A new Pinto’s leading the charge

maleathleteofweekEstancia High’s Blake Pinto is not related to Carlos Pinto, but there are some similarities on the basketball court.In recent years, the Estancia High boys’ basketball program has been synonymous with the last name Pinto.

Carlos Pinto was the team’s go-to guy for four seasons. Last year, the 6-foot-4 guard was an All-CIF Division III-A first-team selection, led the Eagles to their first Golden West League title since 1997 and the CIF Southern Section Division III-A semifinals, and was the Daily Pilot’s Player of the Year.

Now another Pinto is leading the charge for Estancia -- junior point guard Blake Pinto.

The two are not related, although people assume Blake is Carlos’ younger brother.

You can’t blame people if they see the resemblance on the basketball court. Blake Pinto has emerged as one of Coach Jason Simco’s top players.

Pinto scored a career-high 19 points, including three three-pointers, in Estancia’s 56-46 victory over Laguna Beach Dec. 23. He also netted 12 points in a 52-42 loss against Corona del Mar Dec. 21.

“He’s our floor leader,” Simco said of the first-year varsity starter. “He’s our key guy. We go as Blake goes. If he plays well, we play well.”

The Eagles got off to a slow start this season, learning how to live life without Carlos Pinto, who led the team in almost every statistical category. But the team is starting to emerge, with Blake Pinto leading the charge.

“Last year he (Carlos Pinto) took a lot of the shots,” Blake Pinto said. “This year, we’re back to playing more of a team game. We’re working our way back up.”

Blake Pinto, along with Michael McDaniels and Dallas Kopp, are the Eagles’ top offensive threats.

Before this season, McDaniels and Kopp were known commodities. Simco tried to be discreet about Pinto, but the secret got out.

“I was trying to keep him hidden before we start league,” Simco said. “He’s always been a great athlete, but now he’s starting to take more of a leadership role and he’s starting to earn respect from his teammates. We put him on other teams’ best players and he’s really improved his shooting.”

Pinto is a threat penetrating to the basket or knocking down shots from outside.

“Lately, I’ve been scoring most of my points from outside, but I used to score most of my points by driving to the basket,” Pinto said.

Pinto specializes in running the fast break -- getting inside and kicking the ball out or taking it all the way to the rim -- but admits he is a bit reluctant to ease the pace.

“My weakness is slowing it down when the game needs to be slowed down,” he said.

If Pinto had his way, he’d speed things up all the way to the CIF championship game.

“We have four people back from last year’s team that played a lot, and last year’s team went to the CIF semifinals,” Pinto said. “We should be able to get there, if not further. We can run and defend and we have the talent.”

The Blake Pinto File

Hometown: Costa Mesa

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 155

Sport: Basketball

Position: Point guard

Coach: Jason Simco

Favorite food: Bread

Favorite movie: “King Kong”

Favorite athletic moment: “The Costa Mesa game last year when Carlos Pinto [no relation] hit the game-winning shot.”

Week in review: Pinto netted a career-high 19 points, including three three-pointers, in the Estancia boys’ basketball team’s 56-46 victory over Laguna Beach Dec. 23 in a nonleague game. Pinto also had 12 points in the team’s 52-42 loss against Corona del Mar Dec. 21.20051230GP1MFNDDNo Caption20051230isactbncKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)