WESTCHESTER PERSEVERES
Comets survive King/Drew, play Birmingham in Saturday’s City Section Open final
The L.A. City Section Open Division boys basketball championship game is Saturday, and the Westchester Comets will be there. But it wasn’t easy. Westchester, the top seed and defending city champion, got all it could handle from visiting King/Drew in Wednesday’s semifinal.
“They’ve only played six games and they’re still getting to know each other, but they’re well-coached and they kicked our butts on the offensive glass,” Westchester coach Ed Azzam said. “That allowed them to stay in the game and we did just enough to win the game.”
The final score read Westchester 59-54. The win sends the Comets (11-0) into Saturday’s City final against No. 2 seed Birmingham (10-3) at 7:35 p.m. at Westchester.
“They’re good,” Azzam said of Birmingham. “They’ve been going for a while and played a tough schedule. They know each other and are comfortable with each other. The only good thing is we don’t have to go out to Birmingham.
“I haven’t seen them in person, I’ve seen some file, they have to have talent because Fairfax was up 19 and they came back and won the game. They have to some fight not to roll over. If we can defend, play hard, rebound and do the things we’re capable of doing, then we should be OK.”
The Comets had to move quickly. Their regular season started May 7 and ended May 29.
“They’ve had a lot of things put on them,” Azzam said of his players. “We have to get (COVID) tested 48 hours before games. Some weeks, they’ve had to get tested three times a week. They’ve handled business really well.
“It’s been different, but it has been great having them back and being able to practice and seeing the coaches again. I’m enjoying it.”
With a win against Birmingham, Azzam would win his 16th City Section title, tying him with Crenshaw legend Willie West. Azzam said he’s not focusing on the number.
“I don’t think about it,” he said. “It is nice if it happens, but it is only something that goes down on paper. I’m just a guy that’s the head coach in name, without all of my assistants, players, none of that happens. I’m honored and feel good about the success we’ve had, but it is more of a program thing, I don’t think of it (success) as just mine in any shape or form, but winning is a lot more fun than losing.”