Tigers roar to tournament title

After a torrid start by both teams, the Tigers pulled away, leading by as much as 13 near the end of the third quarter. But, as Terra Nova bigs Vinny Smith and Mason Mini fouled out in the fourth quarter, the Warriors went on an 11-2 run to close the gap and set up the tourney finale for a fantastic finish between the PAL North contenders.

“It was a great tournament,” Terra Nova head coach Robby Wierzba said. “We appreciate it, and we appreciate the intensity of this game. It’s a three-game series for us this year with them. So, it’s going to be even tougher the next time we play them, I know that.”

Smith’s departure with 4:20 to go in the game caused a ripple effect to open the gates for a South City 3-point spree.

“It changed the game big time,” Robby Wierzba said. “He’s a force for us offensively and defensively … so, it’s a big loss. We’ve just got to find ways to be better without him.”

The 6-4 senior recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. It was Smith’s fast start that helped the Tigers to a big first quarter, with Terra Nova shooting 8 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point territory. Smith supplied back-to-back 3s to give Terra Nova a 20-15 lead, which they would hold for the rest of the game.

But when Smith fouled out in the fourth quarter, it freed up South City guard Rueben Lem, who poured in three 3s over a three-minute stretch to close it to a one-score deficit at 62-60 with 2:20 to play, with the senior’s rally-cry celebration echoing through the South San Francisco gym as Terra Nova called a timeout to regroup.

“That was a great 3,” Lem said. “It was a clutch 3. We needed it, and I was super hyped.”

But the Warriors (7-4) could never quite catch the Tigers, despite a golden opportunity with less than a minute to go. Trailing 64-62, the Warriors overloaded the left side and created a path to the hoop for a dribble-drive layup, but the finger-roll came up short, clanking off the front of the cylinder.

“I was still confident that the ball was going to bounce in our favor today,” Robby Wierzba said of watching the play develop. “I felt good about today from the start. A lot of credit to South City. They just showed a lot of heart, coming back. I respect their coach Isaiah for that fight back right there.”

A pair of Terra Nova free throws from Anthony Wierzba — Robby Wierzba’s nephew — all but sealed the victory.

“The past few games we’ve been able to close it out at the end,” Smith said. “It’s been tight these last few games. So, we’re just a good team to close it out and work as a team to get the win.”

While the game ended in a fast-paced frenzy, that was nothing compared to the opening five minutes, as the two teams traded haymakers with a flurry of shooting both sides of the court as the lead changed hands seven times in the first quarter.

Terra Nova opened with a 3 from Jermaine Camasura, but South City soon fired back with a perimeter 3 by Angelo Abellan to tie it 8-8. A coast-to-coast layup off a steal from Joe Capko gave the Warriors an 11-9 lead and, later in the period, a floater by Lem swung the lead back to South City at 15-14 amid a fiery back-and-forth.

“I was just letting it go,” South City head coach Isaiah Igafo said of the fast start. “Me and Robby, we talked about it: ‘Just let the guys play for a minute and see what happens.’ I think it was a fun game to watch.”

Then Smith took over, icing consecutive 3-pointers to spark an 8-0 run, the start of an 17-5 run over an eight-minute stretch.

“I want to be that guy,” Smith said. “In the clutch moments, I just feel confident in my shot, and I just take it.”

Terra Nova went on to shoot 47.9% in the game, while South City couldn’t keep pace, settling for a 33.9% shooting clip. Despite the fast transition offense of Terra Nova, and its strong guard defense through the second and third quarters, Terra Nova’s interior defense was the secret to its success.

“Me and my big men Mason Mini and Dylan Kubit, we work as a group and not let anyone get in the paint,” Smith said. “No one really scores in the paint.”

Robby Wierza credited assistant coach Prabe Bolaria, a former San Mateo High School standout, for working with Terra Nova’s big post players.

“The past few weeks it’s been a lot of work for those bigs, just to learn to play without fouling,” Wierzba said. “And we still did get in foul trouble but, luckily, we have a great big-man coach, and he’s been putting in a lot of time with them. And we’ve been reaping the benefits.”

Despite South City shooting just 3 of 14 from the field in the third quarter, the Warriors started showing signs of life heading into the fourth. A technical foul on Terra Nova for inappropriate language allowed the Warriors to end the period with a pair of free throws, closing the deficit to 52-44. Two more technical free throws midway through the fourth quarter brought South City to within one score at 60-57.

But Anthony Wierzba was Terra Nova’s saving grace in the final quarter, countering Lem’s final 3-ponter with a clutch dribble-drive layup to push the lead to 64-60. A free throw by Kubit with a minute to play made it 66-63, and Anthony Wierzba’s two free throws closed it out.

Anthony Wierzba matched Smith for the game-high with 18 points.

Terra Nova outrebounded South City 42-28.

Anthony Wierzba and Lem were both named to the all-tournament team, along with Quinn Fishburne, Drew-SF; Ethan Chang, Leland-San Jose; Jerry Chin, Summit Shasta; Nikko Gamble, Capuchino; Ethan Marmie, Sobrato-Morgan Hill; and Ben Liang, Galileo-SF.