City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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COLLEGEVILLE >> If anyone other than Braden Sidebotham, and maybe his parents, had Braden Sidebotham as a hero in the PAC title game, they should show receipts.

It’s not that the Pope John Paul II senior wasn’t ready, it’s just that he wasn’t really expecting to be called on either. The guard is by his own admission not a mainstay in the Panthers’ rotation but he shows up and puts in the work every day so if his number is called, he’s confident he’ll deliver.

Sidebotham made three crucial fourth quarter plays as PJP II won its first PAC title since 2011, surviving Spring-Ford 47-45 Monday night at Perkiomen Valley.

“I didn’t really expect to go in, it kind of caught me by surprise,” a grinning Sidebotham said. “Once I stepped on the floor, it was just the game I’ve been playing my whole life. Once I saw the ball coming to me, it was just all the practice, all the years, the whole season with my teammates, they trusted me to hit that shot and I trust my abilities.

“Thankfully, it went in.”

Sidebotham didn’t even appear in the game until the fourth quarter, the senior getting summoned off the bench in the wake of a big Spring-Ford run that had closed the third quarter with the No. 2 seeded Rams leading 37-35. That lead had increased to 40-36 with a little more than five and a half minutes remaining and the Panthers suddenly needed a shot of adrenaline from somewhere.

That’s when Ayden Wise, who played his own hero role later on, found Sidebotham in the right corner just in front of the Panthers’ bench. To the likely surprise of many, No. 10 in dark blue and yellow rose up and fired, splashing in an unexpected three that electrified the PJP students stacked in the bleachers behind the bench.

“I knew it was good,” Sidebotham said. “You don’t really have much time to think about it, I just kind of caught it and fired it. I was just glad to be a big momentum boost for my team and just glad we got the win.”

Sidebotham stayed on the floor pretty much the rest of the way and he made sure his impact was not limited to one shot. The Rams got a score on the possession following his three, but the senior’s tenacity on defense helped force a Spring-Ford turnover with about four minutes left that bought PJP II a chance to cut back into the lead.

The guard described his playing time as “up and down” this year, adding that in most close games, he simply hasn’t gotten in. That didn’t affect his mentality or preparation – teammates cited him as one of the team’s hardest workers on a daily basis in practice – so he wasn’t going to shy away from his chance to impact the biggest game of the season.

“You can’t go into a game thinking you’re not going to get a chance, you have to stay ready,” Sidebotham said. “I’ve been staying locked in all season just in case a moment like this came and I’m glad when I got my opportunity, I was able to capitalize on it.”

Both teams had a big run. PJP II’s came late in the third quarter, the Panthers going on an extended 11-2 run over the final 5:15 that let them carry a 26-19 advantage into halftime which became a 13-2 run when senior Jason Green scored the first basket of the third quarter.

Green had seven of his eight points in the third, the Panthers getting the lead to seven at 33-24 on his foul shots with 3:59 left. That’s when the Rams went on their run, Spring-Ford going on an 11-2 spurt of its own that ended with Tommy Kelly finding Jordan Marsilio on a backdoor ahead of the buzzer for the 37-35 lead.

For the second straight year, it was a heartbreaking ending for Spring-Ford in the PAC final, the Rams losing on a buzzer-beater against Phoenixville last season and a late hoop by Wise on Monday.

“It came down to a couple plays, a couple plays and they made them,” Rams coach Joe Dempsey said. “We wrestled the lead back in the third quarter, I was proud of the guys then there were just a couple possessions where we didn’t quite have the poise or the ball didn’t go in. This game just comes down to a couple of plays at the end

‘Hat’s off to them, they’re a good team and they won it. I'm just disappointed for our seniors, they’ve represented our school so well.”

Sidebotham wasn’t the only bench player to make a mark on Monday. Junior Zahaid Edwards-Boone made his return to the court after missing the last couple games with injury and saved his best for last.

The athletic wing – a cornerback in football and also in his first year at PJP II after transferring from Upper Merion – knew he would be ineligible for districts and beyond, so Monday was his last game of the season. His defensive acumen was on display, the junior picking a pass and taking it all the way for a go-ahead layup with 3:21 left that gave PJP II a brief 43-42 lead.

“I needed to bring energy and defense, just be a factor in the game somehow,” Edwards-Boone said. “I had to go out with a bang, that was my mentality.

“I won a football PAC, so I wanted to win a basketball one and whatever I could do to help my team, that’s what my main focus was today.”

Edwards-Boone had another basket in him, the junior powering in for a layup that put Pope John Paul II ahead 45-43 with 1:13 to go.

Spring-Ford came back, senior Jacob Nguyen contorting his way for a tough make that knotted things up with 43.2 on the game clock. Nguyen, who faced physical defense all game, finished with 17 points for the Rams, who also got nine points from Syaire Barnes, eight points and nine rebounds from Kelly and five points with 10 rebounds from Marsilio.

PJP whittled the clock down, then Ayden Wise made his move. While the initial look wasn’t there, the junior was able to find enough of a lane and converted a difficult right-handed scoop with 4.4 seconds to go for the lead.

“It was (his play), but the play got messed up so Zahaid brought it out and passed it back to me,” Wise said. “I saw the clock ticking down and I had to go get a bucket.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Spring-Ford got a final look, Nguyen putting up a long three at the buzzer and seemingly drawing contact but not getting the whistle for his efforts.

The Rams will have to turn around and be ready for Friday, when they host Wissahickon in the first round of the District 1 6A playoffs. If there is consolation, after last year’s loss in the PAC final, Spring-Ford had a long postseason stay that ended in the state quarterfinals.

“That’s the idea,” Dempsey said. “These seniors have been fantastic so we have to regroup quickly and pick ourselves up because we certainly don’t want to let this linger.”

PJP II will have a little time off, the Panthers top seed in the District 1 4A playoffs starting on Feb. 18. Sidebotham might factor in that game or might not but if the Panthers need him, the senior will be ready.

He might not have even expected to be a hero Monday night, but it’s a moment he won’t soon forget.

“It’s special,” Sidebotham said. “It’s my first PAC championship, obviously it’s the first and the last but it’s just surreal. I’m so happy right now and so happy we got the win, senior year, I’m happy all these guys got the win.”

By Quarter
PJP: 13 | 13 | 9 | 12 || 47
SF 10 | 9 | 18 | 8 || 45

Scoring
PJP II: Ayden Wise 12, Jason Green 8, Jake Robinson 8, Jack Kessler 6, Zahaid Edwards-Boone 6, Bradey Bass 4, Braden Sidebotham 3

SF: Jacob Nguyen 17, Syaire Barnes 9, Tommy Kelly 8, Jordan Marsilio 5, Jack Kennedy 4

Thrice as nice for PV Girls

Grace Galbavy appreciated the irony of it.

The Perk Valley senior, a professed “die-hard” Eagles fan, spent her Sunday night cheering her heart out as the Eagles stomped Kansas City in Super Bowl LIX and denied the Chiefs a third straight championship. Then 24 hours later, she and her Vikings teammates were on the other side as the team trying to lock up three straight championships in the PAC girls’ final against Spring-Ford.

Galbavy and top-seeded PV kept the good vibes rolling, downing No. 3 Spring-Ford 61-27 to make it three PACs in three years.

“It is kind of ironic but the whole energy of the past 24 hours has been great, winning the PAC championship after watching the Eagles win their second Super Bowl,” Galbavy said. “I’ve been an Eagles fan since I was born, so I definitely enjoyed it.”

Going into Sunday, the Chiefs were the popular pick nationally to make history as the first franchise to win three straight Super Bowls. The Vikings, given the way they rolled through the PAC slate all season, were favored to hoist their third consecutive league championship.

Despite that, PV didn’t go into Monday night’s game expecting to already be a done deal. 

“Anybody can lose, we’re not above it, nobody’s above it,” Galbavy said. “We’ve played them how many times, no matter who it is, we gameplan when it’s a big game so we didn’t come in thinking we would win by 30. We knew anything could happen.”

Perk Valley took an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Vikings also took a hit in the frame. Senior Grace Miley tweaked her right knee, the one that had been surgically repaired in her sophomore year after an ACL injury, midway through the quarter and taking her out of commission for the rest of the night.

Miley had also tweaked the same knee a few weeks ago against Westtown and didn’t miss time but so Galbavy was hoping it was more in line with that than anything more serious. After the game, Miley came out with a brace on her knee but was able to climb the stepladder and clip down her own piece of the net.

Seeing their classmate go down was motivation for the other PV seniors to get the job done. Lena Stein in particular, felt driven to bring the energy that Miley usually provides in the second half.

“When she went out, in my head, I knew I had to make up for what she does out there,” Stein said. “She’s a great hustle player; she dives for the ball and gets the rebounds so I knew I had to step up. I wasn’t really happy with myself in the first half so I came out, I don’t even look at the scoreboard, I just want to hustle on every play because that’s always been my game.”

The players watched the Super Bowl at their own respective parties or houses but Galbavy and Stein said the team group chat was buzzing from kickoff. As the Eagles built a strong halftime lead and added on in the third quarter, Stein said one of the texts in the chat read that it felt like the Eagles were giving their version of a Perk Valley performance.

PV led 33-12 at halftime and really got into gear after halftime, winning the third quarter 21-3 to take a commanding lead.

Galbavy said she started to feel like the Eagles had things in hand during the fourth quarter on Sunday. On Monday, the Wake Forest recruit came out with a dominant third quarter, scoring 12 of her 21 points, which helped get the running clock going so her team could feel like things were in hand during the final quarter.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard for it, we just happen to have six in the same class that’s led us to be pretty dominant,” Galbavy said. “We got lucky that we have God-given talent, we happen to be pretty tall, we happen to be pretty athletic and we all found our sport, some of it’s the man above but we work hard for it and it’s not a coincidence because we do work for what we get.

“It’s been a great experience and I go out proud knowing what we did. Spring-Ford’s done it too, but it’s not a typical thing you see happen.”

Quinn Boettinger added 17 points for PV and Bella Bacani added 13 for the Vikings.

Stein was a workhorse in the second half. The West Chester-bound wing, who also appreciated the duality of the last 24 hours, only had seven points in the win but she had seven rebounds and four assists after halftime.

“I thought it was pretty ironic, but I also thought watching the Super Bowl made us more hungry for this win,” Stein said. “That was our pregame mentality, I usually talk to the girls before the game and I said to them ‘expect nothing.’ Even if we’re up by 30, it’s still 0-0, we can’t take anything lightly. Expecting a win is not going to get us where we want to go.”

Miley Maloney led the Rams with six points, Kareena Preuss and Haley Prophet each adding five. Spring-Ford will host Lower Merion in the opening round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs on Friday.

Seven years ago when she was in fifth grade, Galbavy’s brother took her to the city to see the Birds’ parade after their first Super Bowl win. With the 2025 Eagles parade set for Friday and PV off thanks to a first round bye in Class 6A as the top seed, she intends to be there again. It’s pretty likely the rest of the team will be too, a little celebration before they begin their last postseason run together.

“Everything’s one step at a time,” Galbavy said. “We want to three-peat in the district championship hopefully, that’s even more of an accomplishment, and we want the state championship. We’re looking directly forward to districts and getting through it game-by-game, we’re not unbeatable, so we have to come in with the same intensity every game.”

By Quarter
PV: 18 | 15 | 21 | 7 || 61
SF: 8 | 4 | 3 | 12 || 27

Scoring
PV: Grace Galbavy 21, Quinn Boettinger 17, Bella Bacani 13, Lena Stein 7, Hannah Evans 3

SF: Miley Maloney 6, Kareenna Preuss 5, Haley Prophet 5, Brynn Stiles 4, Lilly Brescia 3, Emma Kaercher 2, Devon Chamberlain 1, Ciena Platt 1