Rally leads Woodside past Panthers

The Wildcats (25-5) defeated Burlingame (24-4) in the PAL tournament championship game for the second consecutive year after having lost to the Panthers in the team's lone regular season meeting.

Ice cold

Woodside outscored Burlingame 12-5 in the decisive fourth quarter, as the Panthers went ice cold in the second half, finishing with just 14 points. There were three ties and six lead changes in the final frantic eight minutes, and the Wildcats took the lead (47-46) for good on James Sandoval's putback off his own miss with 1:40 remaining.

"We wanted to show we were the better team," Cruz-Duncan said. "When a team beats you, you want revenge. I feel we're playing well, but that we haven't reached our peak yet."

The Panthers, who have won a share of the regular-season PAL South Division title in each of the last three years, seemed on their way to winning the PAL playoffs for the first time since the tournament's inception in 2000. Instead, Woodside won the title for the third time in six years. Drew Shiller's 3-pointer capped an 8-3 run to give the Panthers a 39-32 lead with 5:52 left in the third quarter, but they would only score six points the rest of the way. Casey Sturman's free throw accounted for Burlingame's final point with 4:33 left.

Shiller (12 points), who missed nearly two minutes early in the fourth after suffering a left leg injury, re-entered the game with 4:20 to go.

Shiller limping

Playing with a noticeable limp, the two-time PAL South Division Player of the Year never hit the rim on his final three shots. Down the stretch, Woodside dominated the boards, was quicker to the ball and was relentless in its defensive pressure. It forced Burlingame into 10 second-half turnovers. Trailing 46-43 with 4:33 to go, the Wildcats' closed with an 8-0 run, highlighted by Justonn Smith's layup for a 50-46 lead with 21 seconds left. Burlingame coach Jeff Dowd said Woodside simply played with more poise in the late stages.

"Woodside was a little tougher and we didn't pick up our level of play," Dowd said. "The mistakes we made were kind of uncharacteristic of the way we usually play. Woodside really put the pressure on and we didn't make good decisions. I'm surprised we didn't handle the ball well down the stretch. They kind of exposed our Achilles' heel, which is rebounding the ball. They were tougher in every area and kicked our a-- in that regard. That's why it was so frustrating."

The Panthers' Nick Polidoroff was the only other play in double-figures with 10 points. Eric Berman added eight for Woodside.

"When I said I wanted to play Burlingame (after Friday's win over Menlo-Atherton), it wasn't an ego thing or any of that macho crap," Woodside coach Darrell Barbour said. "I wanted to play the best team out there. I thought our defense won the game for us. I'm kind of a perfectionist and I thought there were some things we didn't do well early. But the best thing you can do is regroup and make sure you're playing your best when it counts the most."

The Wildcats certainly saved their best for last.