Depleted Pioneer squad finds going rough in playoff loss, 70-39

Jeff Tully

It was bad enough the Providence High boys’ basketball team had to

face a Loma Loma Academy team that features a 7-footer and a talented

point guard.

But the situation proved to be much more challenging for the

Pioneers on Saturday in their CIF Southern Section Division IVAA

second-round playoff game.

Playing without two injured starters -- and a third starter

hobbled with an ankle injury -- Providence was no match for the

Roadrunners, as it was defeated, 70-39, at home.

Providence (14-10) was missing its leading scorer, Frank Catota,

who was sidelined with an infected knee. Catota averages nearly 14

points a game.

The team was also missing P.J. Sison, who also had an injured

knee.

Starting point guard Justin Nepomuceno -- who suffered a sprained

ankle in the Pioneers’ first-round game Wednesday -- competed against

the Roadrunners (21-5), but saw just limited minutes.

“I would have liked to see how our team would have done at full

strength against [Loma Linda Academy],” said Pioneer coach Paolo

Velasco, whose team finished third in the Liberty League. “I know the

game would have been closer than it was.

“But I still think we would have had a tough time against them.

Loma Linda is a very talented team and they are very aggressive.”

Velasco said his Pioneers hadn’t faced a team the caliber of the

Roadrunners all season. The coach sees that as a problem. He said his

squad needs to play tougher opponents in tournament and nonleague

games if it hopes to compete in the playoffs.

“We just don’t see these types of teams during the regular season,

so it is something very different when we face them in the playoffs,”

Velasco said. “We need to play the better teams if we want to get

better.”

The same scenario plagued the Pioneers in last year’s playoffs, as

they fell in the second round to L.A. Daniel Murphy, 72-58.

“Teams like Loma Linda and Daniel Murphy are a lot more physical

and a lot more aggressive than the teams we are used to,” Velasco

said.

The Roadrunners -- the Christian League champion -- came out

aggressively, and the Pioneers were put at a disadvantage early.

Behind the play of 7-foot Michael Boone and guard Chris Purdom,

Loma Linda Academy jumped out to an 18-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Pioneers were finally able to score with 2:19 left in the

quarter on a putback from Christian Ramirez.

Despite being constantly double- and triple-teamed, Boone was

unstoppable around the basket, as he tallied 14 points, 10 points and

six blocks.

Purdom finished with a game-high 18 points.

As lopsided as the final score was, it could have been worse for

the Pioneers. Roadrunner Coach Gerald Larson took out Boone and

Purdom only a few minutes into the third quarter, and the two didn’t

return.

The coach even put some junior-varsity players who were called up

for the playoffs.

“When I called the JV players up for the playoffs, I told them

they weren’t going to play in any of the games,” Larson said. “But

this was a perfect situation for them to see a little time on the

floor.”

The Pioneers were paced by Andrew Nelson, who had 13 points and

seven rebounds.