Lonzo Ball (Chino Hills) drives the key during last year’s CIF Division I state final played at Haas Pavilion. Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte) shoots in game vs. Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland. Photos: Willie Eashman & mhsmirador.com.
Here’s what to look for in Saturday night’s historic CIF Open Division boys and girls basketball championship games to be played at Sacramento’s Sleep Train Arena. It will be the final two high school games played in the building previously known as ARCO Arena. Perhaps the most people to ever see a game there was for the 1992 Division I boys game that featured future Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd. Go inside for breakdowns and predicted scores.
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Boys Open:
Chino Hills 34-0 vs. De La Salle (Concord) 31-2, Saturday 8 pm
Written by Ronnie Flores
How Chino Hills Got Here: The Huskies from Chino Hills won the CIF Southern Section Open Division championship and advanced to a CIF state title game for the second consecutive season with a 84-62 win over state No. 2 Bishop Montgomery in the SoCal regional championship. It was the Huskies’ second win over the Knights (71-67) when they were ranked No. 2 in the state this season. The Huskies, the preseason No. 1 ranked team in the state, won three major holiday tournament titles to ascend to the No. 1 spot in the FAB 50 National Rankings at the turn of the year and defended that ranking with big non-league wins. The Huskies have tied the reported Cal-Hi Sports state record for 100 point games in a season (18) and are averaging 99.3 points per game.
How De La Salle Got Here: The Spartans opened up the season ranked No. 9 in the state, two spots behind Modesto Christian. Those two programs were the top ranked teams in NorCal all season and the Spartans, the No. 1 seed in the NorCal Open regional playoffs, defeated the Crusaders, 41-40, in the NorCal open regional final. De La Salle won the East Bay Athletic League title with an undefeated record and won the NCS D1 title with a 47-29 win over league foe Monte Vista of Danville. De La Salle played a tough non-league schedule and didn’t lose to a NorCal foe — dropping contests to Nevada state champion Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic and to Corona Centennial at the Nike Extravaganza.
