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Bishop Montgomery steals the show By John Klima Staff Writer Daily Breeze, March 2, 2008 ANAHEIM For a split second, when Aaron Ware was setting up Justin Cobbs for a dunk late in the fourth quarter of Bishop Montgomerys 60-45 victory in the CIF-Southern Section Division II-AA final Saturday at the Honda Center, the pair satisfied their urge for showmanship. Ware fed and Cobbs finished. Ware had started the play when he stole the ball. A play before, it had been Ware dunking off a play that began when his childhood chum, Leland Jones, blocked a shot and initiated the transition. This sequence is a story of Bishop Montgomerys season, a team well aware of its offensive capabilities that always enjoyed the flavor of a flashy play. But both these plays, which turned a seven-point lead with 2:52 to play into a comfortable 15-point victory, began with defense. For all the talent that Bishop Montgomerys four guards possess, it spent much of the season defying the need to play it. Bishop Montgomery played poorly in its first league loss to rival Serra, then played better at Serra, but lost the Del Rey League title when Serra played an exceptional game. The Saturday morning following the loss, Coach Doug Mitchell told his team about the 2002 season. That team lost its last league game to squander the league title before the playoffs. The 2002 team charged through the playoffs and won the CIF title. This Bishop Montgomery (24-6) team won the schools fifth CIF boys basketball title and the fourth in Mitchells 19-year career. Mitchell is a defense-first coach, but he spent vast sums of energy trying to get his talented team to understand that if it played defense, a championship might come. It took us a while, two or three months to buy into what he was saying, said Ware, who scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds. We realized it was possible. That Saturday morning, we stayed in for two hours and did nothing but defense. We did basic stuff. We did box-out drills. We made sure we closed up. Bishop Montgomery led 22-14 after the first quarter with Cobbs supplying Kamal Atallah with a behind-the-back pass for a 3-pointer as time expired. Bishop Montgomery extended the lead to 39-29 at halftime. Cobbs scored eight of his 17 points in the second quarter, including two 3-pointers. The defense started with the offense. It was tougher to get this team to understand that. Kids are hard-headed, Cobbs said. We didnt want to think about what he was saying. So we finally decided that Coach wasnt lying. Mitchell might have a second career as a salesman, but he believed in his product. For 19 years, weve tried to do that here, Mitchell said. We had a gifted group of four guards who are each tough to guard. It wasnt hard. If you guard, you will score. In its last four playoff victories, Bishop Montgomery is giving up 51 points per game, more than enough for its offense to overcome. We always thought we could turn it on with a switch, guard Mike Panaggio said, When we got to the playoffs, we decided that we needed to be better than we had been or would lose. We wanted to see how far we could go because we felt like we had underachieved. That notion will not be associated with this team. Of Wares 15 redbounds, 12 were defensive. Jones scored six points but had 11 rebounds and four blocks. Panaggio scored 14 points. Bishop Montgomery out-rebounded Colony (22-10) 40-34. Bishop Montgomery also kept its hands in front of Colony standout Tyler Lamb, limiting him to nine points and 3-of-19 from the floor. Colony shot 29 percent (17-for-57). For a team that used to feel defiant about defense, it was a well-rounded defensive effort. The team that bought into it can now buy championship rings and await a probable state regional playoff home game on Tuesday. Ware and Jones, who are both four-year starters and friends, finally fulfilled the ambition they had as freshmen, when the assumed the ring would be waiting for them. Theres a sense of relief that we got it done, Jones said. There was pressure to win and to get it done with the group of guys. Thats satisfying. John.klima@dailybreeze.com
CIF-Southern Section Division II-AA
Championship
BISHOP MONTGOMERY (60) Bibbins 2, Cobbs 17 (5
assists, 5 steals), Panaggio 14 (6 rebounds), Atallah
3, Miller 3, Jones 6 (11 rebounds, 4 steals), Ware 15
(15 rebounds). 3 pointers: Cobbs 2, Panaggio 2,
Atallah 1, Miller 1. RECORD: 24-6.
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John Klima