By Joseph Staszewski
It took a suspension for Christ the Kings’ Adonis Delarosa to truly understand what his teammates already knew.
“He finally realized that nobody in the league can guard him,” Royals junior guard Travis Atson said.
The 6-foot-11 Delarosa turned in the most important performance of his Christ the King career in a decisive 67-49 win over visiting Bishop Loughlin in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Class AA boys’ basketball Sunday afternoon. The Royals center scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds. The win means CK can finish no lower than a tie for first place.
“Because of the moment, that was probably the best I’ve seen him play,” Royals Coach Joe Arbitello said.
It was Delarosa’s first game back from serving a two-game suspension for a flagrant foul and ejection from the teams’ first meeting, a 76-74 Lions win Jan. 4. Loughlin star Mike Williams ended up with two staples in the back of his head after he was fouled by Delarosa.
Delarosa said he learned a lot from sitting out and watching his team beat Holy Cross and lose to Archbishop Molloy, a squad he previously dominated.
“It was a horrible feeling,” he said. “I never wanted to see that happen again. I know if I was on court I would have made a difference.”
Delarosa was the deciding factor against Loughlin in a game attended by South Carolina Coach Frank Martin and Rutgers head man Eddie Jordan. He played with aggression on both sides of the floor, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and was paramount in a 16-2 CK run that pushed its lead to 57-42 with 2:17 remaining in the game.
Delarosa capped the frame with a baseline dunk, a yell to the crowd and goaltending on the other end of the floor. Atson scored 17 points and helped CK get out to a 24-12 second quarter lead. Rawle Atkins added 16 points and point guard Andre Walker did a superb job spreading the ball around.
The Christ the King defense kept Loughlin out of the lane and forced the Lions to settle for quick jump shots that didn’t fall. Lions stars Khadeen Carrington (nine points), Mike Williams (two points) and Javian Delacruz (11 points) combined for just 22 points. These were numbers Arbitello even had a hard time believing.
“I didn’t think we would hold them to under 10 each,” he said of Williams and Carrington. “Is that factual?”
On the other hand, Delarosa left no question about who the game’s biggest factor was.
“I just knew they couldn’t guard me,” Delarosa said.
