SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: Escarcega on Preps: San Gabriel Academy's Journey to CIF-SS Finals Has Been Anything But Smooth.
Eagles will be taking on Oakwood in a CIF-SS Final at Mira Costa HS
San Gabriel Academy Boys Basketball Team early this year at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas. (San Gabriel Academy photo).
When it comes to playing in a CIF Southern Section championship final, there are no usual ways to get there. Everyone's journey is a unique one, every moment so special that it's hard to talk about.
San Gabriel Academy coach Kevin McCloskey is finding out the hard way.
Expectations were high for this team before the season started. They were ranked third in our preseason rankings and many had this team predicted to make Saturday's finals.
As is sometimes the case with a team with high expectations, things can go a little bit astray. The Eagles lost their first three games of the year to Harvard-Westlake, Santa Margarita, and Village Christian. Not many programs could handle a three-game set like this to being the year.
Injuries beset this squad even as they were winning games at the Tarkanian Classic and The Classic at Damien Tournament. The key one was to his son Ethan McCloskey, who has been the glue that has kept this team together.
"We lost Ethan early in the year, but he was 50% to 60% when he played in the Tark Classic," McCloskey said. "But he got hurt again in the Damien Tournament and that was tough. Even though he was out of the lineup, his leadership never stopped. He was coaching on the sidelines and that is one of the things that I was most proud of."
While Ethan was sidelined, it presented an opportunity for senior Jayden Mojica to step up and he was more than delivered. He scored 27 points in San Gabriel Academy's 73-57 win over Bonita in last week's semifinals.
"(Jayden) has been an absolute stud for us," McCloskey said. "He's been caring a heavy load for us all year without Ethan available most of the year and he has been exceptional for us. I can't express more my appreciation to him. We might not be here without him."
They may also not be here without a little bit of luck – which occurred in the first round of the playoffs when Ethan connected on a half-court shot just before the buzzer sounded that gave SGA a 63-60 road win over Rialto.
"We might not be here if Ethan doesn't make that shot," McCloskey said. "But the one thing that I can say about this team, no one was pouting, no one was feeling sorry for themselves."
This brings us to Saturday's final against Oakwood HS in Saturday's 3A final at Mira Costa High School which will have a scheduled tipoff of 8:00 p.m. It will be a contrast in styles as Oakwood loves to shoot from anywhere on the court while the Eagles like to work the ball around the court for a good look at the basket.
"They are a very good team," McCloskey said. "(Joshua Hudis) is a ball player. He can shoot it from anywhere on the court. All they want to do is shoot the ball, but we think that we have a good game plan in place."
The Eagles will also be playing with a heavy heart. David Musaza, who was part of the Middle School's basketball program, passed away suddenly a short time ago. He was a fifth grade on the team and was only 11 years old. There will be a memorial service for Musaza on Saturday morning before the team leaves for Saturday night's game.
It will be one of two games that will involve teams from the area at Mira Costa HS. The other game will be the Division 2AA girls final featuring the top two seeds in the tournament, #1 La Salle vs. #2 Hart.
CLEARING OUT THE NOTEBOOK
- How good was the Classic at Damien Tournament? 10 of the 20 teams that are playing for sectional titles played in the December tournament. They include Etiwanda, Rancho Christian, La Mirada, Orange Lutheran, San Gabriel Academy, St Pius X- St. Matthias, Sage Hill, Valencia/Valencia, St. Bonaventure, and Bosco Tech.
In addition, Auburn HS and Curtis HS of Washington, American Fork, Cyprus, Lone Peak HS of Utah, and Liberty HS of Nevada are still in contention for state championships.
- Flintridge Prep's Ashley Chea, the undisputed leader of the team, was raised in Monterey Park. As you could imagine, the unforeseen events that took place a month ago affected her personally. "My grandmother lives a few blocks away from where the incident occurred," Chea said. "She was with us that weekend. I am sorry for all the families that were affected by what happened. I am just happy that things are safe again."
- History will be made on Saturday afternoon when La Serna hits the floor for its D3AA championship game against St. Pius X-St. Matthias. It will be the first sectional final for the program. Head coach Marino Angulo was a product of Montebello High School and played for longtime coach Gil Gomez. A teammate of Angulo was George Zedan, who is also coaching prep school basketball currently.
Bosco Tech is also making its first appearance in a sectional final.
La Mirada boys and La Salle girls teams are making their second appearance in a sectional final. La Mirada lost on its home court last season to San Juan Hills, 59-49, in a Div. 2A final while La Salle defeated host Cerritos, 45-33, in a Div. 3AA final last year.
Blair (boys) and Flintridge Prep (girls) are the most experienced programs entering Saturday's final and this is their fourth appearance in a sectional final. Both came up short in their last appearances. Blair lost to West Torrance 65-54 in a Div. 3A final in 2017 at Azusa Pacific University, while Flintridge Prep lost to Beverly Hills, 50-46, in a 2018 Div. 3A final at Colony HS. It would be the only finals appearance for the Wolves' Kaitlyn Chen, who is considered the greatest player to ever play for the program. She currently starts at Princeton University.
- This will be the final sectional basketball championships that will be run by Assistant Commissioner Rainer Wulf. A graduate of Bishop Amat, Wulf announced earlier this season that he will be retiring at the end of the sports calendar year in June.
- If you can't attend any of the championship games this weekend, you can watch all of the action on nfhsnetwork.com. You will have to be a paid subscriber to watch the action. The boys and girls Open Division and Div. 1 final from the Honda Center will be streamed live on the Bally Sports Prep Zone App.