Coach: ‘I think things are going to be looking up for us next
year’
They won 20 games. They made it to the playoffs where they
advanced all the way to the Central Coast Section Division I
quarterfinals
– and no one expected them to do so.
That’s why San Benito High boys basketball coach John Becerra
remained positive after seeing his No. 6 seeded Balers fall 76-48
to No. 3 seed Serra in last Saturday’s CCS quarterfinals at
Independence High in San Jose.
Coach: ‘I think things are going to be looking up for us next year’
They won 20 games. They made it to the playoffs where they advanced all the way to the Central Coast Section Division I quarterfinals – and no one expected them to do so.
That’s why San Benito High boys basketball coach John Becerra remained positive after seeing his No. 6 seeded Balers fall 76-48 to No. 3 seed Serra in last Saturday’s CCS quarterfinals at Independence High in San Jose.
“We had a great season. We won 20 games. There aren’t too many teams that do that,” he said. “We had a great record and played against a lot of great teams. We didn’t play any soft teams. To be able to do that against a strong schedule is outstanding.”
Heading into the season, Becerra had some concerns about his team’s size and its ability to put up points. But the Balers proved time and time again that they could win with strong, relentless play on defense and sound basketball on both ends of the court.
In the Tri County Athletic League the Balers posted a record of 9-3 – good enough for a second-place finish behind Palma.
In the opening round of the playoffs at home the Balers ousted San Jose’s Independence High School by a 61-44 margin before succumbing to the private Catholic School in San Mateo – a team the Balers didn’t match up as well against.
“Serra is so much bigger and stronger than Independence was,” said Becerra after the game. “All of the private schools usually win or are in the finals because their kids can go there from anywhere. I think we could have competed with Watsonville or Piedmont Hills, the public schools, but the private schools are different.”
Becerra went on to say that although the current playoff setup may seem unfair that it is “the way it is.”
“We played aggressive and physical against them, but Serra is at a different level of play than we are at right now,” he said.
Although Serra was heavily favored heading into the contest, the game might have been a little closer had the Balers had their leading scorer Tyler Ruiz, who missed both playoff games with a twisted ankle. Not having him against Independence was one thing but the Balers knew that they needed to be firing on all cylinders against the Padres.
Serra jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They were able to do so thanks to the hot hand of Tom Leahy, who was able to nail a couple of jumpers from beyond the three-point arc early on. It allowed the Padres to open up a commanding, 19-8 lead by the end of the opening quarter.
With Leahy being such a serious threat on the outside, Becerra had to adjust his defensive scheme somewhat, which allowed the middle lanes to open up for Steven Lumpkins, who racked up points in the paint and would wind up scoring 25 to lead both schools.
By halftime, Serra had a 43-25 lead.
In the third period, the Padre defense held the Balers to just five points, which paved way for a 31-point lead. The huge lead allowed Serra the luxury of being able to begin substituting early in the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss, it wasn’t all bad news for the Balers. Senior guard Marty Bueno scored 15 points to lead his team and Brian Haggett scored nine in the losing effort.
The Balers will lose 10 seniors to graduation next year but with a strong group of underclassmen coming up Becerra is expecting his squad to retool and make the playoffs again next year.
“Our JV team went 18-9 and the freshman team was 12-0 so we’ve got some good young players,” he said. “I think things are going to be looking up for us next year.”
