Four Takeaways: Mira Costa vs. Santa Barbara

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MANHATTAN BEACH — Saturday's CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal matchup between Mira Costa and Santa Barbara featured a brand of high school basketball that we aren't accustomed to seeing this day and age as two public school programs filled with local talent met in a high stakes environment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mira Costa jumped out to an early lead, made timely shots and disrupted the Dons offensive flow and didn't look back en route to its 61-40 victory. The Mustangs advanced to the CIF-SS Division 1 championship game where they will play another public school program in Los Alamitos.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Four Takeaways</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Piuleini one to track</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2571717' first='Eneasi' last='Piuleini'] led all scorers in this game with 19 points and he has continued to elevate his stock as one of the more under-the-radar stretch fours in the state. There's one caveat when it comes to the 6-foot-6 forward and that is the expectation that he will take a two year mormon mission after graduating high school. Still, Piuleini should be on recruiting boards of Division II and potentially low Division I programs in the class of 2027 due to his combination of size, skill and athleticism.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">De Armas' multi-faceted impact</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2119930' first='Jacob' last='De Armas'] proved to be a jack-of-all-trades guard/wing prospect throughout the season and his versatility on both ends of the floor shined through in the semifinal win. The 6-foot-3 senior slashed his way to the rim for transition baskets, got downhill to his right hand off the bounce and scored in the paint in half-court offense and made numerous defensive plays as the top of the Mustangs effective pressure defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Bell an underclass prospect to watch</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though Mira Costa has enough players on its bench to fill two programs, the Mustangs only play eight or nine guys on a consistent basis with most of those being seniors. The one underclass prospect who has seen big playing time for Mira Costa is Paxx Bell, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard in the class of 2027. Bell has an impressive combination of size, strength and shooting ability and gave Mira Costa an important second quarter boost where he knocked down two three pointers and scored eight points in the period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Kranz grew into PG role</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming into this season, Mira Costa needed to shore up its point guard spot to make the run many expected it could make and 6-foot-2 senior [player_tooltip player_id='2119977' first='Christian' last='Kranz'] stepped up to and excelled in that challenge. Kranz was a steady decision-maker in open court settings, organized the offense, distributed without turning it over and provided a solid on-ball defensive presence.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->