If the Haybalers are to win a Central Coast Section
championship, they will have to get by Salinas and Alisal.
If the Haybalers are to win a Central Coast Section championship, they will have to get by Salinas and Alisal.
Oh yeah, they have to get by No. 6 Silver Creek as well in the CCS quarterfinals of the seven-team bracket. The game is Saturday at 1 p.m. at Leland High School .
No. 3 San Benito (18-9, 5-5 TCAL) is the league’s top defensive team and is sixth in the area, giving up an average of 41 points per game.
“They are primarily guard orientated,” said Baler girls basketball coach Tom Dean about Silver Creek. “One of their guards will only drive to the left side, and one can drop a three from anywhere along the arc if you let her set up. They don’t have anything inside.”
Silver Creek (11-13, 7-5) finished third in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division behind Pioneer and Gunderson.
Silver Creek coach Danny Gancayco said he knows it will be a tough match against a much bigger, physical team.
“It will be rough for us because they are a lot bigger,” Gancayco said. “We don’t have anyone bigger than 5’10” so we will have to run against them. We have descent speed. We have to force their big girls to come out. The only way to prove that is if we can shoot from outside.”
But Dean said his team will be hard to wear out.
“We’re athletic enough we’re we can counter that,” Dean said. “If we wear them down, we shouldn’t have any trouble. They are not very deep. Most of my second tier players would be equal to their first tier. We are going to change some stuff up defensively and add a few new wrinkles.”
Dean, who came out of retirement this year to coach the team, has been almost like a grandfather to the players. All throughout the season he has tried to play everyone in every game. And the girls have responded well to that philosophy.
But the playoffs will be different.
“It will depend on the situation,” Dean said. “If I got some people in who are hot and running well, I will leave them in. We’re in tournament play now, where if you lose you go home.”
San Benito lost both games to No. 2 Salinas this year – 63-54 and 39-34. But the Balers beat No. 1 seed Alisal 49-46 in tournament play.
“I think we have an excellent opportunity to win CCS – we just have to get through Salinas,” Dean said. “If we do that, I think we have enough to beat Alisal. I think the CCS winner will come out of the Salinas-San Benito game.”
“We are a whole lot better than we were the first time we played them,” Dean added. “We have a lot more offense – both against man-to-man and zone. We are a diversified team.”
But the Balers aren’t planning to overlook anyone.
“We know we can’t take anyone lightly,” Dean said. “Every level is a step up.”
