The Dinuba Boys Basketball team has set a precedent on winning, as they picked up on their victorious ways. They have started off the season with a 5-2 (.714) record, which nearly matches their section winning season of last year in their first seven games with a 6-1 (.857) record. They look to recapture that success of last season into this season. On the repetition of the success of last year’s season, Coach Schofield said, “We’re fortunate to have some guys back from last year’s team that knows what it feels like and the hard work that it takes to get there, so that’s the big thing for them, passing on that knowledge to the guys that weren’t on the team last year and knowing the amount of work it takes.”
From the returning players, Josiah Ochoa, who has averaged 21.4 points per game (PPG) in their five wins this season, has taken huge strides on the court, as he also played a crucial part in Dinuba’s Central Section Championship. Ochoa looks to take part in major feats for the program as he says, “ My goal is to win the Poly tournament that we have later on in December and I want to go all the way to Selland Arena and win another Valley ring”.
Selland Arena in Fresno, CA is where the boys won last year’s Central Section Championship against Mission College Prep.
The boys as well participated in the 9th annual Andrew Bedoya Classic. It’s an annual tournament that Dinuba has held for the basketball team. There is a reason it’s called the Andrew Bedoya Classic. “We used to have a tournament that was just called the Dinuba Holiday Classic, and then Coach Bedoya, who is our JV Coach and a teacher at Monson-Sultana also, his oldest son passed away in a car accident nine years ago, so we decided to name it after him. He was a player that played in our program and coached in our program,” Coach Schofield said.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t capture the same success as last year’s tournament win as they lost in the semi-final round against Redwood. Tournaments play a detrimental part for a team in the beginning of the season. Starting Forward Daniel Del Rio said, “Being able to be competitive with multiple teams during a week and being able to compete with them at the highest level for something to win as for a tournament this meaningful to the program, that’s probably my favorite thing about it”.
The Dinuba Girls Basketball team also participated in a tournament over the weekend in Morro Bay.
While they couldn’t replicate the success to the same caliber as the boys, experiences and games like this play an integral part for a team. Coach Bray says, “We get to host teams and play teams that we don’t usually do. We get to see old friends, girls get exposed to good competition, and it’s nice to host and have people come to our school to see our brand of basketball.”
The girls have started the season on ice, as they are having a troubling time to catch heat. They have accumulated a 2-4 (.333) record so far this season. The goal is always to win as Captain Sydnee Sandoval says, “My goal for this season is to win league and go to championships.”
Team captains play an essential role for the team as they lead the pack. To show the team on how to be a team lead, Jalissa Espirito, who leads the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game (PPG) and is a team captain says, “Just making sure we’re doing good and being there for them.”
The girls next play Thursday, December 19 against Sanger West to start off the Dinuba Holiday Classic tournament at home. The tournament starts on the 18th and lasts till the 21st on Saturday. The boys next game is on Tuesday, December 17 against Central. They look to revitalize a win against them as they beat Central in a close 47-44 win that was down to the wire.
