NEWMAN— Power-house league leading teams met on Friday when the Orestimba Warriors played the offensive marvel Pacheco High and the Warriors came away with the victory, 58-26.
Home crowds were cheering as the Warriors advanced to 11-2 overall. Pacheco now falls to 8-5 for the season. The Panthers did look promising in the Delhi Winter Classic Tournament on Dec. 14. The Panthers have a swift tactic of gaining points quickly against their opponents. But their match was met on Friday.
“They run their stuff very well,” head coach Charlie Kothenbeutel commented. “There is always that fear, especially if a team gets hot, and losing focus.”
Losing sight of winning was not an option for Orestimba. The Warriors kept a no-let-off mentality during the entire game. The Panthers allowed Caleb Marin Dominguez (23) to score 12-points and Jacab Valenzuela (12) accounting for 10-points. Early in the half would see two marvelous 3-point shots from both Valenzuela (12) and Mathew Wales (4), sending the crowd in to a roar.
“The team has been very good at just focusing on the goal. Go 1-0. And when we leave the locker room every single time, they’ve had good mindsets,” Kothenbeutel said.
Defense wins games. The Warriors knew they had to be aggressive to win the game against the fast-scoring Panthers. Dual threat players were able to convert steals into scores. Ten steals for the Warriors against the Panthers. But notably, the 6-foot-4 Dominguez had two incredible blocks that created a problem for the Panthers and contributed to the Warriors’ 42-point score gap.
“Defensively, lights out,” Kothenbeutel commented. “They (Orestimba) were able to hold teams to 26 points under 30. We’re going to win a lot of games.”
It was a performance that had fans amazed and players full of energy. The team had their fair share of trials leading up to league matchups. The Warriors have a SAL league matchup at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, facing the Denair Coyotes, who are 6-9 for the season.