In an extraordinary twist, Cerritos ended the CIF semi-finals with a seven point lead against Diamond Ranch despite falling behind by as many as thirteen points before halftime. The boys team will move on to Championship Finals on Feb. 23, a first for the team.
Wild cheers erupted from all sides of the gym as both teams entered the court. Cerritos players donned shirts that read “#SoriStrong” in honor of a member that would never leave the hearts of Cerritos students, Ethan Soriano (#22). Before the game began, the basketball team showcased their starting lineup with a short introduction video.
Cerritos kicked off the game with Senior Osinachi, or Osi, Agaranna (#32) making the first shot. However, by the end of the first quarter, it was Diamond bar with a six point lead (16:22) that would grow into 13 points in the middle of second quarter (19:32).
An elaborate halftime performance was put on from the Cerritos Song team during the ten minute break. Once this came to an end, Cerritos and Diamond Ranch traded blows through the third quarter until Senior Shay Pema (#30) scored a three point field goal, making the score 45:44 and finally closing the gap with the opposing team.
Both teams fought for dominance with a tight score of 47 to 45 as they moved towards the fourth quarter. With each team scoring point after point, Cerritos ran themselves into a five point lead. There was under a minute left and the outcome of the game became clear.
Senior Tobenna Ozoagu (#5) ended the game by stealing the ball and the attention of the audience as he threw it high up into the air, a signal to us all that the boys varsity basketball team had won. Students and staff on the bleachers roared and ran down to meet with the rest of the team; the final score was 68:61.
Coach Watanabe expressed his gratitude to his players after the match, admiring how many of them “stepped up” in the face of tough competition brought by Diamond Ranch. He also thanked Principal Walker, a former basketball coach himself, for inviting him to be on the Cerritos Basketball team, “or else we wouldn’t be here right now.”
When asked about the next CIF game, #12 and Senior Jonathan Guerrero firmly declared, “We’re bringing the ring home this year.” Come cheer for Boys Basketball at the CIF Championship Finals at 7pm on Feb. 23.
