St. Viator welcomed back Sipiora with open arms

St. Viator senior Julian Sipiora is currently between his best athletic seasons.

But the all-area football and baseball player figures one of the best decisions he made was rejoining the boys basketball program for what has become its best season.

Sipiora didn't play last season, but the 6-foot senior has been part of the Lions' top seven. He is averaging 3.6 points a game as they head into their first sectional title game at 7:30 p.m. today at Vernon Hills in the Class 3A matchup with Johnsburg.

"It's been a blast playing with all of my best friends," Sipiora said Tuesday after he had 10 points and 8 rebounds in an 82-64 semifinal win over North Chicago. "The camaraderie we have as a team, everyone gets along so well and it shows on the court."

Sipiora, the East Suburban Catholic Conference football MVP, has been a nice extra ingredient toward a school-record 23 victories.

"All of these guys are my best friends and they were heckling me to come back," Sipiora said. "Last year I missed it more than anything.

"On senior night I thanked coach (Joe) Majkowski for letting me come back."

Majkowski said "he was always welcome back" and talked often with Sipiora about it last year. Sipiora decided last spring to become a three-sport athlete again.

"He certainly has proved to be a big part of our success, which we knew he would be," Majkowski said "It took awhile for him to get real comfortable and he seems to be getting comfortable now."

What Sipiora has added to the Lions goes well beyond a scoring average that isn't going to catch anyone's eye.

"It's the ballhandling he brings, the passing and decision-making and defense he brings," Majkowski said. "All of those things are really important."

And Sipiora hopes his return to the mound as part of Viator's 1-2 pitching punch with starting guard Brendan King is delayed a little longer.

No longer a forbidden zone: St. Viator senior Richard Markovits laughed and said "coach (Joe) Majkowski is definitely not the zone type" during a discussion Tuesday night of what has traditionally been regarded as a four-letter word in the program.

It was something that also elicited laughs from Majkowski and a few others within earshot of Markovits after Viator primarily went with a 2-3 zone against North Chicago.

Man-to-man is still the defensive staple of the Lions but they have made more frequent use of 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones this season.

"He'll do anything it takes to win," Markovits said of Majkowski.

"We're here to win ballgames, not bang our heads against a wall," Majkowski said. "The kids have confidence in the zone and they've played it well a number of times."

Majkowski also has confidence in his team playing zones in the right, active ways and not just rooted to spots with their hands in the air.

"These are smart kids and we told them a little bit of how we wanted them to play it," Majkowski said. "They've done very well for us and North Chicago is so quick, it's hard to stay in front of them in man-to-man."

The Warhawks never could find the range as they shot just 36.9 percent (24-for-65) and were 7-for-20 on 3-pointers.

"They're going to play zone until you prove you can score and we didn't do that," said North Chicago coach Gerald Coleman of his team which came in averaging 81.5 points a game.

Solid with the rock: St. Viator senior Alan Aboona added to his status as one of the area's top point guards when he scored 27 points and didn't commit a turnover against North Chicago.

"That kid is a strong, strong player," said North Chicago coach Gerald Coleman. "He plays with such control and confidence and the other players feed off it."

It's something Viator has come to expect from Aboona.

"Alan runs the show and he's a real good floor general," said senior Julian Sipiora.

"He really showed the toughness and experience of a three-year point guard," Majkowski said. "He was a true leader on the floor with everything he did."

Pride of the ESCC: St. Viator and Benet, which plays Glenbard East for the Neuqua Valley 4A title tonight, are the only teams still alive from the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

Viator's worst loss of the season was 58-39 on Jan. 29 to the Redwings, who went 13-0 in the ESCC.

"I'm so proud of how we've come together as a team," Markovits said.

"That was a big wake-up call for this team."