Gig Harbor boys basketball wins 3A SSC, rolls into playoffs

For the first time in 22 years, the Gig Harbor High School boys basketball team sits alone at the top of their league.

Finishing the season with a record of 17-3, this iteration of the Tides were crowned the champions of the 3A South Sound Conference. What’s next however?

Taking care of business in districts and, hopefully, the Tacoma Dome.

“It felt good, I was happy for the kids. It’s a lot of hard work by these kids over the last several years,” said coach Billy Landram. “To get to this point, it definitely wasn’t easy. We win a lot of close games this year which is really a testament to the kids.”

One of the biggest improvements that the Tides saw from last season was in their defense. Some of that credit is due to freshman point guard Christian Parrish.

Christian, the younger brother to senior forward Drew Parrish, came in with a lot of interest around what he can do on defense. He often would set the tone on defense for the Tides and help create more possessions for the offense to score.

Essentially, the entire team began to ebb and flow between both sides of the ball.

“[Christian] came in with a lot of defensive hype, which really helped our team create more possessions on offense,” said sophomore Asher Raquiza. “This year on offense, we’ve been scoring much easier than we have in the past. So I feel like it’s a good mixture of all of it coming together.”

Raquiza, known as “the Rook”, also played a significant role in the Tides finding that new rhythm of play. Part of his goals for the season were to help his teammates win by scoring and distributing the ball.

And even though he has put up really great numbers throughout the season, the rest of the team has had an outpour of scoring as well.

“We had a lot of expectations coming into the beginning of the season that we need to step up this year,” Raquiza said. “I had a lot of expectations for myself… I feel like our team stepped up a lot. Everyone on our team has been scoring really well, it kind of helps us gain our hype and correlates to defense.”

The season began for the Tides with two very tough road games matching up against Kentwood, and defending 2A state champ Lynden.

Even though those games were crucial early season tests, the Tides came out victorious on the other side winning both games and getting out to a fast 2-0 start.

As the season wore on, the Tides kept winning. That sparked a renewed interest in how the team was playing, bringing out students and members of the community to their games.

“Obviously, [winning league] is great. I noticed a lot more people have been coming to our games recently,” said junior guard Joe Owens. “This year, it’s been electric and I can feel it. It’s really fun to play for them.”

Owens has had his time in the program for the Tides, so he’s seen seasons that did not pan out the way he would have liked. But this year has been a different feeling for him.

Instead of feeling shaken after losses at the beginning of the season, the hot start has given him and the rest of his teammates confidence that they are contenders for state.

“I think we’ve been getting better all year… Everyone is looking forward to the future, just ready to go,” he said. “We obviously like to go one game at a time though.”

That mentality will be the Tides’ mantra heading forward as they push their way through the West Central District III tournament. And because of their record, they have been positioned with a first-round bye to start districts.

With all of the momentum in favor of the Tides, it’s not hard to see why coach Landram is confident in his kids and what they can do.

“I always feel good about our team if we play hard with detail in our game,” he said. “That’s kind of the consistency of doing that. On any given night, teams can play well or not play well, we have to make sure we are playing the right way. And if we are, I’ll take my chances with us.”

As for the players, they know that now is not the time to let up on the gas pedal. A big goal for them is to keep up the same level of play that’s carried them all throughout the season.

Everyone is on the same page that this is a special year for the Tides, and that the rest of their season is dependent on how well they play their upcoming games. Hopefully, with a little luck in how the schedule unfolds, they can bring home a state championship too.

“We’ve really stepped up these past couple games, just playing super well together,” Raquiza said. “It’s been fun to play on the court who are on the same mission as you… I have a good feeling about this year and if we continue to play like how we’re playing, I have a good feeling that we will make it really far.”

The first-round bye that the Tides earned means that they will wait on their first opponent for the West Central District 3 tournament.

They will play the winner of Mount Tahoma and Kelso at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 at Gig Harbor High School.

This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 6:00 AM.