Dominic Zanella’s pair of free throws late give San Benito a
53-52 win on Tuesday; the Haybalers will see league rival Salinas
today, Wednesday, at 3 p.m., in the championship of the Condor
Christmas Classic at North Monterey County High School in
Castroville
CASTROVILLE
Dominic Zanella’s two clutch free throws in the final minute of regulation Tuesday night allowed the San Benito boys basketball team to leapfrog Evergreen Valley and hold on for a 53-52 victory at the Condor Christmas Classic in Castroville.
Coupled with a 59-51 win over Carmel on Monday night, the Haybalers advance to Wednesday’s championship final against league rival Salinas. The title game will be held today, Wednesday, at 3 p.m., at North Monterey County High School in Castroville.
Playing for first place may not have appeared to be in San Benito’s sights late in their game against Evergreen Valley, however.
The ‘Balers exploded for 22 points in the third quarter, including 11 points from San Benito guard Eric Elayda, and carried 45-36 lead into the fourth quarter. But the Cougars had plenty of fouls to give, and came out for the final stanza rather aggressive as a result.
“They had fouls to give, put a lot of pressure on us and we turned the ball over quite a bit,” San Benito head coach John Becerra said. “Eventually, they did foul us enough to put us on the free throw line.”
Trailing 52-51 with approximately 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Becerra said, San Benito post player Dominic Zanella went to the charity stripe for a 1-and-1 situation.
He made both attempts and supplied San Benito with a narrow 53-52 lead. Zanella finished the game with 14 points behind a 6 of 7 performance from the free throw line.
Evergreen Valley had several chances to reclaim the lead in the waning seconds, though, but the ‘Balers managed to foil each attempt.
“The defense held them down, but it was a tight game,” Becerra said. “We held our own.”
The one-point win now places San Benito (8-4) into the title game against Salinas (11-2), which defeated Seaside 57-41 on Monday and San Lorenzo Valley 66-49 on Tuesday.
“They’re very good, very tall,” Becerra said of the Cowboys. “Hopefully, we’re a little more scrappy than they are and we’ll battle them.”
Last year, the ‘Balers finished in third place at the Condor Christmas Classic.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SB 11 12 22 8 53
EV 13 7 16 16 52
San Benito (53) – Vallejo 3 0 1-2 7, Elayda 1 3 0-0 11, Canchola 1 1 0-1 5, Rickard 4 0 0-1 8, Corral 2 0 0-0 4, Zanella 6 0 6-7 14.
