Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Unbeaten Lady Steers suffer a major loss

Brenda Pino was Magdalena basketball team's 'best fan'

T.S. Last El Defensor Chieftain General Manager

The Magdalena High School girls basketball team lost its biggest fan.

Brenda Pino, a familiar face in the stands at Lady Steers games, died of unspecified causes Monday morning.

The news came unexpectedly to those who knew her.

"It was quite a shock to us," said Lady Steers head coach Wally Sanchez, who was leading the team through a morning practice when the news reached the Magdalena gym. "We heard about it at practice at about 10 (a.m.) After that, we stopped. Practice was over."

Sanchez said Pino was a huge fan of the Lady Steers, who finished the 2008 season as Class 1A state runnerup.

"Brenda has been our dearest supporter for the six years I've been here," he said. "She was unbelievable. She probably made 90 percent of the games. We'd be 300 miles from home and I'd look up and there she'd be. The only thing that would stop her was bad weather."

Pino, who lived in Alamo, frequently attended games with her husband Jackson Pino, a teacher at Alamo Navajo Community School.

What was most surprising about her enthusiasm, Sanchez said, was that the Pinos didn't have any children on the team — although nieces Leona Monte and Shannon Secatero were on the roster.

Gail Armstrong, a Magdalena School Board member, said she got to know Pino when her own daughters played for the Lady Steers.

"I'd see her at games in Cliff or Animas, and I used to wonder what child belonged to her," Armstrong said. "So one day I asked her, and her response was, 'All these girls are my kids.' That really touched me. She was a very caring, beautiful person."

Coach Sanchez came up with two reasons why Brenda Pino was such a dedicated fan of the Lady Steers.

"Number one, she just had a love affair with the girls in the program. She adopted them. She supported them like they were her own daughters," Sanchez said. "Number two, she loved basketball."

The coach said Pino was a knowledgeable basketball fan. It was common for the two of them to spend a few minutes talking basketball before or after games, Pino often referring to the Lady Steers as "our little girls."

"She was always a class act. She never got down, and never said a negative word about anyone involved in the game, including the referees or the other team," the coach said.

Nati Montoya is a captain on this year's team. She said the team took the news hard.

"We were all pretty shocked. We knew she was ill but we didn't know how serious it was," she said.

Montoya said Pino loved the Lady Steers, and the feeling was mutual.

"She was an amazing woman. Her life pretty much revolved around basketball. We really appreciated her," she said. "Never in my life have I seen anyone like her. She was the best fan. Her and husband were very dedicated."

The team always made sure Brenda Pino would get a team T-shirt before the season and she was always invited to the team's end-of-year banquet.

"It was very cool because she knew each and every one of us. She connected with us," said Montoya, adding that it wasn't unusual for Pino to give the players birthday gifts. "She knew us and really took the time to get to know our families. We're really going to miss her."

Although Brenda Pino won't be in the stands for future games, coach Sanchez said her presence would be felt.

"She was always there for the kids," he said. "Tomorrow we have a game, and I'm sure she'll be there with us."

tslast@dchieftain.com

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