Longhorns Take Third With Win Over Celebration; OBC Championships Set for Tonight

By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola

One night after taking top-seeded Osceola to the limit, Harmony had to overcome a sluggish start to defeat Celebration, 55-51, in the third-place game of the Orange Belt Conference (OBC) boys’ basketball championship.

“No question, I think we were a little flat after Wednesday’s emotional loss to Osceola,” Longhorns’ coach Adam Ojeda said of Harmony’s 60-53 loss to the Kowboys, where they led most of the contest and took a four-point advantage into the final quarter. “It was a game we really worked hard and prepared for, unfortunately it just got away from us at the end.”

Thursday’s win over the Storm provided some redemption for the Longhorns, but it did not come easily.

Behind the three-point shooting of Javen Lee, Celebration jumped out to a 15-11 first quarter lead. Although the Storm cooled off in the second quarter, they still managed a 28-26 lead at the break– as Lee had 12 points and Mikey Motta added six.

But the Longhorns would ramp up the pressure with a tenacious pressing defense in the third. Although they would manage just 10 points in the period, Harmony held Celebration to a lone field goal and took control, 36-30.

The fourth period would see both offenses come alive.

Harmony was able to maintain a fairly safe lead for most of the fourth, thanks to Quaniel Reyes hitting four of four free throws on two Celebration technical fouls midway through the period. Reyes also hit a three-pointer and another foul shot, as he scored eight of his Harmony-high 17 points in the final stanza.

Still, the Storm rallied.

Braden Plaisted hit a couple of threes and Edson Oliveria da Salva scored nine points in the period as the Celebration cut the gap to 54-51 in the final minute.

Trailing by three, they had a chance to tie in the final 12.3 second when Ben Edmond missed two free throws – but Harmony rebounded the ball and Reyes converted the second of two free throws with five seconds left to put the game out of reach.

Jeremiah Pacheco (11) and Klani Stout (10) joined Reyes in double figures for the Longhorns (9-11); while the Storm’s Lee led all scores with 18 and Oliveria da Salva added 16 for Celebration (8-11).

“Give Celebration some credit, they did some really good things on offense tonight,” Ojeda added. “We were happy to get the win and hopefully we can build off of it as we get ready for districts.”

In the OBC Third Place Game for the Girls on Thursday, Tohopekaliga came away with a 47-41 win over Celebration.

The OBC Championships wrap up tonight at Gateway High with the top two seeds on both the boys and girls side advancing to title game. In the 5:30 p.m. Girls’ Championship, Gateway (16-2) will take on Harmony (13-2).

Gateway is the defending OBC Champion and is ranked third in the state in Class 5A. The Lady Panthers rolled through the first two rounds of the OBC Tournament – beating Osceola (65-22) and Celebration (73-22). They have won their four games this season against county opposition by an average of 52 points.

Harmony reached the finals with wins over Liberty (47-6) and Tohopekaliga (45-28). They will take an eight-game winning streak in the title game.

The boys’ championship game will follow at 7 p.m., with top-seeded Osceola (15-4) facing St. Cloud (13-4). The Bulldogs enter the finals on a roll, having won five straight including convincing OBC Tournament wins this week over Poinciana (73-38) in the first round and Celebration (64-39) in the semifinals.

Osceola, who came up one game short of the 7A Final Four last year, will be looking for their second straight OBC crown and their eighth in their last nine tournaments (no championship in 2021-Covid).

In addition to the tight win over Harmony on Wednesday, Osceola defeated Gateway (95-37) in the first round and will take a nine-game win streak into the OBC Championship game. The Kowboys will be seeking their 10^th consecutive win and already own a 65-49 win over the Bulldogs earlier this season.

Orange Belt Conference Basketball Championships

Girls Quarterfinals (1/13)

Tohopekaliga 32, St. Cloud 25

Harmony 47, Liberty 6

Gateway 65, Osceola 22

Celebration 52, Poinciana 40

Girls Semifinals (1/14)

Harmony 45, Tohopekaliga 28

Gateway 73, Celebration 22

Girls Third Place Game (1/16)

Tohopekaliga 47, Celebration 41

Friday’s Girls Championship