Bell Gardens Stuns Montebello at the Buzzer
By Mario Villegas, Exclusive to EGP
By Mario Villegas, Exclusive to EGP
With his team down by a point and only 2.4 seconds to play, Bell Gardens High School boys’ basketball Coach Al Cuevas decided to let his players create an opportunity, rather than call time out to diagram a high-percentage shot.
The move paid off, as Albert Chavez drilled a 3-point shot from mid-court as time expired to lift Bell Gardens to a stunning 62-60 victory over Montebello Tuesday in a pivotal Almont League boys’ basketball game at Bell Gardens.
Chavez’ heroics set off a wild celebration with cheer and drill team members, and fans joining players to rush the court and mob the junior guard who briefly ran around the court before lining up for the traditional post game handshake between opponents.
“My assistant coaches always want me to call a time out and set something up in situations like that,” Cuevas said. “But because of the way we play, we seem to create good opportunities for ourselves, so I said, ‘let’s just go. Let’s just go.’ But I kind of was hoping for closer shot than half court.”
After missing his first free throw attempt, Montebello’s Michael Carabes converted on the second to give the Oilers a 60-59 lead and it appeared Montebello was on its way to the win.
But the Lancers quickly in bounded the ball into the hands of Chavez, who scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. In the first half, Chavez followed a missed 3-pointer with a short jumper as time ran out to bring his team to within 33-29 at halftime.
Bell Gardens improved to 12-10 overall and went 3-2 in the first half of Almont League play. Montebello (13-10) dropped to 2-3 in league.
“This was a huge game for both teams, and we were just lucky enough to win it,” Cuevas said. “Montebello is a real good team and (Coach) Marino Angulo does such a good job coaching them. It’s always a tough battle against them.”
Said Angulo: “We beat them at the buzzer at our place last season, so they owed us one.”Montebello led for most of the game Tuesday only to have Bell Gardens overcome numerous deficits. The Oilers hurt their cause by missing five of seven free throws in the game’s final two minutes. They also had trouble against the Lancers’ pressure defense.
“That’s what happened at the end,” Angulo said. “We couldn’t take care of the ball and we opened up the door to give them an opportunity. We had too many turnovers. They’re a guard-oriented team, their guards are fast and they killed us.”
Bell Gardens was also led by Enrique Escobedo with 15 points and by Travon Williams with 10. Gilbert Ceniceros added eight points.
Andrew Torres scored 19 to lead Montebello, which also got 10 points from Antonio Worthy and Carabes. Daniel Flores had nine points.
Bell Gardens plays host to San Gabriel Friday on homecoming night. Montebello travels to Alhambra. Both games will tip off at 7.
The move paid off, as Albert Chavez drilled a 3-point shot from mid-court as time expired to lift Bell Gardens to a stunning 62-60 victory over Montebello Tuesday in a pivotal Almont League boys’ basketball game at Bell Gardens.
Chavez’ heroics set off a wild celebration with cheer and drill team members, and fans joining players to rush the court and mob the junior guard who briefly ran around the court before lining up for the traditional post game handshake between opponents.
“My assistant coaches always want me to call a time out and set something up in situations like that,” Cuevas said. “But because of the way we play, we seem to create good opportunities for ourselves, so I said, ‘let’s just go. Let’s just go.’ But I kind of was hoping for closer shot than half court.”
After missing his first free throw attempt, Montebello’s Michael Carabes converted on the second to give the Oilers a 60-59 lead and it appeared Montebello was on its way to the win.
But the Lancers quickly in bounded the ball into the hands of Chavez, who scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. In the first half, Chavez followed a missed 3-pointer with a short jumper as time ran out to bring his team to within 33-29 at halftime.
Bell Gardens improved to 12-10 overall and went 3-2 in the first half of Almont League play. Montebello (13-10) dropped to 2-3 in league.
“This was a huge game for both teams, and we were just lucky enough to win it,” Cuevas said. “Montebello is a real good team and (Coach) Marino Angulo does such a good job coaching them. It’s always a tough battle against them.”
Said Angulo: “We beat them at the buzzer at our place last season, so they owed us one.”Montebello led for most of the game Tuesday only to have Bell Gardens overcome numerous deficits. The Oilers hurt their cause by missing five of seven free throws in the game’s final two minutes. They also had trouble against the Lancers’ pressure defense.
“That’s what happened at the end,” Angulo said. “We couldn’t take care of the ball and we opened up the door to give them an opportunity. We had too many turnovers. They’re a guard-oriented team, their guards are fast and they killed us.”
Bell Gardens was also led by Enrique Escobedo with 15 points and by Travon Williams with 10. Gilbert Ceniceros added eight points.
Andrew Torres scored 19 to lead Montebello, which also got 10 points from Antonio Worthy and Carabes. Daniel Flores had nine points.
Bell Gardens plays host to San Gabriel Friday on homecoming night. Montebello travels to Alhambra. Both games will tip off at 7.
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