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Girls’ Basketball
Eight seniors played their final game in a South Pasadena High uniform Thursday night after the Tigers fell 76-48 to Royal High School in a first round CIF-Southern Section 3A Division girls’ basketball playoff game in Simi Valley.
The Tigers finished with a winning 14-13 overall record, including a 6-2 mark behind unbeaten La Cañada (8-0), winner of the Rio Hondo League. Temple City was third at 2-4, followed by San Marino at 2-6 and Monrovia at 0-6.
With the victory, Arroyo improved to 21-8 and looks ahead to a matchup against La Quinta in second round action on Saturday. La Quinta was a 59-35 first round winner over Beaumont.
Royal, which finished second to 10-0 Camarillo in the Coastal Canyon League with a 7-3 mark, goes into its next contest riding a five game winning streak while La Quinta has won four straight.
Saying goodbye to the SPHS program will be Nicole Jimenez, Gianna Beasely, Charis Au, Sydney Sakamoto, Charlize Kruzic, Emily Newhall, Aiko Sudijono, and Megan Yee. Returning next season are Alyssa Chan, Michelle Jee, Jenna Okohira and Allysan Tse.
“The girls fought hard against Royal,” said South Pasadena High Athletic Director Anthony Chan. “They had great competitive battles with La Canada this season and really excited the league. I am so proud of the way these girls have played all season. When they fell behind in the second half they continued to battle to the last second. For many of the girls, it was their last season and I want to thank them and their families for being part of the Tiger family.”
Boys’ Basketball
South Pasadena High’s hopes of winning a CIF-Southern Section 4A basketball title came to an end Friday night as the Tigers were upended by Whittier 61-35 in a second-round contest on the road.
With the loss, South Pasadena, fortunate to get into the playoffs with a 4-6 Rio Hondo League mark, good for third place, finished the 2019-20 campaign at 18-12. Whittier will move onto the CIF quarterfinals with its 16-11 and 4-4 third place finish in the Del Rio League following the convincing win.
The Tigers reached the second round after its one-sided 77-48 victory over Dunn in their CIF opener last Wednesday following a 2 ½ drive up the California coast past Santa Barbara into the city of Los Olivos.
Hot-shooting Whittier hit from long range, connecting on nine 3-point shots on the night and outscored the Tigers 33-14 in the second half.
The Cardinals played solid defense throughout and forced 10 steals on the night.
Offensively, the Tigers got another outstanding performance out of Billy Reed who led both teams in scoring with 16 points to go along with his 10 rebounds. Teammate Rodney Ortega contributed eight points. Strong on the boards, South Pasadena won the rebounding battle 24-12.
On the other side, Danny Carvillo and Vincent Rizo had 12 points apiece for Whittier. Jeremiah Villescas finished the night with 10 points, hitting a trio of 3-pointers along the way.
The Tigers will be forced to reboot their lineup next season after losing six players to graduation in June. Among them is their top player in Reed, joining Ortega, Ian Healy, Preston Sharkey, Alan Quan and David Newhall in saying goodbye to the program. Returning are Jay Kim, Jonathan Guy, Amar Ebrahim, Niko Lawrence, Michael Ebner, Khalil Murdock and Ryan Tse.
