WPIAL 6A Semifinal Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Road to The Pete is complete as Central Catholic and New Castle will do battle for a third time this season. Urso vs Blundo is the new hot rivalry. Blundo is the class of western PA coaches right now, with 7 WPIAL titles under his belt and NC in the title game for the 9th time in 12 years and Urso's Central program is one that is on the rise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who stood out in their semifinal wins?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='991365' first='Dante' last='DePante'] | G| Central Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The floor general for the Vikings the last few seasons has been impressive as a ballhandler, facilitator and shooter throughout this high school career but has been seeking bigtime playoff performances. He's delivered in his last two with big offensive performances vs Baldwin in the quarters and followed it up last night with 25 in the semi vs Upper Saint Clair. If Central gets past NC at the Pete, he's going to have to make it three big games in a row. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1186402' first='Randy' last='Wilkerson'] | G| Central Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The recent St. Vincent commit has been an outside threat for the last two years. He's one of the top shooters in the area if he gets an open look and has expanded his skillset as a senior with improved ballhandling skills. In the games that DePante missed towards the end of the season, Wilkerson and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='1483892' first='Tommy' last='Kristian'] stepped up their playmaking ability and took on shared responsibilities of the "lead guard" role that needed to be filled until DePante returned. Both did so at a high level that allowed the Vikes to continue to play at the top of the WPIAL. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1284792' first='Debaba' last='Tshiebwe'] | F | Central Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior big man has benefitted from Cole Sullivan bursting on the scene as the key post player for the Vikings as it's allowed him to do a little less lifting on offense and focus more on the defensive end. Last night, however, it was Debaba keying the post play for the Vikes as he went for a double-double. He's improved as the season has gone on and his activity level on the glass has increased and he really commands the boards in the stretch run. Another player who will need to play to his top ability for Central to get past NC.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Isaiah Boice</strong> | G| New Castle</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Boice battled through injury and returned to be a thorn for Central in round two. He's a lightning quick guard with the ability to score getting to the rim or pulling up beyond the arc. He's also got a nice first step to find space to create his own shot off the bounce. Boice finished with 16 and Ralph Blundo will lean on him heavily in the final. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jonathan Anderson</strong> | G | New Castle</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anderson did the heavy lifting while Boice was out to keep the standard high for NC. Like Boice, he's got a great first step to the hoop and can finish through contact. He's a tough on ball defender--Which is the Blundo way--With Boice back, the two play off each other so well that it makes it a near impossibility for teams to shut both down. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->