Crusaders capture first Holiday Hoop title since 2015 in playoff-like atmosphere
Modesto Christian’s Holiday Hoops Classic has historically brought out the best competition; the 21st installment of the event was no different.
The tournament brought in two top teams from Fresno, a 13-2 Pleasant Valley team and the No. 3 ranked school in Nevada, Durango.
After three days of playing some of the best Central and Northern California have to offer, Modesto Christian, the No. 17 ranked team in California, matched up against one of Nevada’s top schools in the championship Thursday night.
In a back-and-forth game full of high-level talent, the Crusaders took advantage of timely baskets in the second half to win their first Holiday Hoop title since 2015, 77-62.
“I’ve coached in plenty of open division games and that (game) was one of those kind of atmospheres,” Crusaders’ head coach Brice Fantazia said. “That’s a great team. That’s a team that’s going to compete for the Nevada state championship. We went round for round with them and nobody was gonna knock each other out. You had to win it.”
And “win it” they did.
Junior guard BJ Davis ended the second quarter with a deep three as the final seconds ticked off the clock, cutting the Trailblazer lead to just two, 33-31.
The Crusaders stormed ahead in the third. Davis, who was named to the All-Tournament team and finished with 13 points, converted a four-point play with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left. A 7-0 run put them in front 49-43, forcing a Durango timeout with 2:04 in the quarter.
Ty Virgil continued his breakout performance in his first year of varsity basketball. The 6-foot-4 sophomore scored 19 pionts and knocked down four threes, including two in the fourth quarter when the Crusaders needed to extend their lead.
“My confidence was high,” Virgil said. “I know I can shoot. Every chance I get, I’m going to shoot it.”
Virgil transferred to Modesto Christian last year and has continued to improve every time he steps on the court for Fantazia’s Crusaders. He was named to the Holiday Hoop Classic All-Tournament team.
“He was outstanding, he looked like a high-major kid this tournament,” Fantazia said. “His talent is unreal. He has no clue how good he can be. We keep trying to just preach confidence and after this tournament he should feel like ‘Yeah I’m one of those dudes.’”
Though talented, the Crusaders are very young. They have just three seniors and leading scorer Jamari Phillips, who won tournament Most Valuable Player and finished with a team-high 21 points, is only a sophomore.
They didn’t play their best first half, and Fantazia knows his team is going to have some growing pains.
“We’re so young,” Fantazia said. “This was a lot of kids’ first time playing in this atmosphere at Holiday Hoops. They were a little jittery, a little too amped. At halftime, I just told the guys relax, we’re going to be fine.”
After blowing out every opponent in their first three tournament games, Fantazia believes this challenge was just what his inexperienced team needed.
“You learn from these games more than blowouts,” he said. “There was a lot of adversity in this game. These guys stuck together, that’s what we preach, and executed what we wanted.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2021 at 12:53 PM.
