Balinao’s beaut
Senior guard Ethan Balinao sinks shot at OT buzzer to send Oak Forest past Shepard
Oak Forest’sEthanBalinao has been more than willing to sacrifice personal accolades for the betterment of the team.
That’s difficult for many seniors to do, but his selflessnesswas rewarded Friday night against Shepard.
The 6-foot-1 guard buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to lift the Bengals to a 56-53 South Suburban victory.
Not only didBalinao hit the big basket, he came through with a steal on the previous possession that gave Oak Forest (12-4, 3-2) a chance to win the game.
“I can’t say enough about Ethan,” Oak Forest coach Matt Manzke said of Balinao, who finished with 15 points against Shepard. “He was all-conference last year.
“This year, he stepped back and has been our best defender. He has sacrificed his own personal stats so we can be a better team.”
After coming up with the steal with 11.6 seconds left, theBengals called timeout.
The first scoring option was 6-6 freshman center Robbie Avila. If he wasn’t open, the second option was junior forward Jayson Kent, who led the Bengals with 25 points Friday.
As the play unfolded, neither Avila orKentwere open. Guess whowas? Balinao took a pass fromKent, who had multiple defenders on him, and drilled an off-balance 3-pointer from the right corner. Game over. Balinaowas confident the shot was going to fall, capping off an improbable comeback that saw the Bengals rally from a ninepoint deficit in the fourth quarter.
“I was trying to get Jayson open,” Balinao said. “He was hot all day. I let the shot fly. I felt like itwas going to go in.”
It hit nothing but net. Kent, who drained five 3pointers, had no doubt about Balinao’s attempt.
“I knew he was going to step up,” Kent said. “I wasn’t surprised it went in. Ethan’s a great leader. He’s always encouraging people.”
Burtron Harper and Jourdan Jackson each scored 16 points for Shepard (9-5, 2-3). Korey Burrell added 14.
“This is a tough one,” Shepard coach Tony Chiuccariello said. “Give them credit for executing and hitting big shots down the stretch.”
Harper took over in the third quarter, scoring 11 points as the Astros opened up a 41-26 lead.
Kent and Balinao, however, hit threes before the third quarter ended, which cut the gap to 43-34 and appeared to give the Bengals some momentum.
“We challenged them,” Manzke said. “Are you going to stand up and make plays or get embarrassed in a conference game? If you’re going to go down, go down fighting.”