Spartan hoop men making presence felt in Division V rankings, Metro-Pacific League standings

The Chula Vista High School boys basketball team appears to be riding a wave of renewed optimism — and enthusiasm — heading into the final stages of the 2024-25 season.

The Spartans carried a 20-6 overall record into Thursday’s regular season finale against the visiting Castle Park Trojans. Chula Vista needed a victory to keep pace with westside rival Sweetwater for the lead in the Metro-Pacific League standings. Both teams were 4-1 in league play.

The Red Devils were scheduled to close out regular season play by hosting Hilltop on Thursday.

Both Castle Park (8-16 overall) and Hilltop (9-16 overall) carried 1-4 league records into those key games.

Sweetwater (14-13 overall) defeated host Chula Vista, 67-63, on Jan. 31 while the Spartans topped the Devils, 58-56, in National City on Tuesday.

The battle for the league banner appeared too close to call.

Chula Vista topped Hilltop, 68-41, last Friday in a game that was close through the first half with the Spartans leading 33-26. At one point a rejuvenated host Lancer team narrowed the difference between the teams to just two points.

The Spartans, ranked third among the section’s Division V teams, regained control of the game with a 20-9 run in the third quarter.

Seniors Elijah Gillespie and Giovanni Contreras each dropped in 22 points to pace Chula Vista while sophomore Gabriel Ruz added 14 points. Sophomores Adrian Alvarez (12 points) and Ami Blea (10 points) both scored in double figures for Hilltop, ranked 15th out of 20 teams in the division.

Both teams are having amazing seasons. The Spartans, who finished 9-18 in 2023-24, have not had a winning season since 2003 while the Lancers finished 1-25 last year.

“I’ve been with the program four years, this is my second varsity season after starting with the freshmen and junior varsity programs,” CVHS head coach Deondric Cunningham said. “It’s been a four-year process. Our season goal was to be competitive. We’re still in contention for the league banner.

“We play very fast-paced, run a press. Our goals for the playoffs are the same as the regular season. I feel if we play at our best, we could go far.”

Contreras entered Thursday’s regular season finale with a team-leading 21.1 scoring average per game (top five in the section) while Gillespie was averaging 14.2 points per game.

Junior Roman Miramontes keyed Hilltop with a 10.2 scoring average. He also paced the Lancers with 7.7 rebounds per game.

“I didn’t have expectations other than to compete and play hard,” Hilltop coach Jim Alvarez said. “I wanted to bring in a new culture. I kept our three seniors (Sebastian Badilla, Zeke Martinez and Antonio Martinez) with an influx of sophomores and juniors.”

Alvarez was an assistant at Eastlake for 15 years under Alex Estrada, so he’s aware of what it takes to compete near the top.

“It took about half the season to start showing results and now that the kids appreciate it, they want to be pushed.”

Twelve teams in the division qualify for the playoffs. The Lancers remain on the bubble, which is a major turnaround from last season.

Contreras logged 24 points in Tuesday’s win at Sweetwater while Gillespie and Ruz tallied 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Hilltop junior Isaac Verdugo dropped in 13 points while sophomore Adrian Alvarez had 12 points in Tuesday’s 43-42 win at Castle Park.