Lady Bulldogs come from behind to defeat the Lady Nitros 64-56 in overtime & Burbank cruises by Glendale 84-56 in boys game

The Burbank Bulldogs basketball teams were able to sweep the Tuesday night basketball doubleheader with the Glendale Nitros. The Lady Bulldogs came from behind to defeat the Lady Nitros 64-56 in overtime and Burbank crushed Glendale 84-56 in the boys contest. Manina Tuputupu and Andrea Aparico combined for 42 points for the Lady Bulldogs. Leah Davidian led the Lady Nitros with 16 points. Kaleb Walker led the Bulldogs with 24 points and Michael Vanilian paced the Nitros with 14 points in the boys game. 

To begin the doubleheader between Burbank and Glendale, the girls faced off, and it was all Glendale early. Davidian and Aparico began the opening quarter by trading baskets. Davidian scored a two point jump shot and Aparico scored the and one basket while being fouled. Aparico ended up not converting the three point play. 

The Lady Nitros went on a 9-0 scoring run with points with Davidian, Brooke Alderte, and Melissa Juarez all chipping in offensively. Mania Tuputupu stopped Glendale’s scoring run with a basket. While the Lady Nitros had control of the first quarter, Aparico showed Burbank was not going to quit, hitting a jump shot at the buzzer to end the opening quarter with the Lady Bulldogs trailing by 11 heading into the second quarter. 

Ani Khachatryan began the second quarter with a layup, cutting the Lady Nitro lead to nine. Davidian scored on separate possessions to push the lead up to 12,  going one for two at the foul line and then adding a jump shot.

Khachatryan and Tuptupu responded with back-to-back baskets to cut the Lady Nitro lead to seven but Melisa Juarez answered with a layup. Glendale went into the halftime break leading by 10, seemingly in full control. 

Leah Davidian broke the seal in the third quarter by going one for two at the foul line, but Khachatryan scored consecutive three-point baskets to cut the Lady Nitro lead to five. 

Tuputupu cut Glendale’s lead to three and it looked like Burbank was taking away the momentum from the Lady Nitros. Davidian, and Chloe Cerecedes responded and scored three straight baskets to answer Burbank’s mini run. The Lady Bulldogs held tough and ended up cutting the Lady Nitros lead to five heading into the final quarter of play. 

There were  questions to be answered heading into the fourth quarter asking if the Lady Bulldogs could complete the come from behind victory and whether Lady Nitros would be able to seal the game. Keshishyan made a three to start the final quarter, and the Lady Bulldogs went on with an exciting 9-2 scoring run to cut the Glendale lead to two. Tuputupu, and Aparicio also contributed to this run in hopes of completing an epic comeback for the Lady Bulldogs. 

Juarez stopped Burbank’s scoring run by nailing both of her foul shots at the free-throw line to get the Glendale lead back to four. Both teams gave it all the fans wanted throughout the fourth quarter with the Lady Nitros extending their lead back to as many as six at one point. 

Setaghian made a clutch basket late to make it a one-point game before Keshishyan thought she sealed the game by making both of her foul shots. At that point, the Lady Nitros were still in control of the contest with a three-point lead with 19.7 seconds left. 

The Lady Bulldogs had one more chance to keep the game alive, needing a three-point basket to force overtime, and with 6 seconds left in regulation, Aparico came through with a clutch three to tie the game at 53-53, forcing a 4-minute overtime session. 

The Lady Bulldogs won the overtime tip-off to gain first possession of the basketball. Tuputupu began the extra period with a basket to put Burbank out in front 55-53 for their first lead of the game.

Tuputupu followed that by making both of her foul shots at the free-throw line to increase the lead to four. Brooke Alderte cut into the lead by making one of her two shots at the foul line. Burbank held Glendale to only three points in the overtime session, and added nine more points, completing an amazing come from behind win. 

Burbank improves to 15-5 overall and 4-2 in Pacific League play, sitting in fourth place two games ahead of the Lady Nitros. Glendale drops to 10-5 overall and 2-4 in the Pacific League and in fifth place. Both teams will return to action on Thursday, January 15th against their crosstown rivals. Burbank will host Burroughs and Glendale will host Hoover. Both games will take place at 5:15 p.m. 

To conclude the basketball doubleheader, the boys game between Burbank and Glendale played in primetime, and it began similarly to the opening contest. The Nitros began the first quarter by going on a 7-0 scoring run with points by Michael Vanilian and Ryder Romero.

The Bulldogs responded with three straight scoring possessions with Cris Ong, Anthony Jawiche, and Giordan Lewis contributing to cut the Nitro lead to one. Mason Manalo answered with a three-point basket to make it a 10-6 lead. While both teams displayed an entertaining offensive first quarter, the Bulldogs had responded to the early adversity and led by three entering the second quarter. 

Kaleb Walker began the quarter with an and-one basket and completed the three-point play at the free-throw line. Cris Ong and Walker combined to increase the lead to eight for Burbank. The Bulldogs took control of the second quarter and led by 14 entering the halftime break.

Anthony Jawiche, Cris Ong, and Giordan Lewis began the second half by going on a 7-0 scoring run. Romero stopped the scoring run with a three-point basket to get the Nitros on the board in the second half. The Bulldogs continued their offensive parade throughout the second half to complete the 28-point win over the Nitros. 

Burbank improves to 13-5 overall and 3-3 in Pacific League play and Glendale drops to 8-11 overall and 1-5 in league play. Both teams will return to action on Thursday, January 15th against their cross town rivals. Burbank will host Burroughs and Glendale will host Hoover. Both games will take place at 6:45 p.m.