CK-Holy Cross rivalry should intensify

Two future Division I gunners, able second options, a bevy of seniors waiting in the wings. Based on first looks, Christ the King and Holy Cross are very similar.
They are also big rivals whose heated meetings should only intensify a bristling rivalry. It is not the Battle of the Boulevard - namely the Holy Cross-St. Francis Prep showdowns - but when the Royals and Knights tangle, Queens Supremacy is on the line.
The players know each other all too well. Four years ago, CK knocked off Holy Cross in the freshman championship game thanks to a brilliant performance by Erving Walker, the Royals’ dynamic Florida-bound point guard. Sophomore year, many of these players met in the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan final, won by CK. Then last year, there were three more meetings, two won by Holy Cross, including their first BQ crown since 1978.
“Everybody knows what everybody can do,” said Holy Cross’ 6-foot-5 wing Sylven Landesberg, the Catholic league’s two-time leading scorer.
The two teams will play starkly different styles. With the addition of sophomore big men Roland Brown and Dominykas Milkas, the Royals will not run as much, looking to take advantage of the rangy 6-foot-5 Ryan Pearson, headed to George Mason next fall, in the post, and after being undersized a season ago, expect to take advantage of their newfound size in the paint.
Coach Bob Oliva, whose Royals won their first city championship since 1994 last March, will not be looking to slow down completely, not with the improvements of senior guards Joe Nuss, Anthony Martin and Tony Turkovic, and the ability of Walker, Pearson and off-guard Sean Johnson to create in transition.
For the first time in 25 years, Oliva will extend his rotation to nine. “It’s the way you have to do things these days, even though last year we won it all without doing it,” he said. “We have a lot of good players.”
Holy Cross, meanwhile, will continue to fire away from long range. Besides Landesberg, the Virginia recruit, 6-foot-4 wing Kayvon Roberts and point guard Blaise Ffrench, are deadly from beyond the arc.
“With Holy Cross,” Walker said, “you got to stop at the 3-point line.”
Holy Cross Coach Paul Gilvary will have the luxury of a healthy Tim Beinert, a 6-foot-5 power forward who can stroke it from deep and physical 6-foot-6 center Ernest Freeman. Like the Royals, hungry yet inexperienced seniors Felix Llanos, Lespaul Newtown, Russell Tyshaun, Justin Giryluk and talented junior Sharif Mair are getting the chance to contribute.
“There are a lot of guys,” Landesberg said, “that are going to step up for us.”
While the league is more competitive than past years, with Rice, St. Raymond’s and Bishop Loughlin stocked, Queens should come down to these two.
Last year, CK had no answer for the Knights’ hot shooting. This season, Walker said, they are better balanced, bigger in the paint with others back to their natural positions.
“I feel we should be the team that’s beating others on the boards,” the 5-foot-8 guard said.
After coughing up a 19-point third-quarter lead to St. Raymond’s in the intersectional semifinals, and losing in the quarters the year before, the Knights are determined to seal the deal this March.
“Since there are a lot of seniors on this team, we have a lot of goals,” Landesberg said. “We want to go out with a bang. We are all focused on one thing: Winning a city championship.”
For that to happen, they almost certainly must go through Middle Village one way or another, whether it’s in the Diocesan or citywide playoffs. The first meeting is January 25, 2008 at Christ the King.
“I really expect it to be an electric atmosphere,” Pearson said. “It’s enjoyable to watch. It’s going to be a great game, we know that already.”