "She lets us know what we are doing wrong and what we are doing right."

Sims returned the favor last year by showing Arandules around South Philly, including a stop at the Riverview Theater, where they saw Barbershop 2.

Whenever Arandules is on the court, fun seems to follow: The player likes to crack jokes as her teammates practice foul shots. Sims has become a pro at blocking out the verbal jabs.

"It causes me to shoot better because I don’t want to hear her mouth when I miss a foul shot," Sims quipped.

Come game time, Arandules turns serious.

"I like to lead," she said. "I yell a lot and sometimes get frustrated if a person messes up."

The player has nothing to worry about this week, as the Warriors have qualified for the Public League AAA playoffs. Audenried was one of seven teams competing for the four spots.

The postseason winner will represent Philadelphia in the state playoffs.

When the Warriors reached the final playoff rung with a 5-10 record, it caught some of the players off guard.

"I do feel really good, but it kind of surprised me because we had a better record last year," said Arandules, referring to Audenried’s 5-5 mark in 2004.

The Warriors played more games this season because of the Public League PIAA realignment.

"We made the playoffs, and that’s all that matters," Arandules added.

It’s a first for the program, which accomplished the feat with a reduced pool of players. Enrollment has been on hold the last two years during construction of the new Audenried building. As a result, the school’s female population — which consists of just juniors and seniors — is about 200. Students are attending classes at the old Palumbo School at 11th and Catharine streets until the Audenried building is finished.

The Warriors opened the postseason yesterday at top-seeded Franklin Learning Center in a game that started after press time. They expected a tough time after losing the December regular-season meeting by 51 points. Arandules missed that game with a dislocated right pinkie.

Next year, the athlete will prepare to choose a college where she can continue playing basketball. Arandules would like to major in physical education at the University of Arizona, but insists her preference is not a slap against her new hometown.

"Their academics are real good and they have one of the top-ranked Pac-10 basketball teams," she said. "I’ll take the snow if it doesn’t melt before I get there."

Playoff updates

The Bok boys’ basketball team will visit Strawberry Mansion today for a shot at the Public League AAA title. The winner will represent Philadelphia in the PIAA state tournament in the AAA division.

"Strawberry Mansion is an extremely tough, well-coached team," coach Lloyd Jenkins said following the Wildcats’ 73-54 opening-round win over Parkway on Tuesday. "We played Bartram and Gratz tough, and Strawberry Mansion is that kind of team."

Mansion advanced by beating Audenried 81-58 in Tuesday’s other opening-round match.

Bok has competed aggressively this playoff season. The team established a 41-29 halftime lead against Parkway before avenging its 70-63 regular-season loss. The Bok senior duo of Lamont Butler, 23 points, and Marquise Salley, 20 points, led the offense. Jenkins said he was especially pleased with the overall team effort.

"We played smart basketball, we didn’t get into foul trouble and we rebounded well," he said.

The Prep Charter Huskies will play Freire Charter today for the Public League A title. The two Division C squads both finished the regular season with 14-2 league records, but Freire is in first place due to the team’s Dec. 11 defeat of Prep Charter.

The winner of tomorrow’s game will qualify for the AA state playoffs, as the city’s A representative will play up one level. The Huskies are ranked second in this week’s Patriot-News AA poll, while Freire is ninth.

Prep Charter advanced to the championship game by defeating Masterman 62-28 in Tuesday’s postseason opener. The Huskies were leading 15-1 after the first quarter and steamrolled through the rest of the game. Senior Haven Wroten led the offense with 11 points.

In girls’ basketball action, the Prep Charter Lady Huskies qualified for the AA playoffs with a 12-2 record. The Lady Huskies hosted Bodine in yesterday’s opening-round action, which started after press time. The local squad won the regular-season meeting 77-63. The winner will play in tomorrow afternoon’s AA championship game against the winner of yesterday’s Engineering & Science-Human Services contest. The top three AA teams qualify for the PIAA state tournament.

With six seniors on its squad, Prep Charter plans to make a run at the Public League crown. Last season, the Lady Huskies tasted postseason success by nearly upsetting John Bartram in the quarterfinals. Coach Linda Page is confident that her team is ready for that next step.

"I think they realize what it takes, and they realize how much harder they have to work," she said.