The Burbank High School varsity boys’ basketball team received a rare opportunity to play at Crypto.com Arena in the heart of Los Angeles this week, an exciting first for the school and a unique experience coaches hope to repeat for future teams.
The Bulldogs secured a convincing 74-30 nonleague victory over Maywood Academy on Dec. 6 at the stadium, which is home to four of L.A.’s professional sports teams: the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks.
“This is terrific for Burbank basketball. One of the things we wanted to do as a staff when we came in here was to expand our horizons and do some things that are exciting for the kids,” Burbank head coach Steve Eshleman said. “This is amazing … We’re going to try to do this every year. The last five minutes we had our JV kids in and when they made a basket, they were smiling from ear to ear on the way back down the floor, so what an experience for them.”
Junior captain Kevin Dehbashian racked up a game-high 20 points on the same court that Clippers star Paul George scored 25 points to help beat the visiting Denver Nuggets 111-102 later Wednesday evening.
“It was a great game and it was a great experience for the whole team. It was great to just feel the environment of an NBA court,” Dehbashian said. “It was a lot different than walking into the Burbank gym. There’s a lot of stands, it’s a lot bigger and it was really exciting just overall.”
Sophomore Cristopher Ong contributed 10 points, junior Karan Alborzian tallied eight points and junior Anthony Jawiche scored seven points. Junior Arg Aslanyan and sophomore Blake Finnigan each chipped in six points, junior Aren Malekian registered five points, and freshman Freshman Isaiah Kim finished with four points. Meanwhile, junior Arthur Ambaryan, junior Nick Zharazhyan and sophomore Nico Nazaryan each had two points.
The Bulldogs opened Pacific League action with a 63-56 victory at Muir High in Pasadena on Dec. 5.
Alborzian registered 19 points, Dehbashian contributed 16 points and Jawiche tallied 13 points. Ong scored seven points, Ambaryan chipped in four points and junior Rami Khozahi recorded three points.
Burbank (4-6 overall, 1-0 in league) will visit Arcadia for a league game on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 5:15 p.m. before hosting Pasadena on Friday, Dec. 15.
BURROUGHS
In their first game since the sudden dismissal of first-year head coach Austin Pope, the Bears posted a 105-92 Pacific League victory over visiting Glendale on Dec. 5. Senior captain Chase Kardosh amassed 41 points to help lead Burroughs to its first league win.
Junior Landon Everhart registered 26 points, while junior captain Jagger Topp and junior Jacob Samontina each contributed 17 points. Senior Francesco Sabato tallied three points, junior Elijah Orjuela scored two points and senior Arthur Gabrieylan chipped in one point.
Burroughs (7-2, 1-0) will visit Pasadena for a league game on Dec. 12 at 5:15 p.m. before hosting Crescenta Valley High of La Crescenta on Dec. 15.
First published in the December 9 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
