BOYS BASKETBALL: Palo Alto Advances to CCS Semis with Win Over Cupertino

Palo Alto 52, Cupertino 42

The Star: Palo Alto sophomore EJ Floreal is the X factor anytime his team squares off  against its pesky Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division rival, Cupertino High. For the second straight time against the Pioneers, Floreal flourished inside and the Vikings won the game. The underclassman made the most of his touches on the inside and took advantage of several fast break chances, finishing nicely down low to tune of a game-high 19 points when all was said and done.

Sophomore Israel Hakim also had 10 points in the win to move the Vikings onto the Central Coast Section Division II semifinal round.

The Turning Point: Foul trouble can hinder a teams aggression level at times, but when Cupertino all-everything junior Gokul Natesan fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, the loss spelled the end of the road for the Pioneers. Only down eight points with five minutes and change left to play, the offensively-limited Pioneers lost their go-to man and couldn’t recover down the stretch. Floreal and Hakim each attacked the glass and converted on second chance opportunities, pushing the Paly lead into double digits deep into the final quarter of play.

The Quote: “We finally stopped the 3’s,” Palo Alto big man EJ Floreal said after the win. “If you look at the last couple of games against them, they had 15,16,17.. 3’s or something. We wanted to make them try something different. It feels great right now. I’m very happy to get the win and to move on to the next round.”  

 What's Next? Palo Alto will have to deal with Division II top seed Archbishop Mitty Prep-San Jose on Tuesday night. Led by super sophomore Aaron Gordon—this year’s West Catholic Athletic League player of the year—Mitty dispatched of Pioneer High 67-45 in the nightcap on Saturday.

Bottom Line: It was a solid victory for a Vikings team that has plenty of scoring options to choose from, but will need to protect the ball much better against a superior Mitty lineup. Floreal shined on the playoff stage as did crafty southpaw Hakim. Crowding the Cupertino shooters all game long—mainly Natesan and point guard Terry Chu—the Vikings will able to force their opponents shooters into the middle and away from the 3-point line.

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Palo Alto Scoring

Floreal-24

Prati-6

Adams-7

Jones-6

Hakim-10

Schmarzo-3

Wong-1