Staff photo by Watchara Phomicinda
ONTARIO — Hoosiers Lives!
Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High School has never known what it feels like to play for a CIF-Southern Section boys basketball title — until now..
The Cardinals, in an environment that looked more like a real-life version of the movie ‘Hoosiers,’ got 50 points from super junior Jose Estrada, including 25 in a key third-quarter run, and Cantwell advanced to its first divisional championship game with an 82-62 victory over host Ontario Christian in a Division 4A semifinal before an overlfow crowd.
Estrada, who is averaging more than 30 points and who has scored 156 points in the playoffs, saved his best for the most-important part, scoring all the Cardinals points during a 15-0 run that helped them outscore the Knights, 35-16 in the third for a 71-51 advantage going into the fourth.
The Cardinals (28-4) advance to next week’s championship game at Anaheim Arena against top seed Pacific Hills. CIF-SS will announce the time on Monday.
Cantwell coach George Zedan: “I haven’t been coaching very long. But I’ve never seen anything like that. He got hot at the right time. He’s our best guy, our leader. But he’s also a humble kid. His teammates love him, our fans love him. There’s no arrogance on his part. He just does his job. His job is to score, and that’s what he did.”