PASADENA – Verdugo Hills left little doubt Friday night, defeating Robert F. Kennedy 62-42 to capture the CIF Los Angeles City Section Division III championship in a game that was never truly in question.

From the opening possession, the Dons set the tone. The ball zipped around the perimeter without touching the floor before senior Jeffrey Moran buried a three from the corner. It was a glimpse of what was to come with from the Dons’ motion-weave offense operating with precision and patience.

“Offensively,” Dons’ head coach Jared Gibson praised, “when you’ve got three starting guards who’ve played a lot of basketball as seniors, they run your offense pretty good.”

That early three would be Moran’s only points of the first half, but Verdugo Hills didn’t rely on one scorer. In fact, Gibson showcased his team’s depth, with seven players logging significant minutes. The Dons continuously swung the ball, reversed the floor and found open shooters and cutters. Everyone made a contribution.

Defensively, the Dons’ press disrupted RFK from the outset, holding the Bobcats to just three points in the first five minutes while building an 11-3 lead. “Our press was great,” Gibson said. “We caused a lot of turnovers with our traps. Possessions equal wins and we created more possessions than they had.”

Junior Jonathan Gutierrez scored four early points and battled on the boards to neutralize RFK’s size advantage. Seniors Jordan Vargas and Alexander Kasumyan attacked aggressively on both ends, while freshman Kenneth Cruz provided a spark with a steal and coast-to-coast layup late in the first quarter to help gives the Dons a 17-10 lead after one.

The defense tightened further in the second quarter, holding RFK to just five points. Kasumyan led all scorers in the first half with 11, and Verdugo Hills stretched the lead to 32-15 at halftime.

RFK showed life in the third, but the Dons answered every run. Moran hit two threes and added a steal. Junior Matthew Garcia contributed a key bucket and assist as Verdugo Hills maintained control, leading 49-28 heading into the fourth.

The Bobcats trimmed the deficit to 15 midway through the final quarter, but Vargas responded with clutch baskets and a Garcia late score pushed the lead back to 21.

With his third city crown in the bag, Gibson emptied the bench, including his freshman son, Jace. After the final buzzer, the veteran coach was visibly emotional.

“It’s special because my son’s on the team,” Gibson said. “He wasn’t even alive for the first one. My daughter was a baby. Now she’s our manager and he’s on the team. This is our most special one.”

For Gibson and the Dons, it was a championship defined not just by dominance, but by a full-circle moment years in the making.