Violence not new to the event

and Shirley Zilberstein The violence that erupted yesterday afternoon following the city high school championship basketball game has become almost routine in playoff games for Philadelphia's public school athletic league. Following last March's championship game at the Palestra, police reported hearing gunshots coming from a car containing four men at 33rd and Walnut streets -- almost the exact same spot as yesterday's shootings, which left one man dead and three injured. One of the wounded was a Penn student. No injuries were reported in last year's incident. The Palestra last hosted the tournament's semifinals in 1982. Before 1997, the Civic Center and other locations hosted the championship game. It was not immediately clear when the Palestra last hosted the championship game. "Based on our experience last year, there certainly was a heightened sense of security," University spokesperson Ken Wildes said. Wildes said it is "premature" to discuss whether Penn will host the championship game next year. But he said officials from across the University, rather than just the Athletic Department, would make the decision. "We'd have to take into consideration experience from both last year and this year," he said. The School District of Philadelphia asked the University to use the Palestra after the event was forced to leave the Civic Center, and Penn agreed to do it free of charge. The Palestra frequently hosts area high school and college basketball games, and the University routinely increases security for those games. For yesterday's and last year's high school championship games, about 10 University police officers, 40 school district police officers and 60 security guards were on duty. At last weekend's semifinal round at the Palestra, isolated fistfights broke out in the stands. Security guards quickly broke up the scuffles, according to an Athletic Department employee. A small fight erupted at the ticket line yesterday, Wildes said, adding that security officers were again able to respond quickly. This year, the championship game was between Ben Franklin High School and the Franklin Learning Center, located a block away from each other just north of Center City, near Broad and Green streets. Franklin High won, 61-56. The two schools have a "big rivalry," according to a Penn Athletic Department official who asked to remain anonymous. Since the city championship was at stake, the crowd was excited. Many spectators stormed the court following Franklin High's close victory, the official said. The championship game is always a big draw. More than 3,700 fans came to the Palestra yesterday, slightly less than last year, according to Penn Ticket Manager Peggy Kowalski. Doors opened at 11 a.m. for the doubleheader. In the Public League girls championship game, Overbrook High School defeated Central High School, 52-51. About five players from the city's high school league end up in the National Basketball Association per year, including basketball great Wilt Chamberlain, NBA players Rasheed Wallace, Jerome Richardson and Doug Overton, and women's basketball star Dawn Staley.

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