California not quitting because of one setback
PITTSBURGH – Phil Pergola said all the right things in the wake of California’s 60-59 loss to Leechburg in the WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship game Friday night. “It’s a tough one,” Pergola said of the loss.
“They have nothing to be ashamed of,” he added about his players. “There are only 32 teams left in the state and we’re one of them.”
He praised Leechburg, a team playing exceptionally well at the right time, as he well should have. The Blue Devils played another outstanding game.
“They stayed with us the whole 32 minutes,” Pergola said of Leechburg. “Most teams we’ve played stayed with us for 20 or 25 minutes, but these guys were the re the whole way.”
It’s just too bad Pergola didn’t have his full arsenal at his disposal for this game.
That may sound like sour grapes, but it really isn’t. It’s merely a statement of fact.
“We really played them with our bench,” Pergola said. “We really played without our big guys for most of the game.”
Foul trouble landed 6-8 Mike Hrivnak on the bench for large chunks of the last three quarters. He drew his third foul early in the second, his fourth with 4:51 remaining in the third and drew his fifth with 2:20 remaining in the game.
Travis VanOlst also fouled out. He drew three quick fouls in the fourth quarter, the last one the decider in this tough-to-swallow defeat.
The last VanOlst foul would be one to argue about and it was likely a topic of discussion at more than one California watering hole last night.
The play itself was far from contact-free. Leechburg’s Nick Matviko went up for a short jumper in the paint and, as he did, VanOlst had his hand on the ball, too. They both went up, the ball went down. Only one whistle blew, that of official Dom DeFrancisis, who was part of a three-man crew.
Oh, by the way, did I mention the time? Or the score? Cal was holding on for dear life and led by a point, 59-58, when Leechburg inbounded under its own basket with 7.2 seconds remaining.
Did I mention that this was a WPIAL championship game?
There is a somewhat unwritten rule among officials that it should be a kid winning or losing a game, not an official’s whistle. Just about any referee’s clinic makes this a point of emphasis. Officials talk about it all the time.
Still, the call was made and Matviko, who had missed nine free throws in this game, sank the two that mattered most.
Pergola, though, took the high road. After a series of “no comment” responses to questions about the officials, he was asked if the crew, which included Bill Buehner and Dan Robinson, had called this title game too tight.
“No, he called it too tight,” Pergola said, referring to DeFrancisis.
But Pergola and his team will get over this loss. They’ll be fine, as they start paring into those 32 remaining teams in the PIAA Class A tournament.
“You don’t have to win the WPIAL to win the state title,” Pergola said. “But this is the one you want. This is the WPIAL, this is your neighborhood. States are all gravy.”
But rest assured the Trojans would love another shot at Leechburg along the way.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com.