The usual warmup routine for a basketball team goes as follows: prep in the locker room, a walk on to the court, layup lines, then a pre-game huddle. Piedmont Hills does all this in its own unique way. Although head coach Pete Simos could talk to his team about keys to win the game, he chooses not to. Although captains Andrew Nwachukwu, Keon Paulino and Alex Aguilar could motivate their team and remind them about their goals, they choose not to. Why?
“It’s our culture," said Paulino. "We never talk before the game."
This culture and discipline has helped boost the Pirates to a sensational 26-2 mark and #2 seed in the CCS Division playoffs, and even though the Pirates probably deserve the #1 seed over Bellarmine, Simos didn’t complain, didn’t talk, and simply accepted his team’s position.
So as the Pirates challenge themselves to see how far they can take their season, all eight teams in the D-I quarterfinals got to witness the Piedmont culture up close on Saturday afternoon as the Pirates defended their home court one last time with a 65-47 win over the Alvarez Eagles to advance to the D-I semifinals.
With its catalysts clicking from the start, Piedmont Hills used its strong offensive outing to propel an early 20-9 first quarter lead against the Eagles. Alvarez’s 2-3 defense and full-court press could not slow down the aggressive play of Aguilar and the shooting of JJ Espanola, which propelled the Pirates to the victory.
Piedmont started the second quarter on a 5-0 run in 59 seconds. Paulino had one of the most captivating plays of the game. After turning the ball over, he caught up to his man and sent his shot away with an emphatic block that got the crowd up off their seats.
Espanola scored 16 points for Piedmont. Aguilar led the team with 26 points, shooting an efficient 11-of-14 from the field. As usual, Piedmont’s suffocating defense and solid rebounding gave the Pirates two major advantages to down Alvarez, who finished the season at 16-10. The Pirates fought harder for loose balls more, outrebounding the Eagles 16-9 through the first 3 quarters.
Alvarez was one of Piedmont’s most physical challenges all season long. The Eagles got away with many fouls that the refs did not blow the whistle.
“The league we play in is really physical," said Piedmont Hills senior power forward David Rognas. "We’re used to keeping our heads up and being composed. That’s what Simos preaches - staying under control."
Sophomore Ronnie Turner led the Eagles with 15 points, and junior Mitch Wood added 10. Heading into next season, these two will have much experience (regular season and CCS) to attempt to lead Alvarez back to the CCS playoffs, as nine seniors played their final game for the Eagles.
Playing for the final time this season on their home court, the Pirates made Bellarmine scout their potential championship opponents’ every detail. The Pirates will have to pass their next test first, the D-I semi-finals on Wednesday night (7:15) against San Benito at Independence High School, before they can seek their revenge on Bellarmine from 2004, a year which featured a similar scenario to this season. In 2004, it was an 15-11 Bellarmine team that captured the CCS title with a 67-46 win over a 24-2 Piedmont Hills team. The only difference: in 2004, Piedmont Hills did have that top seed.
“I really want Bellarmine,” Paulino said. “My brother played on that 2004 [Piedmont] team; I was a little brother to that team.”
But as Paulino mentioned, each game will be taken one at a time as San Benito (19-6) is next up to experience the culture of the Pirates.
