GLENDALE, AZ — Sunday’s final day of the fifth annual Section 7 Boys’ Basketball “extravaganza” — my apt one-word description — wraps up with what should be a scintillating “rematch” from a year ago.
Studio City Harvard-Westlake and Miami Columbia — champions from California and Florida in March — hook up in the Powerade Bracket final at 11:45 a.m., on Court 9, in the State Farm Stadium.
Last June, the programs — with much of the same lineup composition as will take the floor — met in a bracket semifinal.
And, despite trailing by 12 points at intermission, the California club scored the final 10 points to edge the Boozer Brothers (Cameron and Cayden)-led “Explorers”, 55-52, in — at the time, at least — what was considered an upset.
When the “real” season began, Coach David Rebibo’s Wolverines went 33-2, closing with wins against St. John Bosco and Centennial (on the road) and St. Joseph (in Sacramento) to win the state’s Open Division championship.
Three starters (Trent Perry, Robert Hinton, and Nik Khamenia), and the sixth man (Christian Horry), from that squad will be in the starting lineup Sunday morning.
Columbus — which finished 26-4 while winning its state’s 7A crown — returns three starters from that clash with Harvard-Westlake 12 months ago.
Jump-shooting specialist Benny Fragela was joined by Cameron and Cayden Boozer — the Class of 2025 sons of former Duke and NBA standout forward Carlos Boozer.
The taller of the twins (not “identical”, for sure), 6-foot-9 Cameron Boozer, was the consensus National Player of the Year. Six-five (or so) Cayden Boozer is the team’s de-facto “point guard”.
The teams crunched high-quality opposition in Saturday evening’s semifinals.
Harvard-Westlake overpowered one of the teams expected to challenge the Wolverines for California supremacy in 2024 (Santa Ana Mater Dei), 80-57.
Earlier in the day they cruised past Richmond Salesian (62-49), which upset them in a Cali Live final the week before in Irvine.
Two and a half hours after Harvard-Westlake had punch its way into the Sunday final, Columbus made quick work of Centennial (71-41), the California Powerhouse from Corona that has two of the best players anywhere in its line, forwards Eric Freeny and Carter Bryant.
In one of the other nine bracket championship games set to be played Sunday, two more programs expected to offered Harvard-Westlake some of its toughest in-state competition, Bellflower St. John Bosco and Eastvale Roosevelt, play for the Slam title at 1 o’clock on Court 4.
SJB overcome early deficits Saturday to pull away from two of Arizona’s best squads, Scottsdale Desert Mountain, and Goodyear Millennium, 68-53 and 70-59, respectively.
Roosevelt took the opposite approach, building double-digit leads against Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep and Sandy (UT) Alta, and then holding off for respective 60-57 and 73-66 wins.
Action underway Sunday morning when games tip off on 12 courts at 8 o’clock.
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