The Portelas couldn’t have scripted a better father-son storybook ending to their four-year quest to the top of Arizona basketball.

Ray, Sunnyslope’s coach, guided the Vikings to their first Open championship victory, with his son, Rider, garnering MVP honors after a 17-rebound double-double that handed Sunnsylope a 60-51 victory over St. Mary’s. Saturday’s coronation at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum culminated a long journey for Rider, marking a rise from 'nothing to something’ since joining the tradition-rich north Phoenix campus.

“He wanted it. He wanted it,” said Ray about his son. "That’s what I love about the kid. He’s a competitor. He’s a competitor. He gets that from his mom (Missy). Certainly not from me. He’s a competitor. He didn’t want to lose. It’s the last game with my son. It finally hit me, and he picked a great one to go out on.”

The Portela family celebrate after the Open championship game Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)There was another Portela that held a place in Ray’s heart as well after the championship win. 

In his left pants pocket was a bag with the initials of his father, Joe, who passed away two years ago. 

“I miss him,” Ray said. "I see a lot of him in Rider.” 

It took time for the Vikings to achieve Open supremacy, having lost two of the first three Open finals staged over the last three years.

But with a battle-tested, balanced squad, the Vikings were one of the favorites this season. Sunnyslope boasts a massive 6-7, 6-10 and 6-7 front line, but it was the wiry 6-6 Rider who proved to be the true force on the boards in his final high school game.

That’s a good thing for Sunnyslope, because the 7-foot Cameron Williams threatened to entirely take over the Open final. He scored 23 points, including four three pointers, and helped St. Mary’s build a seven point lead in the third quarter. 

But Rider came up big near the basket, delivering two crucial late-game plays. With fewer than 40 seconds remaining and Sunnyslope holding a 52-50 lead, Rider converted a left-handed layup following a Williams block to extend the lead to four. 

His putback off a Delton Prescott miss gave Sunnyslope a 52-48 lead with 2:54 left and forced a St. Mary’s timeout.

The Vikings dominated second-chance points, 17-1, and the glass, 41-26. 

“There were a lot of ups and downs,” said Rider, who along with  Prescott scored a team-high 16 points. "But honestly I ended up being happy because I knew I worked my butt off and that’s all I can ask for.” 

Sunnyslope went up 56-51 with 28.2 after Darius Wabbington found a wide open Jaylin Ideran running down the court on an inbounds play. 

Ideran was fouled hard but still made the basket for an and 1 chance. Kaleb Seow came off the bench and made the free throw for the injured Ideran. 

Kadin Williams also entered the game cold and calmly knocked down two free throws to pretty much add the final touches. 

“I’m happy for all of these guys,” said Ray, who graduated from Sunnyslope. "They are like my kids. I love them to death.” 

Three distinct shifts turned the final 3:11 of the third quarter into a mini-drama. 

It started with the final second hero of Wednesday’s Open semifinals, Mick Riordan, who converted a four-point play, giving St. Mary’s its biggest lead in the final (37-30).

But then came a goaltending call that swung the momentum back to Sunnyslope and left St. Mary’s fuming. Rider was fouled during a transition play as Williams came flying in to spike the ball away. 

Rider was awarded the basket, though. He missed the ensuing free throw, but the 6-7 Christian Simmons had Rider's back with a putback on his second tip attempt. 

Sunnylope was down now 37-34 until St. Mary’s coach Damin Lopez disputed the goaltending call and was subsequently hit with a technical.

In just 12 seconds, Sunnyslope transformed a goaltending call into a lightning-fast scoring burst, with Prescott’s technical free throws pulling the Vikings within one at 37-36. But credit St. Mary’s for keeping its composure after that and closing the period strong.

A three from the right wing from Carter Bagley just before the buzzer sent St. Mary’s to the fourth quarter with a 43-39 lead. 

But that merely set the stage for Rider to continue his clutch performance. The senior guard started to assert himself in the second quarter. 

That's when he scored eight consecutive points while converting an and 1, a three and an acrobatic baseline move after bumping into defender midair before scoring.

That put Sunnyslope up 21-16. 

Sunnyslope, ranked fifth in the nation by maxpreps, will get another chance to move up the national rankings. The Vikings were one of the eight teams invited to play in The Throne National Championship in New Jersey from March 19-21st. 

They’ll head there with a 28-2 record. Williams also has another game to play. 

The Duke-bound force is the lone Arizona representative in the prestigious March 31st McDonald’s All-American game. The game will be held in his backyard, the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. 

"Our journey with Cameron has been amazing,” Lopez said. "I think what’s made it amazing is that he’s such an incredible human being. He works hard. He listens. He’s extremely coachable. Duke got a winner in him, and then whomever moves forward with him in life is going to be loving what he does on the floor, but off the floor too.”     

Despite the loss, St. Mary’s (23-7) became the first 4A AIA program to reach an Open final.

“I told them (in the locker room) when we won state before with my pops we had a school with 900-1,100 kids. Our school is only at 495. So the fact that we are competing against these schools and doing what we are doing is incredible. I think a lot of people realize that and really rallied behind us.
“There's a saying that we have at St. Mary’s. We might not be the biggest or strongest, but we have the conviction that we can be the best.”

St. Mary’s became the first 4A team to reach an Open final. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)