(Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles)—Both the CIF/L.A. City Section Division II and East L.A. Sports Scene’s 2019-2020 Boys Varsity Basketball “Player of The Year” Awards go to Roosevelt Rough Rider, José Arellano, the Senior Point Guard who led his team to the school’s historical, and first-ever CIF/L.A. City Section, Division II Title, last February 29th. The Riders defeated their fellow Eastern League member school, South East, the #4 seed, as they rolled triumphantly through all four of their L.A. City Section playoff opponents as the #11 underdog seed to capture the highly coveted title.
Photo Gallery Credits: Javier Perez, Student Intern/Cal State Dominguez Hills; Erik Sarni, East L.A. Sports Scene Productions; Bob Bernal Jr, EastSideMedia
ADVERTISEMENT
Here are Arellano’s season statistics based on his Average Per Game: Scoring: 15.8; Rebounds: 4.1; Assists: 4.7; Steals: 1.9; Deflections: 2.2; 3 PT/FG Ave = 31.4%; 2 PT/FG Ave = 54.5%; Free Throws = 68.6%; and Ave. Minutes = 29 min.
In addition, Arellano was highly instrumental in leading the Rough Riders to the CIF/SS Division V, Southern Regional Championship Tournament. The Riders, as a result of winning their L.A. City Section title, were rewarded with the #2 seed in the CIF’s State Championship Tournament. They also rewarded their highly supportive student-body and faithful Boyle Heights community fans with three consecutive home playoff victories games which were all completely “sold-out.” They defeated these schools in the following order: Cathedral City (Riverside County), Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara County), and Delano (Kern County). After their trifecta of victories, José then led the Rough Riders to the Regional Title game against the #1 seed, Eastside Lions, before losing a close and hard-fought “War on the Floor” by the final score of (53-48).
For his outstanding season of play, José was selected as the L.A. City Section’s Division II “Player of the Year.” He was also voted to the Eastern League’s 1st Team. As an extra added bonus, and under Coach Mario Perez’s mentorship combined with Arellano’s playing style & leadership qualities, José was joined as an All Eastern League Awardee, by two of his teammates, Jonathan “JJ” or “Jhonny” Gomez, 6-0 Sophomore, the team’s shooting guard & 3 point shot expert, who earned 2nd Team honors, and by Cesar Romo, the 6-6 Senior Center, who received Honorable Mention recognition for both his consistent offensive and defensive play.
When asked to describe his feelings on earning the coveted “Player Of The Year” Award, Arellano remarked, “It was a great and historic season. I would like to thank all those who supported me through this amazing run…from family, friends, classmates, and alumni, who all took time out of their day to attend our games. I would also like to thank all of my teammates and coaches for making basketball a memorable moment during my two years of playing varsity basketball here at Roosevelt High School.”
He also remarked that, “I especially would like to thank my Head Coach ‘MP’ (Mario Perez) for not only teaching me how to be a team leader as the Co-Captain of our team, but also for taking the extra time to teach me some very important life lessons. I’ll always remember this season as one of the best I’ve ever played in representing my school as a Rough Rider. For next season, I’ll be watching the team very closely and hoping that they will continue down the same winning path that we did this year.”
And to round out this story, here’s how his Head Coach, Mario Perez, described José’s phenomenal season as the team’s Co-Captain. “José always has been a very talented and skilled player. He was always able to elevate his own level of play and do very well for us on the court. When José began to be more responsible for his team play and started “leading” us, that’s when our team, as a whole, elevated to a championship-caliber team. He is the Division II “Player of The Year” and its most outstanding player” because we won the L.A. City Section Championship, and we won it because of how well José ran our team. I wish nothing but the best for him at the college or university he should decide to attend. He will certainly be missed.”
As mentioned in our previous story on Coach Mario Perez, we are still awaiting a break in our everyday schedules when we can return to some type of “new normal” production during this devastating Coronavirus pandemic. Once we have an idea of how we can begin to host or sponsor an event, in this case, our Awards and Ring presentation for the team, we will inform everyone. Thanks for your patience!!
ADVERTISEMENT
