Sunnyslope’s Portela dealt with team in quarantine
Ray Portela lost his top big man before the season. His team went into a twoweek quarantine following its season opener.
But, in the end, Portela is The Arizona Republic‘s Boys Basketball 2021 Coach of the Year, after leading Phoenix Sunnyslope to the 6A title after moving up from the 5A Conference.
“That is just a testament to what our kids and coaching staff were all about this season,” Portela said about receiving Coach of the Year. “They were a tight-knit group, who truly believed in each other and what we were trying to accomplish.”
When the season looked in doubt, 6foot-10 senior Carson Basham left Sunnyslope to join Chandler AZ Compass Prep and chase a national championship. No problem.
Sunnyslope had two other bigs, 6-8 junior Elijah Saunders and 6-8 senior Grady Lewis, who took on larger roles with junior point guard Oakland Fort emerging as a Player of the Year finalist.
After beating eventual 4A champion Phoenix St. Mary’s in Sunnyslope’s opener, a positive COVID-19 case on the
team put the season on pause for 14 days.
When the Vikings came out of it, Portela stacked February with 14 games. In the middle of the gauntlet of games, they lost their only game, in overtime to Mesa.
They came out of the month tougher and ready to take on any challenge.
They withstood a Phoenix Brophy rally
with Fort scoring 34 points to advance to the final, holding off Phoenix Mountain Pointe in the end for a 63-62 title win with Fort making it tough for Tru Washington to get off a last-second 3-pointer.
Sunnyslope has won championships in nthree of the last five seasons under Portela, who played for legendary coach
Dan Mannix at Sunnyslope. Portela led the Vikings to back-to-back 5A crowns in 2017 and 2018.
This may have been Portela’s most special season because his team reached the highest level during a season of uncertainty because of the pandemic.
“The sacrifices that this group had to go through to prepare for this unpredictable season were plenty, but they never complained and pushed each other through the process,” Portela said. “We lost guys to prep schools and had a pause in the season after our first game, which forced us to condense our season more than it was.
“It did not matter. They came every day with a purpose of improving each day and honestly, played with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. Even as teams brought their A games against us, these guys showed the mental fortitude and resilience that you see in good teams,” Portela said. “I was extremely proud of this group’s selflessness and the way they represented themselves, our program, our school, and our wonderful Sunnyslope community. I would like to thank our players, coaching staff, parents, teachers, administrators, fans, and community for the support they showed us.”