It had been 30 years since Holy Cross last reached the CHSAA Class AA final. Paul Gilvary still remembers that game, an overtime loss to Vern Fleming-led Mater Christi (now St. John’s Prep). It was held at St. John’s University, in Bill O’Meara’s second-to-last season on the bench.
Gilvary was only a sophomore in high school then, the team’s manager. This time around, instead of keeping the game’s statistics, he was patrolling the sideline.
This ending — with the best player on the court, Virginia-bound guard Sylvan Landesberg, wearing Holy Cross green and white — was much better.
Landesberg, the league’s two-time Player of the Year and all-time leading scorer at the Flushing school, poured in 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Knights (22-8) to their first city championship in 40 years over rival Christ the King, 56-48, at Fordham University Sunday afternoon.
“Just tremendous,” Gilvary said of Landesberg. “The best I ever had and probably ever will.”
Surrounded by four seniors in the starting lineup, Landesberg was not alone. Blaise Ffrench added 14 points and Kayvon Roberts scored nine, all in the second half, in support of the McDonald’s All-American. Ernest Freeman and Tim Beinert’s suffocating defense on Christ the King’s leading scorer Ryan Pearson, limiting him to 20, four points below his average, were just as important, not to mention the job Ffrench and sixth man Tyshawn Russell did on Erving Walker, who finished with just 11.
“It’s a lifetime dream,” said Gilvary, an ‘81 graduate from Holy Cross in his 12th season as head coach. “I’ve been at Holy Cross my whole life. This means so much to our school. So many people contributed to it, I just feel happy to be a part of it.”
“It was such a winding road that got us here,” he added. “That’s why we’re going to enjoy it so much. We have had a lot of great players and a lot of great teams, but this is the first time we are able to say we are the best. And that’s special.”
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., Roberts dribbled out the clock and tossed the ball to the ceiling, setting off an emotional celebration. Gilvary ensnared Landesberg in an emotional hug. Holy Cross players hopped up and down. Students and fans alike stormed the court, creating a euphoric sea of green and white near press row. Each senior starter was lifted into the air. They later cut down the nets.
“We’re like a Cinderella team,” Ffrench said. “Nobody thought we could get this far. Nobody thought we could get to St. John’s (for the semifinals). And we won a championship.”
Said Landesberg: “We’re going to be [remembered] forever. This is history.”
Christ the King (22-6), meanwhile, was at the other end of the spectrum. They met for over 30 minutes, coming to grips with the depressing end of not only a season but many of their high school careers.
“Winning is never as good as losing is bad,” Coach Bob Oliva said.
Pearson and Walker, the Division-I bound recruits who flourished as the best inside-out tandem the league has seen in years, left teary-eyed. The two will depart the Middle Village powerhouse with a freshmen city championship, one varsity crown and two near misses, as sophomores and seniors.
It was their reduced output against Holy Cross, Oliva lamented, that did them in. The Royals depended on Pearson and Walker almost exclusively offensively, the two combining to average 39 points per game. In addition, with one not meeting his usual standards, the other not able to make up for that expected output and with junior guard Sean Johnson, their only viable third option, injuring his ankle in the first half, offense was difficult to muster.
“They made shots; we didn’t,” Walker said. “It’s tough, but life goes on.”
