They made a splash in the postseason. Now, Riviera Prep boys’ basketball eyes a state title
If you told the Riviera Prep boys’ basketball team a month ago that they would be in this spot, heading to Lakeland to play in the Class 4A state semifinals, they might not have believed you.
But today? Well, the Bulldogs not only would believe it; they would be sure enough to think they could win it all.
Making a playoff run like Riviera Prep has this year does that to a team’s confidence.
A district semifinal at Florida Christian, a team that beat them in two blowouts last year overtime earlier this year? 47-46 win to secure a regional berth.
A regional semifinal at Palmer Trinity? 62-44 win.
A regional final at perennial power SLAM? How about a thrilling 78-77, triple overtime win? Esteban Lluberes, the freshman, hit 15 consecutive free throws from the fourth quarter until the final buzzer in the third OT period. Sophomore Mor Gaye blocked two game-winning buzzer-beater shot attempts. Fellow sophomore Lucas Brenner, averaging 6.8 points per game this year, made eight of his 10 three-point shots over two regional games. And eighth grader Osmar Garcia Araujo, averaging 13.1 points per game, came up clutch as well.
“It wouldn’t matter if they were facing the [Miami] Heat; they think they can win,” said athletic director Courtney Young, a fitting comparison considering the Heat’s Bam Adebayo surprised the team at their pep rally last week.
Well, Riviera Prep (20-10) won’t be facing the Heat on Wednesday. Seffner Christian will have to do the trick. The winner advances to Thursday’s state title game against either Westminster Academy or Jacksonville’s University Christian.
But either way, this Riviera Prep team has exceeded even its own expectations in its third year of varsity basketball.
Young credits Bulldogs coach Anthony Shahbaz, who he calls “probably the most respectful coach you could ever see,” for a lot of the success.
After going 11-14 in Shahbaz’s first season last year, losing 10 of those games by at least 10 points and four by at least 25 points, Riviera Prep has turned it around this season. They hit a couple bumps in the road — notably a couple losses to Champagnat, a defeat here or there when they played schools in higher classifications and a district championship loss to SLAM.
But when it mattered, when the outcome determined if the Bulldogs’ season would end, they stepped up and found away to win.
That came into the clearest view in their Region 4-4A final against SLAM, which had beaten them 70-42 just 11 days earlier. Tied at the end of regulation. Tied after one overtime period. Tied after a second. And finally, a breakthrough in the third.
“We just went in like the movie ‘Hoosiers,’ thinking maybe we can pull out a miracle,” Young said.
The miracle came. Now, Riviera Prep hopes to keep it going.
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