Lady ‘Balers draw No. 8 Alisal; Trojans’ scrappy play and fans
present obstacles for No. 9 San Benito
It will be loud. It will be intense. And it will be very partisan.
In short, San Benito knows it’s walking into the hornets’ nest.
In an unfortunate scheduling development for the Haybalers, not only did San Benito narrowly miss out on hosting a first-round game in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, but it received a double whammy when the postseason brackets were released.
The ‘Balers drew the No. 9 seed and the resulting trip to No. 8 Alisal. But adding to the visitors’ bad luck is that following their 6pm contest, the Alisal boys team will then host its own first-round game at 8pm–handing a playoff doubleheader to the Trojans’ fans.
“There’s going to be a big crowd–that’s one thing we’ve got to look for,” said San Benito head coach Al Rowe. “There are going to be a lot of people there rootin’ on Alisal. It’s gonna be a gym-full. It’s gonna be lit up over there.”
In the face of that adversity, San Benito knows it needs to bring its ‘A’ game.
Once the ball goes up, the game promises to be a study in contrasts. While the ‘Balers will be happy to turn the game into a fast-break track meet, racing up and down the floor and featuring its perimeter players on offense, Alisal prefers to impose its physical style-of-play at both ends of the court on its opponent.
“They’re not afraid to get in there, body up and get after the ball,” said Rowe of the Trojans. “We know it’s going to be a real scrappy game. You’ve got to recognize that and know that you’re going to get bumped around.”
Meanwhile, Rowe wants his ‘Balers to continue their season-long mantra.
“We just want to keep ’em on their heels,” said the San Benito coach. “Push the ball and keep ’em on their heels.”
On the other end of the court, Rowe hopes that the ‘Balers’ interior defense holds up, forcing the Trojans (13-11) to settle for outside shots.
“We’ll let ’em launch ’em until they prove themselves out there,” said Rowe.
While tonight’s contest will be the teams’ first meeting this year, San Benito and Alisal have five common opponents on the season and have experienced very similar results in those games.
The Haybalers (12-14) lost twice to North Salinas, Gilroy and Salinas, suffered a single loss to Seaside and defeated North Monterey County. The Trojans, meanwhile, lost in their games against North Salinas, Gilroy and Salinas, fell twice to Seaside and defeated North Monterey County two times.
The No. 8-No. 9 match-up and the results in those contests lead Rowe to believe “its going to be a pretty close game.”
The ‘Balers’ coach also wondered how the referees would officiate the game.
“I’m hoping we have three referees out there,” said Rowe. “Are they going to call any little ticky-tack [foul] or let ’em play?”
The ‘Balers appeared lose and confident following their practice on Friday. Bri Romero, a San Benito sophomore, said the team was eager to take the court and get the playoffs underway.
“Our attitudes are positive,” said Romero. “We’re glad we’re here. We’ll just keep playing hard and see how far we make it.”
Should San Benito prevail, it would draw No. 1 Menlo-Atherton in the quarterfinals at Milpitas High School on Saturday.
With the daunting task of taking on Alisal in front of the Trojans’ fans first and foremost on his mind, Rowe was anxious to see how his team responds to the rigors of the postseason.
“We need to play to the playoff level,” said Rowe. “It’s a step above.”
