Eagles’ title win has a familiar ring

Rick Devereux

Carlos Pinto has been here before. So has the Estancia High boys

basketball program.

The Eagles’ 53-40 win over Santa Ana Valley at Garden Grove High

marked the third time in four years Estancia was crowned champion of

the Garden Grove tournament.

Pinto, the 6-foot-4 senior, was named MVP of the tournament for

the second time in three years. Junior guard Shaun Markley was also

named to the all-tournament squad.

“Shaun played great the whole tournament,” Coach Jason Simco said.

“Carlos is Carlos. You know what you’re getting with him.”

Pinto was plagued with foul trouble for most of the second half,

limiting him to four points after intermission.

“I was forcing it a little,” said Pinto, who finished with a

game-high 14 points. “But once I got three fouls, I knew [Santa Ana

Valley] was going to double team me, so I just looked for an open man

[to pass to].”

Estancia (7-1) never trailed, but the Falcons (6-3) never

relented.

“I give [Santa Ana Valley] all the credit in the world,” Simco

said. “They played hard the whole game and are extremely

well-coached.”

Simco and the Eagles got Santa Ana Valley out of rhythm on offense

by switching from a pressure defense, to a zone and then to

man-to-man on almost every other Falcon possession.

“We were mixing it up a bit [on defense],” Simco said. “We would

see something, they would make an adjustment and then we would have

to change it up again. It was like a chess match.”

The Eagles created a 25-19 halftime lead thanks to a 6-0 run to

start the second quarter.

Hugo Escobedo sank a jumper 2:40 into the quarter to break a 12-12

tie. Then, Markley and Pinto connected on jump shots on the next two

possessions to surge to an 18-12 advantage. Pinto hit two free throws

with eight seconds remaining to send Estancia into halftime with a

25-19 lead.

With Pinto in foul trouble, the second half belonged to Escobedo.

The senior came off the bench and scored 11 of his season-high 13

points in the second half, including seven in the final 4:36.

“Hugo was huge,” Simco said. “He was diving on the floor and

making things happen because he was hustling. We need that type of

hustle from the whole team.”

The hustle was apparent on defense for Estancia. The Eagles did

not allow Santa Ana Valley to score a field goal in the final 3:20 of

the third quarter or the first 1:15 of the fourth quarter.

“That last three minutes of the third quarter and the beginning of

the fourth, that’s they way we have to play all the time,” Simco told

his team after the game.

Estancia outscored the Falcons, 12-6, in that span to open up a

39-28 lead.

“We knew that if we played our game, we would be able to win,”

Markley said. “We play good defense no matter what. It’s our offense

that is starting to come around now.”

Markley hit a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter to stop a

Santa Ana Valley surge. After Martin Jimenez hit a three-pointer and

Rick Lopez converted two free throws to pull the Falcons within six

points, Markley nailed a bomb from behind the arc to give Estancia a

42-33 lead.

Escobedo created a turnover on Santa Ana Valley’s next possession.

He was rewarded on the Eagles’ subsequent offensive set when he hit a

three-pointer from the right corner to stretch the lead to 12.

“Hugo stepped up for us,” Pinto said. “When he made that three, it

stopped all of [Santa Ana Valley’s] momentum and gave it to us. I

think that shot really hurt them.”

Escobedo made a free throw and then converted a three-point

opportunity when he made another free throw after getting fouled on a

fast break.

“During halftime, coach told the seniors to step up,” Escobedo

said. “So I just tried to step up.”

Escobedo’s outburst gave the Eagles a 49-37 lead. Lopez hit a

three-pointer for the Falcons with 3:21 left, the last points for

Santa Ana Valley.

Pinto made two free throws and made a perfect bounce pass from

beyond the three-point line to Markley under the basket for the 53-40

final.

Escobedo tried to deflect credit for the win, Estancia’s fifth in

a row.

“This was really a team win,” he said. “It’s all about the team.

The whole team played well.”

Estancia plays host to Laguna Beach Thursday at 7 p.m.

*--*

Garden Grove tournament

Championship game Estancia 53, Santa Ana

Valley 40

Score by Quarters

Estancia 10 15 10 18 -- 53

Santa Ana Valley 8 11 7 14 -- 40

Estancia -- Pinto 14, McDaniels, 2, Sh.

Markley 10, Montillo 4, Kopp 2, Argumedo 2,

Verrette 6, Sc. Markley 0, Escobedo 13,

Fryslie 0, McKendry 0. 3-pt. goals -- Sh.

Markley 2, Escobedo 1. Fouled out -- Kopp.

Technicals -- None. Santa Ana Valley --

Romero 6, Morales 0, Sosa 7, Estrada 10, R.

Lopez 10, Bravo 2, Jimenez 5, H. Lopez 0,

Debeneditto 0. 3-pt. goals -- Jimenez 1, R.

Lopez 1. Fouled out -- None. Technicals --

None.

*--*