Pacifica Christian star returns for title run; Orange Lutheran coach proud of seniors
Pacifica Christian High School's boy's basketball team got a lift when senior guard Parker Strauss returned to the lineup for the CIF SoCal Regional finals.
Strauss missed the CIF Division 2A semifinal game against La Mirada with a calf injury. But he returned to the lineup in the state tournament and was one of the inspirational leaders in the Triton's 52-51 victory over Orange Lutheran Tuesday night in the CIF SoCal Division II regional final. "I put in a lot of work with our training staff to get me back out here," said the 6-4 Strauss, who had four points and was a defensive force and leader.
"It was tough watching my guys out there (from the sidelines), I love them to death and I love competing with them. This is the best group I've ever played with. We play together and we play hard and reaped the benefits tonight with all our hard work. "I think we were tougher, we knew we had to rebound, we knew we had to get back transition except early in the game, they got one. Besides that, we locked in and played really well together." Strauss, who will continue his career at Northwestern University, was happy for Pacifica Christian Coach Jeff Berokoff. "I've said it multiple times, he's the best coach in America," he said. "I don't think it's even close. He can inspire anybody. I love playing for him. I don't want to play for anybody else."
Berokoff was happy to have Strauss back. "He doesn't score a ton of points but he fills up a stat sheet and he's the ultimate winner," the coach said. "He does so many things that people don't notice, he's a champion."
Tritons just wanted one more game
Pacifica Christian had to regroup after losing to La Mirada in the CIF 2A semifinals. The Tritons had a week off before starting play in the state tournament. But they remained close, Berokoff said. "I'm very lucky because my kids truly love each other," he said. "They didn't want the season to be over. They just wanted one more game. We just kept preaching love in our program and being together. They really do love each other and I think it shows by how we play."
Big crowd at Orange Lutheran
The stands were packed for Tuesday night's game as fans from both Pacifica Christian and Orange Lutheran showed up. OLu Athletic Director Vince Brown said it was the largest home crowd in several years, about 1,500. "It was standing-room-only, it was a great turnout and a great high school environment," Dunbar said. "You love to play in these types of games, absolutely." "We've got the best fans, without them, we couldn't have done that, they were so loud, it was awesome," said Berokoff.