[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Miami Christian's Sammy Hernandez and Guillermo Diaz blocked in Leilehua's Antonio Carter.
A 21-hour trek from South Florida to Honolulu did little to take the spring out of the legs of the Miami Christian basketball team as the Victors ran past Leilehua 80-43 in the opening round of the Iolani Prep Classic last night. Victors are victors
at Iolani
By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe Victors, the nation's second-ranked team according to the USA Today Super 25 released yesterday, shook off the effects of a day-long odyssey that took them from Miami to Atlanta, Salt Lake City and San Francisco before arriving in Honolulu to cruise into the tournament quarterfinals.
"I just want to go to a hotel and rest," Miami Christian senior Jesus Verdejo said.
Miami Christian will have a day to rest before taking on Archbishop Carroll (Washington D.C.) in a quarterfinal game tomorrow at 8 p.m. Archbishop Carroll held off Kamehameha 43-36 earlier in the day to advance to the winners' bracket.
Miami Christian guard Guillermo Diaz, who is slated to play at the University of Miami next season, led the Victors into the quarterfinals with 24 points and displayed his 50-inch vertical leap for the crowd at Iolani Gym with several high-flying dunks. Verdejo added 22 and Raul Orta and Josh Bunyan scored 11 each.
"I thought we had a pretty good first half and came out a little sluggish in the second half," Miami Christian coach Art Alvarez said. "I don't think we played our A-game today and I think it had a lot to do with the travel.
"We're just hoping to recuperate and get ready for (tomorrow's) game. I think the day off is going to help us a lot. ... I think as we get our legs you're going to see us get better and better."
Leilehua junior Angelo Massey came off the bench to lead the Mules with 19 points, including three 3-point goals.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Leilehua's Arbe Busano sprinted past Miami Christian's Victor Jose Gamez in an Iolani Classic game last night.
Despite the final score, Leilehua coach Keith Spencer left the gym pleased with his team's effort.
"Some of these guys are from Wahiawa, some of them are from Schofield, they may never see players like this ever in their lives," Spencer said. "Twenty years from now they can say, 'I played against that guy,' because one of those Miami guys might be in the NBA someday.
"We said let's go out there, execute offensively and defensively and whatever the outcome is, that's fine."
Miami Christian took control early, using a 15-3 run in the first quarter to break the game open. Leilehua worked the ball inside early, but struggled to shoot over Miami Christian's front line, and errant passes turned into fast-break points for the Victors.
"Their athleticism is second to none," Spencer said. "You just don't see athletes like that in Hawaii."
The Miami Christian coaches tested Diaz's springs at yesterday's shoot-around by putting a dollar bill on the top of the backboard and seeing if he could reach it.
"We tried to see if he could do it (yesterday) because we had no legs, and he got up and got it," Alvarez said. "He's the type of player where I think nothing will affect him."
Although the Victors got off to a fast start last night, they know tougher games await later in the week as other squads look to knock them off their perch in the national rankings.
"We're coming here all business," Alvarez said. "We're coming out here to make sure we win this thing. We've won some other tournaments, but this is a tournament that we wanted to come to and represent Miami."
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