If the San Benito High boys’ basketball team ends up winning its first-ever Central Coast Section championship, it will have earned it — the hard way.
The Haybalers (20-4) were awarded the top seed in a loaded Division I bracket that features No. 2 Piedmont Hills, No. 3 Menlo-Atherton, and No. 4 Bellarmine.
San Benito received a bye into Saturday’s quarterfinal round at Piedmont Hills High in San Jose, where it will play the winner of the Oak Grove-Fremont contest at a time to be determined.
“It feels good to be No. 1, but in my opinion, there are four No. 1s in this bracket,” Balers coach David Kaplansky said. “We’ll take the No. 1 seed as a privilege and honor, but at the same time we know how tough the teams are and that any of the top four seeds could’ve been a No. 1 seed.”
Indeed, although none of the top four seeds were league champions — San Benito finished in second in the Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division; No. 2 Piedmont Hills was the runner-up in the Blossom Valley League Mount Hamilton Division; No. 3 Menlo-Atherton finished in a tie for third in the Peninsula Athletic League South Division; and Bellarmine (9-16) went just 2-12 in finishing seventh out of eight teams in perhaps the toughest league in the state in the West Catholic League — all four teams have quality resumes boasting wins against some of the section’s best.
In fact, the top three seeds were all in the running to be moved up to the Open Division had they won one or two more games.
Make no mistake about it: The top four seeds are all pretty close in stature, and there’s not a huge dropoff after that, either. To wit: No. 8 Oak Grove (14-11) is fresh off a victory over Piedmont Hills in the BVL Mount Hamilton tournament championship game.
“Oak Grove is the hottest team in the tournament right now,” Kaplansky said. “We’re going to have a tough battle with whoever we play on Saturday.”
Last year, the Balers were the No. 2 seed and went one and done in the playoffs, falling to Carlmont-Belmont, 42-31. San Benito had a long layoff and wasn’t particularly sharp entering the game against a tough Carlmont squad.
Fast forward to this year, and the leadup to the postseason is similar. The Balers will have gone eight days since playing its last game, against the last-place team in the league, no less.
“Having a week off is not what you want heading into this tournament,” Kaplansky said.
To that end, Kaplansky scheduled a scrimmage with Palma on Wednesday to keep his players mentally and physically sharp.
“Hopefully the scrimmage will get the guys ready and toughen them up a bit so it can springboard us for Saturday,” Kaplansky said. “Competition has to be key, and something had to change from last year because we were flat up until the fourth quarter (against Carlmont). We’re looking to last year as an experience we don’t want to revisit again.”
Kaplansky feels his team is better equipped to handle the rigors of the postseason. The Balers displayed tremendous ball movement, spacing and shot selection in the team’s regular-season finale against Monte Vista Christian.
“I like the rhythm we have going,” he said.
Unlike a lot of teams, San Benito doesn’t rely on just one or two players to carry the scoring load. Instead, the Balers have a balanced scoring attack featuring Hyram Miskin (15.2 points per game), Robbie Skinner (12.6), Shraee Harrison (10.2), and R.J. Collins (10.0).
Point guard Tony Diaz and guard Andrew Breen are underrated players who have contributed in a variety of ways this season. It won’t be easy, but the Balers are prepared for a championship run.
“That’s what we’re searching for, that’s the desire of the program, to win a CCS championship,” Kaplansky said. “We did it with the girls in 2008 and 2009, and now it’s time for the boys to at least get to the finals. I think that’s a legitimate goal.”
