By Don Ketchum

“It’s only summer.’’

That is a crutch on which some basketball teams lean heavily after losing a game in a summer tournament. Does it really matter all that much?

Try telling the boys from Laveen Cesar Chavez that it doesn’t mean anything.

The Champions overcame a 20-point deficit against Anthem Boulder Creek and won their game 79-76 on a buzzer-beating three-point shot by Will Holt in the Best In Basketball Summer Invitational at Mesa Red Mountain High on Friday (July 1).

The round-robin tournament continues Saturday (July 2).

“They (Boulder Creek) have a really strong starting group, putting up a big lead. But our second guys really gave us a lot of energy,’’ said Cesar Chavez coach Gary Lee.

“The good thing about what we did is that we could have said, “It’s a summer game’’ and let them have it. But we decided to play defense and it paid off for us.’’

Lee enjoys having his teams play in summer tournaments.

“It helps build better depth,’’ he said.

With the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s new realignment, creating divisions and sections instead of classes and regions, Lee’s team is going to need it. For basketball, it is being placed in Division I, Section I.

Cesar Chavez was the No. 11 seed in Class 5A Division I last season and fell to Phoenix Brophy Prep in the opening round of the state tournament.

Cesar Chavez was hoping that it would be placed in the same division and section with neighboring Laveen Betty H. Fairfax, as the two teams will be in football, Division II, Section I. But Fairfax, which won the Class 5A Division II state title last season with a thrilling double-overtime victory over Scottsdale Chaparral, is being placed in Division II, Section III for basketball.

In Cesar Chavez’s second game of the day on Friday, it suffered a close loss to Fairfax.

“There are only five divisions for basketball, but there are six for football because of the eight-man teams (formerly Class 1A),’’ Lee said.

“It would be nice if a lot of teams make the state tournament, say 64. You give more kids an opportunity.’’

The depth of which Lee spoke figured into his team’s win over Boulder Creek.

“We’re going to continue to play 10 or 12 kids. They’re all pretty similar in their ability,’’ Lee said. “When you do that, you can allow them to build and then keep their fresh legs.’’