Burbank High girls’ basketball coach Bruce Breeden might soon pull out the DVD “Hoosiers” from its place on the shelf to review what it was Gene Hackman said to his team as they defied all odds in the sports-drama classic.
In what is perhaps the best display of tournament Cinderella stories since Hackman led the Hickory Hoosiers to a state title in the film based on the true story of the 1952 Indiana high school basketball state champions, Breeden’s Bulldogs just keep on rolling in the CIF Southern Section’s Division IA playoffs.
The Bulldogs rallied to a 58-48 home win over visiting Temecula Valley Saturday night — overcoming a disastrous third quarter in which they were outscored by nine points, 16-7.
“We’ll be the underdogs the rest of the way, so we really have nothing to lose,” Breeden said. “I am just so proud of the team for the way they have come together.”
Breeden has spoken often of the coach’s cliché, how the playoffs are the start of a whole new season. His Bulldogs have taken it to heart, winning three straight en route to their first appearance in the semifinals in the program’s history.
The Bulldogs had never previously made it past the second round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Now, however, they will play at Summit High against the No. 1 seeded Skyhawks on Tuesday evening in the semifinals.
The Skyhawks have scored as many as 88 points in games this season and have beaten opponents by as many as 62 points.
Burbank (19-11) drew a favorably match-up in the quarterfinals against Temecula Valley — 14-16 on the season. Burbank dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Golden Bears 29-13.
Damarie Gonzalez scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Burbank. Sister Jamie Gonzalez scored 12 points and teammate Aja Locke added 10 points. Temecula Valley got a huge effort from Iman Lathan who scored 28 points.
Summit beat Downey on Saturday, February 25 by a score of 62-54.
