Holy Cross participated in the Cedar Beach Basketball Showcase in Allentown for the first time this weekend. Considering how it went, it won’t be the Crusaders’ last appearance.
The District 2 program from Dunmore, Lackawanna County, went 4-0 and won the small school division championship with a 60-44 victory Sunday afternoon.
Rising senior guard Gabe Gonzales earned MVP honors with 20 points, and got the team off to a good start with 11 in the first half as the Crusaders took a 28-16 halftime lead over Oley Valley. The team, which went 21-7 last year and reached the Class 2A state quarterfinals before losing to Constitution 50-48, never lost control in the second half.
“We had fun and played some great competition,” veteran Holy Cross coach Al Callejas said. “This gives you an idea of where you’re at and what you need to work on and shows what you do well, so there’s three reasons to get in events like this.”
Callejas said a lot of kids are back from last year’s District 2 championship team. They met a team with aspirations of doing well in District 3.
“Oley Valley is a nice team and very athletic,” Callejas said. “We tried to stop their penetration to the basket, first and foremost. We felt doing that and holding them to one shot was going to be the key. For the most part, we did that.”
Holy Cross beat Lehighton, Saucon Valley and Warren Hills en route to the finals.
“You like to win all the time, but you come down and try to learn … that’s what is most important,” said Callejas, who has more than 540 career victories.
Callejas’ son, Al Jr., was an assistant coach on Bron Holland’s staff at Pocono Mountain East and then was the head coach for a few years. He had a health scare last fall when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. His team rallied around him by shaving their heads and held a special night for him.
In a WNEP television story during the 2021-22 season, Gonzales said: “He doesn’t want the thing that he’s going through to motivate us. He wants us to just play the way he always wants us to play, but of course it has something to do with it. He shows his passion and everything for us. So, hopefully we can bring it together on the basketball court like we’re doing.”
As for the 6-foot-3 Gonzales, Callejas said: “He’s a tremendous talent. He’s strong and he’s an excellent outside shooter, but we can also post him up and he’s so difficult to stop inside and outside. He’s hard to guard one-on-one.”
Big school varsity
As of 6 p.m., Allentown Central Catholic and Freedom were set to meet in the elimination bracket final with the winner set to face Muhlenberg Township about 8 p.m. for the championship.
In a 41-39 win over Wilson West Lawn, Central fought back from a 25-18 halftime deficit and trailed by double digits in the second half before making a memorable comeback.
Jahrel Vigo led the charge, scoring seven of his nine points in the second half. David Fridia scored six points in the second half and Cole Cook had four in the second half surge.
In the JV final Sunday night, Emmaus and Whitehall were set to meet for the championship.
Past champs
STELLAR CONSTRUCTION CATCH A RISING STAR SHOWCASE
1996: Chambersburg
1997: Glen Mills
1998: Parkland
1999: Dieruff
2000: Parkland
2001: Archbishop Carroll
2002: Harrisburg
2003: Trinity
2004: Harrisburg
2005: CCHS
2006: Glens Falls, N.Y.
2007: Parkland
2008: Harrisburg
2009: Parkland
2010: Allen
2011: Chester
2012: Freedom
2013: Wilson West Lawn
2014: Parkland
2015: Archbishop Carroll
2016: Pocono Mountain West
CEDAR BEACH SHOWCASE
2017: Berks Catholic
2018: Berks Catholic
2019: Wilson West Lawn (big school); Salisbury (small school)
2021: Parkland (big school); Southern Lehigh (small school)
Sunday’s scoreboard
BIG SCHOOL BRACKET
Elimination Bracket
Wilson West Lawn 45, Berks Catholic 38 … Cleveland Harding 12.
Wilson West Lawn 59, Notre Dame-GP 41 … Aidan Melograna 13.
Emmaus 62, Liberty 49 … Dylan Darville 15.
Reading 65, Phillipsburg 48 … Ruben Rodriguez 15.
Wilson West Lawn 47, Emmaus 42 … Aidan Melograna 12.
Central Dauphin 50, Notre Dame-GP 42 … Keon Dockens 20.
Muhlenberg Twp. 44, Central Catholic 42 … Xzavion Robertson 12.
Reading 66, Central Dauphin 39 … Ruben Rodriguez 21.
Wilson West Lawn 51, Central York 43 … Aidan Melograna 13.
Central Catholic 41, Wilson West Lawn 39 … Jahrel Vigo 9.
Winners Bracket Semis
Freedom 70, Central York 52 …Nick Ellis 29.
Muhlenberg Twp. 44, Central Catholic 42 … Xzavion Robertson 12.
Winners Bracket Final
Muhlenberg Twp 52, Freedom 49 … Luis Valentin 18.
Elimination Bracket Final
Central Catholic 33, Freedom 27 … Jahrel Vigo 17.
SMALL SCHOOL BRACKET
Oley Valley 73, Roberto Clemente 33 … Jake Karnish 21.
Holy Cross 48, Warren Hills 31 … Gabe Gonzalez 11.
Oley Valley 64, Warren Hills 44 … Jake Karnish 24.
Small School Championship: Holy Cross 60, Oley Valley 46 … Gabe Gonzales 20, tourney MVP.
JV TOURNAMENT
Easton 48, Dieruff 40
Whitehall 59, ACCHS 19 … Mason Roberts 10.
Emmaus 45, Parkland 43 … Owen Hafner 11.
Nazareth 38, Holy Cross 31 … Owen Banghart 14.
Liberty 39, Easton 34 … Jansi Cole 15.
Whitehall 43, Emmaus 40 … Mason Roberts 9.
Parkland 47, Nazareth 35 … Jude Ruisch 16.
Liberty 2, ACCHS 0 … Forfeit.
Liberty 50, Parkland 27 … Dwayne Chess 15.
Parkland 47, Nazareth 35 … Jude Ruisch 16.
Emmaus 46, Liberty 42 … Jack Csensits 10.
Championship game: Whitehall vs. Emmaus
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