Jordan Spurgeon
The Sunnyslope Vikings won their 22nd game and their first 6A title with a 63-62 victory over Mountain Pointe. Junior guard Oakland Fort was scorching on offense, knocking down mid-range jumpers and threes with ease.
“I’m at a loss for words, I’m trying to take it all in right now,” leading scorer Oakland Fort said. “Just doing it for the guys, doing it for the team, doing it for the school, it all feels great, especially with the season we had this year, not knowing if we were going to get to play or not.”
Your 6A Boys Basketball Champion is @slopebasketball đź’Ť
Final 63-62 @Sports360AZ pic.twitter.com/H3b6M3yUa8
— Jordan Spurgeon (@spurge_) March 21, 2021
Down by five with less than a minute remaining, the Mountain Pointe Pride made it interesting, almost forcing overtime. But, the Vikings hit their free throws and played aggressive defense to seal the deal.
“We tell our guys they can’t get too high or too low,” Sunnyslope head coach Ray Portela said. “You’ve just got to roll with stuff, some things you can’t control in life. You’ve just got to give it your best effort and hope it goes your way.”
Playing through a season unlike an other
Everyone played with the cards that COVID-19 dealt them this year. But the Vikings found ways to stay hungry, aggressive, and ready to compete each night. To work with guidelines and schedules, they often practiced early in the morning.
“It’s just a culmination of everything that we’ve done,” Portela said. “We’ve worked hard with early morning practices, these guys don’t want to get out of bed, but we always tell them ‘there’s no sacrifice like sacrifice’ and these guys have sacrificed a lot.”
