A week to remember
PPL Center hosted 10 games, eight title contests
The District 11 boys basketball tournament continued at Pottsville’s Martz Hall with the 2A championship game Friday night and will conclude with the 1A title game on Saturday night.
But for the Lehigh Valley, the event concluded Thursday night with Allen beating Parkland for the 6A gold at PPL Center.
And, along with the hometown Canaries, there was plenty for the local basketball community to celebrate.
As usual, districts provided compelling story lines that will resonate well beyond the mere numbers placed on a bracket sheet.
The Lehigh Valley basketball community shined as brightly as the lights inside PPL Center, again spotlighting the positives and overall importance of athletics even while dealing with the obstacles imposed by the pandemic.
Here are 10 moments we’ll remember:
The Siggins family
In separate games at PPL Center on Thursday night, Parkland senior boys basketball player J.T. Siggins and his sister, freshman standout Maddie Siggins, got to play in District 11 championship games on local basketball’s biggest stage.
When Maddie’s team lost to Nazareth in the opener, J.T. couldn’t wait to offer his support and helped her get through some tears even as he was mentally preparing for the boys title game about an hour later.
“It’s always been my dream [to play for championships on the same night] since we were little,” Maddie Siggins said between games. “I’m so excited to get to see my brother play. I’ll watch him play in the stands with the rest of my family. I’m so proud of him. He has definitely taught me a lot about work-ethic.”
J.T. Siggins had the same sentiments about Maddie.
“She works hrad, too, and I’m very proud of the player she is becoming,” said J.T. who will play football at East Stroudsburg University. “This means a lot to me to get this chance together because you only get so many chances on this stage, especially at this venue, PPL Center. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime shot. We just have to give our best.”
A Close Call
Issah Close has been a special person and special manager for the Wilson boys basketball program throughout high school and he engineered a special moment in the 4A quarterfinals at Rockne Hall when coach Mike Glovas made a special arrangement for him to play in the final seconds.
With the outcome already decided, the Warriors and Vikings worked together to make sure Close got a shot off before the buzzer. He not only took the shot, but made it and received a standing ovation from the teams and crowd.
“That’s why we play the game,” Central’s Liam Joyce told reporter Mike Blouse. “It’s bigger than just basketball. It’s about bringing people together.”
Showing respect
Executive Education defeated Notre Dame-Green Pond for the Class 3A title and while the Raptors were more than happy to win their third straight district championship, standout players Jevin Muniz and Jalil Schenck showed the game is about more than just championships. They waited for Notre Dame star Brendan Boyle to emerge from his PPL Center locker room. Both gave him a hug and offered words of encouragement after Boyle’s season had ended.
“That was very classy, they’re really good kids,” Notre Dame coach and Brendan’s father, Pat Boyle, said.
Off the Rickert scale
Logan Rickert may not have ended his Notre Dame career with a gold medal, but he did have a moment he’ll be talking about for the rest of his life. His off-balance 3-pointer from beyond halfcourt at the buzzer gave Notre Dame a stunning 60-57 win over Palmerton in the Class 3A semifinals.
It made ESPN Sports Center’s “Plays of the day” segment coming in at No. 3, which is fitting because it’s also Rickert’s number.
“I still don’t believe it,” Rickert said 10 minutes after the game. “I still can’t believe that happened.”
If he still doesn’t believe it, ESPN can offer him video proof.
A Miles long journey back to 1988
Former Bangor coach and star player Bron Holland, who won a league and district title as a senior in 1988, once predicted CJ Miles would be one of the best players in Slaters history. He was right.
Holland, now the school’s athletic director, gave Miles a hug on the floor at PPL Center Tuesday night after he scored 25 points, grabbed five rebounds and took over the game at certain points in a 59-54 win over East Stroudsburg South. The victory gave Bangor its first district title since 1988 and make the Slaters the only area team to win two championships so far this winter.
The fans were heard
While the place was only at a max 15 percent capacity during all games at PPL Center, the people who did attend were heard and at times created a positive atmosphere.
They also rekindled the time-honored tradition of yelling at the officials and blaming them for everything bad that happened to their team. It was something we’re sure the guys in the striped shirts didn’t miss, but it brought a sense of normalcy after a season of mostly silence.
A bit more disappointing was some fans could be heard yelling derogatory things about their own coach over, guess what? You got it. Lack of playing time for their son. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Song of the South
The coronavirus deprived a very talented East Stroudsburg South team of competing for the District 11 football championship in November and that crushing disappointment had some rooting for the school to get a district basketball gold Tuesday night.
Several football players were also on the Cavaliers basketball team that lost a hard-fought title game against Bangor.
But this time, it was the Slaters’ superb Miles and not COVID-19 that spelled the end of the Cavs season.
“We have four football guys on our team and I will always think they would have won [districts] if they had the chance to compete,” South coach Shawn Munford said. “But I give them a lot of credit for coming back to play basketball and they tried their hardest.”
Father-son moment
It is never easy for a father to coach his own son. It’s not easy for the coach and it’s not easy for the player because of the extra scrutiny it brings.
But Andrew Csensits, a senior on this year’s Central Catholic team coached by his father Dennis, deserved his place in the lineup and made the most of it all season long. In Thursday’s 4A championship win over Bethlehem Catholic, he scored four
first-half points and collected several rebounds and assists to help the Vikings pull away.
When it was over and the celebration lingered on the PPL Center floor and most of the media flocked to marquee players such as Tyson Thomas and Liam Joyce, father-and-son posed for a picture taken by mom. It will be a family memory that will always be treasured.
Allen’s town
Central Catholic and Allen both won their 20th District 11 titles on the same day and the celebration for the Canaries was a fitting cap to an entire week filled with anticipation, excitement and emotion. While former coach Doug Snyder beamed with pride sitting at courtside while working a TV broadcast, his former star players Darnell Braswell, now the team’s coach, and Nate Ellis, an MVP guard, enjoyed their greatest moment together.
But one of the most meaningful moments for someone who remembers Allen’s district title team of 10 years ago was seeing Daquan Holiday, a star player from 2011, jumping up and down and clapping with more excitement and enthusiasm as an assistant coach than he had when he was given a gold medal as a player.
Holiday had a superb Division I career at NJIT, but chose to come home and give back to the program that sent him on his way. His passion for the kids, his school and basketball is what the sport should be about.
PPL Center of attention
In a year in which so much was lost, it was commendable that District 11, and others, worked to give the kids a chance to play at the best, most classy indoor facility in the Lehigh Valley. The kids enjoyed every minute of being there and the hope is that PPL Center will be a fixture on the local hoops schedule going forward.
District 11 worked with St. Luke’s and Service Electric to open the doors and once they were open, PPL Center delivered a top-notch experience.
“We have to thank PPL Center and their staff, especially Tyler Slanovec, and Service Electric and St. Luke’s for accommodating us and giving us everything we asked for,” said District 11 assistant basketball chairman Tom Moll. “We tried to get in as many people as possible and the crowds were good. Everybody was happy. It’s a great venue and an awesome experience for the kids.”