“I’ve been told — especially when I was younger — that I play like Jamal Crawford. I’ve heard Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) a little bit.” A few months ago, Alijah Arenas said the opinion he has received about his play-style is similar to that of Jamal Crawford and SGA. The 6’6 guard is the son of Gilbert Arenas, and taking the world by storm with this ability. But what’s the reason for his success in front of the NBA superstars?
“He (Gilbert Arenas) was saying stay disciplined, stay working hard, stay with your team, move it, communicate, and you know what you can do. We also got, you know, encourage your teammates uplifting and then just keep pushing forward.” The five-star spoke as the Chatsworth boys basketball were victors in the Division II Southern California Regional semifinals. In the 75-61 win against Westchester, Alijah Arenas had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and five steals.
After the game, the 17-year-old stated. “Everyone played good, everybody played hard tonight, it was a total team-effort it is going to stay like that. (We have to) stay hungry, stay disciplined, and stay working hard and it will lead to a lot of good things.” As per Sports Center Next, to witness Gilbert Arenas’s son and other hoopers, even James Harden was courtside to witness the action live.
With this win, Chatsworth, the third seed, will host fifth-seeded Bakersfield Christian in Tuesday’s regional final. The winner advances to the state championships in Sacramento on March 14-15. It was a redemption win for Alijah Arenas and co. as they had suffered a loss to Westchester in the LA City Open Division championship game last week.
Looking back at Gilbert Arenas’ son’s performance in the previous encounter
The most recent game was the third encounter between the two teams led by 5-star recruits. For Chatsworth, it’s Alijah Arenas, and for Westchester, it’s also a son of former NBA star Trevor Ariza. The first clash was back in November; Alijah led Chatsworth to a nail-biting 58-56 win, dropping 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Tajh Ariza, on the other hand, put up 14 points.
In last week’s encounter, Ariza delivered 19 points and eight boards, leading his squad to a 65-55 victory—their 16th City title. But Gilbert Arenas’s son did not go down without a fight. Even for this game, LA Clippers star James Harden showed up to catch the action. To highlight the bond between the two, Alijah said, “As a person, that’s the guy I want to be around all day like from sun up- sun down..and then for me it was just kind of like almost like a father figure type of guy like he was.”
With his father figure present, no doubt, the 17-year-old felt extra motivated to perform. With words of encouragement from his father, Alijah certainly delivered a big-time performance on both ends.
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