de Toledo recently hosted its sixth annual basketball tournament. The event serves as an important contest to hype up de Toledo for their upcoming season for several schools in the area.
Athletic Director at dTHS, Alvin Castro, said, “The tournament was intentionally designed to promote the school…[We] realized that we had such a great community and facility that…people deserved to see.”
This desire to showcase our school led them to invite seven other schools, “preferably private schools,”
Castro said dTHS mainly uses the tournament to “market and advertise” for dTHS; he believes we are “a hidden gem” amongst schools; you can drive by dTHS and not think anything of it, but when you walk inside you can truly see our amazing facilities and the beauty of dTHS.
The tournament now also serves as a way to hype up the basketball program for the upcoming year, as the tournament is the Varsity team’s first games.
While the games still go on the teams record, the event “doesn’t have a big impact on the season,” as it features no league games.
The eight competing teams are split into two brackets. In the first three days of the tournament, teams play against every team in their bracket, which meansone game per day. Then on the fourth day, based on how you did in pool play, you play your final game. “If you win your bracket, you’re in the final,” said Alvin.
The competitors are generally consistent. Alvin said, “the lineup varies, about one or two new teams each year.”
Castro confirmed dTHS used to attend a very similar event, hosted by Milken. Alvin said, “Milken has the same exact tournament. We used to go to the Milken tournament, but not anymore. The Milken tournament “got very competitive so it didn’t make sense for us to be in the tournament.”
This year, dTHS finished with two wins and one loss in pool play, but lost to Foothill Tech High School in the third-place game.
For alumni, the de Toledo invitational remains a powerful memory. Lior S. (‘25) played in the dTHS invitational from 2021-2025. He recalled feeling “nervous and excited” entering the tournament.
Lior said “AGBU” was his toughest opponent. His most memorable moments were “hitting a game winning three” and achieving the First Team All Tournament honor his junior and senior years.
Reflecting on his experience, he said the tournament ultimately, “taught him the most important result in a game was winning.”
For current sophomore Beckett F. (‘28), the Invitational was his first ever varsity game. He remembers being “scared” and questioning if he would “start or get minutes.”
Beckett went on to perform well, averaging twelve points over the four games. He said, “the toughest opponent was facing Triumph Charter Academy; there was one player who destroyed us.”
Beckett recalled a defining moment where he “hit a fading corner three in clutch time” in the first game of the tournament.
His main takeaway from the tournament was, “being more confident in shooting the ball more.”
The de Toledo invitational continues to be a meaningful, annual tradition that showcases the school’s facilities and growing basketball culture. For alumni and current players, it remains an experience that builds confidence, valuable lessons, and sets the tone for the upcoming season.
