San Gabriel Academy Boys Win California State Championship
The San Gabriel Academy boys basketball team captured a Division 3 California state championship on Friday, March 14, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. (Todd Comm / AdventistHoops)
The San Gabriel Academy (SGA) boys basketball team not only made history by winning its first California state championship ever—it also made denominational history by becoming the first Seventh-day Adventist school in the largest state in America to win a Golden State title in any division. SGA did it in the California Interscholastic Federation’s Division 3 (most California Adventist schools compete in the smaller divisions 5-7), a notable feat for a Southern California academy with a high school enrollment of only 155.
On a rainy, windy Friday afternoon at the Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento, the Eagles faced off against King’s Academy (KA) from the Bay Area city of Sunnyvale. In contrast to KA’s smaller, guard-heavy lineup that likes to push the pace in transition, SGA was bolstered by their 6’11” sophomore center, Mahamdou Diop, and plenty of additional size throughout the regular rotation.
San Gabriel Academy boys compete in California’s Division 3, whereas most Adventist schools in the state compete in smaller divisions 5-7. (Todd Comm /AdventistHoops)
Both teams started relatively slow, feeling each other out, and possibly shedding big-game jitters. SGA trailed 2-3 with 4:30 left in the first quarter. Junior Mamadou Traore’s backdoor layup gave SGA the lead at 4-3, and they would never trail again, though the game would return to a single point differential in the closing seconds. The Eagles went on a 9-0 run in the second quarter and opened up a 17-point lead with 1:39 left in the first half, going into the break with a 31-18 advantage. In the third quarter, KA held the Eagles to only five points, going on a big run themselves to cut the deficit to just four, with SGA leading 36-32 going into the final quarter.
Diop asserted himself in the fourth, scoring eight straight to give the Eagles a 50-40 lead with just minutes remaining, as it seemed SGA was in control. Then KA sprang a desperation full court press, forcing SGA into a series of turnovers as the lead dwindled, and after a KA three-pointer with 15 seconds left, pulled within one point. KA was forced to foul, sending sophomore guard Xavier Wang to the line for two free throws. “I was super nervous at that time, but I had to stay calm and collected,” said Wang. “The crowd was going crazy, so I just had to make it—that was my mentality the whole time.”
Wang sank both free throws to go up by three, and though KA scored a last second lay-up to pull within one, time expired and SGA became champions with a final score of 52-51.
First-year head coach Danny Piepoli directing his team in the closing moments of the Division 3 state championship game in Sacramento, California. (Dustin Comm / AdventistHoops)
“Supreme toughness,” said first-year head coach Danny Piepoli, of the grit his team showed. “Something that I’ve been preaching and trying to instill in these kids. I’m trying to make good, strong human beings at the end of the day, first, before basketball players. And I always harp on adversity, and handling adversity, and when bad things happen, being able to manage and finish. In that last minute, obviously [it’s] nothing that I ever planned—it’s not something that I ever want to do or experience ever in my life again—however that’s a culmination of what we’ve done all year, and when things get tough you either pack it up and you let it snowball into something huge, or you man-up and you get gutsy. We got gutsy, and we’re champions.”
Diop approached a triple-double at 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 blocks. “The kid is a NBA player in my mind,” said Piepoli. “The whole world is going to know how talented he is now. I’ve known it for a long time. I’ve known it for two years since I met the kid, since he stepped foot on our campus, and now the secret’s out. I’m getting prepared for my phone to be ringing off the hook from [college] coaches.”
Away from the fray of the on-court celebration stood a contemplative figure, arms folded, a paternal smile on his face as he watched the scene unfold. Kevin McCloskey spent 14 years as SGA’s head coach, building the basketball program to its current form before transitioning to a new career field last year. Today, he watched with pride as his team and protégé, Piepoli, reached the mountaintop.
Former San Gabriel Academy head coach Kevin McCloskey looks on with pride as the program he spent 14 years developing achieves the highest victory in high school basketball. (Todd Comm / AdventistHoops)
“I was filled with pride as I watched my boys and Danny take the court and compete for a state championship,” said McCloskey. “It was the culmination of a dream that started so many years ago. Danny was there every step of the way. He was my assistant in 2013 when we went to our first state regional championship, and it was appropriate that he was in the big chair when they finally won it.”
“The SDA community, San Gabriel Academy, all the fans that came up here, the families, the alumni, everybody that’s ever put on a SGA jersey—this is for you,” declared Piepoli. “And we’re not going to stop, this is only the beginning. Year one, and we’re going to see what we can do—run it back next year at a higher division hopefully.”