LOCAL BASKETBALL: Carbondale Area 1980-81 reunion brought laughs, tears and wave of emotion

Aug. 7—There were plenty of laughs, some hugs and a whole lot of brotherly love.

On July 30, the fabulous starting five from the 1980-81 Carbondale Area boys basketball team gathered for an impromptu reunion at Crystal Lake. Twin brothers Rob and Ron Mazzoni, Rob Turano, Jack Delfino and Dave Pettinato got together for the first time in close to 25 years, and it filled each of them with a flood of emotions.

During that memorable season, legendary coach Peter Turonis' Chargers captured the attention and support of a passionate basketball community. The memories were vivid. They rushed back.

The warmth and stories they shared were made more precious because of the reason they were brought together again. One of the team's leaders, Rob Mazzoni, is fighting ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. It's a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

"Basketball brought us together and we became a family," said Rob, who was diagnosed in February of 2021. "We were always together back then, and of course, we all went ahead and built our families. It was so great to get together again. It was like we hadn't missed a beat.

"I felt young again. I felt like I could play again. It was like a dream come true."

Their smiles were broad. The tears — both of joy and pain — were genuine.

"This was big," said Ron Mazzoni, who also recently battled health issues. "You think you always have tomorrow. My brother was worried about me when I got sick, and he wanted to give me a kidney, but he couldn't. I was blessed to get a kidney eventually, but now my brother has come down with ALS, a terrible disease. It's sad, but that day, that reunion, was great. It was so good that all of us could get together and reminisce.

"It was huge for Robbie and it really brought a smile to his face."

----As the group slugged down some spirits and watched slides — video highlights were not the craze back then — their eyes welled up through the kind of heartfelt chuckles and good-natured ribbings that made them the close-knit, almost unbeatable team that dominated the Lackawanna League and District 2.

They were more than teammates. Turano married Pettinato's sister, and the starting five served in his wedding party with his brother, Richard, as the best man.

They were, and will always be, a family.

"We consider each other brothers, not only when we're on the court, but off the court," Delfino said. "The reunion was emotional for us, and it was really good to get together and see everyone, because I hadn't seen them in a few years in everyday life. It was really good for all of us. We got into our own little zone and were taken back in time."

Carbondale Area had a lot of talent that year.

The towering Mazzoni twins were a one-two punch few high school teams could match. Both Rob and Ron stood at 6-feet-5 and were athletic, quick-footed and fiery competitors.

A late-season injury to Ron took him and his career 1,000 points out of the lineup. The five starters all contend had he not been hurt, the Chargers would have hoisted a PIAA Class 2A championship banner in the school gymnasium.

"I blew my knee out and that was tough on me," Ron said. "I know we could have won the state championship. We had already beaten Union-Endicott, and they were the state champions in New York. People from all over Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey were coming to see this team from tiny Carbondale play."

With Turano, a 6-3 guard with a soft touch, and Delfino, a 6-3 power player, the Chargers had the size and strength to overmatch their opponents. They, too, were intense competitors.

Pettinato served as the catalyst. A quick guard who Turonis groomed for three seasons, Pettinato flashed quick hands and sharp court awareness.

When Ron Mazzoni suffered his knee injury, Greg Pilewicz and Jerry Borosky came off the bench as the Chargers pushed through a challenging postseason.

They were a complete team.

Most of all, though, they were the closest of friends.

That's what made getting together now so important.

"This is something I thought about doing, and we needed to do, for a long time," Pettinato said. "Knowing Robbie's situation, we absolutely needed to get together. I felt it was up to me as the point guard to get it done. Coach Turonis used to tell me all the time that it was my job to keep these guys in check.

"At the reunion, by the end of the night, it was the five of us guys reliving an amazing time in our lives. That was awesome."

It was an amazing time for the Carbondale community, as well.

The highlights for this group, which came together in a perfect storm as early as seventh grade for coaches Frank Wade and Glenn Moslosky, are many. The disappointments are so very few.

Carbondale Area won its first District 2 Class 2A championship since 1947 when Carbondale Ben Franlin won the Class A title. The Chargers finished with a 35-3 record and are arguably one of the greatest teams in local high school basketball history.

There is no doubt among them about their place.

The feisty Chargers swept three meetings with Dunmore, which had been considered the next-best team in the district.

All of the starters made major contributions along the journey, which is what made this group so special.

They entered the District 2 Class 2A tournament as the No. 1 seed and, again, beat the Bucks in the final in a dramatic 46-44 win in the District 2 Class 2A championship at the Scranton CYC.

Delfino drained an eight-foot jumper off a rebounded miss by Turano with one second remaining to lift the Chargers to the win.

Turano tied the game off an assist from Pettinato with 11 seconds left. Borosky then made a steal that led to the game-winning possession.

"That comeback just had a lot to do with our motivation to always win and our ability to always play together as a team," said Turano, who traveled from Hagerstown, Maryland, for the reunion. "It wasn't always about us, either. It was about coach Turonis and how much fun he made it for us to play basketball."

In late March, Carbondale Area won a thriller against Marian Catholic, 60-58, in a wild PIAA second-round playoff game that attracted more than 7,000 fans to Martz Hall in Pottsville. Borosky scored the game-deciding basket on a breakaway layup with two seconds remaining. Turano scored a game-high 24 points, and Mazzoni had 13 points.

The magical season ended when Central Columbia defeated the Chargers, 65-53, in front of more than 3,000 fans at the Scranton CYC. The game was halted with 19 seconds remaining because of fights breaking out in the stands and debris thrown onto the floor. Rob Mazzoni scored 19 points. Borosky scored 12, and Turano and Delfino added 10 each.

A disappointing end, yes.

A rewarding season, absolutely.

One that gets better with age.

"Just sitting there with the guys and joking around made it a very emotional night," Pettinato said. "There were a couple of times when I almost let my emotions just go. I wanted it to be a happy night with us all getting back together. Robbie was very grateful, and to see him enjoying the stories was very good for all of us."

----The characteristics of that team were their grit and an unrelenting will to win.

That is prevalent now in life, maybe more than it was in basketball.

Rob Mazzoni, like his brother, Ron, is the definition of a fighter.

The father of three takes on his battle with ALS with the fierce determination that defined his high school playing days. He is in a wheelchair now and a VOCSN ventilator helps him breathe. He refuses to surrender and treasures the time he spends with his wife, Kim, son Angelo, and daughters Brianna and Jordan.

Seeing his teammates again lifted his willpower.

"It is like the old Rocky saying; it's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get back up," Rob said. "I am not going to stop fighting. I am going to fight until my last breath. This reunion helped so much. I know I have my teammates, my support, around me. And with them, just like when we played basketball, there is nothing we can't accomplish."

His former teammates are there for him. They always were. That's the loyalty of sports in a small town.

"I think this was good for Robbie and for all of us," Delfino said. "I think to relive that part of our lives was so great. I don't have any actual brothers, so these guys are my brothers. I love them."

It was only a few hours on a Saturday for five guys who shared a lifetime of memories.

It was an afternoon that crept into the evening hours, the past becoming so vivid in the present.

They enjoyed the many triumphs from 41 years ago.

These moments, like all of those wins, will never be forgotten.

Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on Twitter