Dave DeBusschere leads Chaminade back to CHSAA championship game
Chaminade guard David DeBusschere drives the lane against Holy Trinity guard Matthew DeFalco in the CHSAA semi-final playoffs, Sunday, February 26, 2023 at Farmingdale State College. Credit: George A Faella
Dave DeBusschere is back where he wants to be.
A year after losing to Holy Trinity in overtime in the CHSAA boys basketball championship, the Chaminade guard punched his ticket back to the title game, beating the Titans in the process.
“I was not about to go out in my senior year to Trinity, who beat us in the finals last year by a point,” DeBusschere said. “I dreamed about getting revenge, and that’s the perfect way to do it.”
DeBusschere scored 19 points and fellow senior Antoni Vlogianitis added 18 to lead No. 1 Chaminade past No. 4 Holy Trinity, 71-56, in the CHSAA semifinals.
The Flyers (22-3) won both regular season matchups against the Titans (13-13), each time utilizing a second half spurt to earn the victory. Sunday’s postseason game played out the same way.
The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 45, but the Flyers went on a 13-0 run and took a commanding lead.
“We had nine days off from our last game to today,” coach Dan Feeney said. “We just went through game situations, I would say two to three times a practice, and it paid off.”
Vlogianitis scored eight of Chaminade's 13 points in the fourth-quarter run. Despite a slow start, he said he never lost confidence in his ability to knock down shots. He scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half.
Jack Connolly (eight points) helped close the semifinal victory with a basket and four free throws down the stretch.
Chaminade will play No. 3 St. Anthony’s (19-7) in the CHSAA championship on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Hofstra University. St. Anthony’s defeated No. 2 St. John the Baptist, 65-51, in the other semifinal. The Flyers defeated St. Anthony’s twice in the regular season, most recently winning, 65-49, on Feb. 10.
“They [Holy Trinity] came out firing, which we expected,” DeBusschere said. “We had a slow first quarter, but we bounced back . . . I was just using my teammates, not always trying to get to the basket and score. I passed a lot, got some assists. Guys hit good shots. [It’s] all about the team.”
