Longstanding boys basketball rivalry to pause at least for a season

February 4, 2026

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

It began with names like Amaury Fernandez, Jason Kapono and Jack Martinez on one side and Anthony Alexander, Peter Chun and Ziad Dahdul on the other side. Nearly three decades later, it ended, at least for now, with names like Jordan Heredia, Christian Stewart and Kobe Young on one side and Noah Edwards, Devon Hardy and Noah Lai on the other side.

The best boys basketball rivalry in the 605 League the past eight seasons, which began on Jan. 20, 1999 when Cerritos High joined the Suburban League from the Mission Valley League temporarily ended when the Dons held on to defeat Artesia High 61-58 last Friday night.

With the new 20-school Suburban Valley Conference beginning next season, five teams will each be put into four leagues. The longtime rivals will not be in the same league for the 2026-2027 season, but that may change two seasons for now, or a little bit longer. For Cerritos head coach Jonathan Watanabe, he has seen the highs and lows of the rivalry and has been the head coach for all but two of those games.

“I think it’s been awesome for both programs,” said Jonathan Watanabe. “Obviously in the beginning with [Jason] Kapono and James Harden, they dominated the beginning part [of the rivalry]. But with us having Aaron Wright and Evan Leonard kind of balance it out. The last few years we’ve had some big name players, like Alex Archer, Shay Pema, Tobenna Ozoagu. So we’ve had guys going back and forth and we’re right with them, and it’s been fun.

“I really think it keeps you on that edge,” he continued. “In the offseason, I’m sure he watches…we’re watching what each other do. So we have to make sure we’re putting in the work because of what they’re doing, and that just makes you better.”

In the first Artesia-Cerritos game as Suburban League members, the Pioneers easily won 92-34 behind 26 points from Martinez and 16 points from Franklin Matos, a freshman at the time. Artesia would go onto a 32-3 season while Cerritos, which got 13 points from Chun in that first meeting, would lose the next 17 straight to the Pioneers.

The last of those 18 straight games came on Jan. 24, 2007 when Harden scored 29 points in a 73-46 win. The next season, Cerritos posted a 70-63 victory on Jan. 7, 2008 and was the first of 16 wins over the next 20 meetings between the rivals.

Artesia head coach Jeff Myles has coached his team in the last 14 meetings, going 6-8 against Watanabe. In fact, since the 605 League was formed, it has been owned by these two teams with Watanabe claiming five league titles and Myles the other three, which came in 2022, 2023, and 2025.

“It’s been fun; it’s one of those games that no matter the records, all the students come out,” said Myles. “You saw the student section come out [tonight] and it was packed, probably as packed as it’s been all year. It’s packed when you go [to Cerritos], so it’s a heated rivalry. Last year, we beat them twice and this year, they kind of got us twice. We’ll see where we fall next year in league.”

“Coach Myles has done a great job,” said Watanabe. “Last year he did an awesome job, but this year, he’s doing another great job developing these young guys. I got to see their lower levels play today; they have some guys coming up. So, their program is on the up and up. It’s all the credit to him. We’ve butted heads a lot and we’ve gotten at it, but it’s part of the rivalry. You compete against each other, and it makes both of us better. But I enjoy it. I hope we’re able to be in the same league or play each other in a single [game]. But let’s keep [the rivalry] going. It’s been a great eight years in this league.”

While Myles may not have as many memories of the rivalry as Watanabe, the one game that stands out the most for the 24-year veteran head coach of the black and gold came on Feb. 5, 2013 when the Dons defeated the Pioneers 39-31 at Artesia in what is still the lowest scoring game in the 56 games.

“I honestly did not think we would make the playoffs that year,” said Watanabe. “That was the first year we played at the Staples Center because I called up [Downey High head coach] Larry Shelton and said, ‘hey, can we play at the Staples Center, because we have a group and I love them; they’re not basketball players, but I love them and I don’t know if we’re going to make the playoffs this year.’ We won [at Artesia] to clinch a playoff spot and I was literally in tears in the [Artesia] weightroom over there because I was so happy for those guys and so proud. It was the lowest scoring team I think we’ve ever had in the history of the school, but they were guys who showed up every day and worked hard. They helped build the culture that we have today.”

Cerritos finished with an 11-16 record, 6-6 in league and in fourth place. That would be Leonard’s freshman season as he would go on to have a stellar high school career. Another top memory in the history of the rivalry wasn’t a pleasant one for Watanabe, the program or the school. On Feb. 11, 2000, it was Artesia’s senior night, and the Pioneers rolled to a 144-53 victory behind 24 points from Fernandez, Matos and Martinez, and 22 from Andre Hazel. It was one of 11 games that season in which the red and black scored over 100 points. and because of that game, last Friday’s win was a sentimental one for Watanabe as it leveled the series at 28 wins and 28 losses. On Artesia’s court, the Dons own a 15-13 record.

“This one in particular is for coach Desborough,” said Watanabe. “Coach Desborough was here in the beginning of this rivalry; I happened to be here as a freshman coach on the bench when they ran up the score and it was 144-53. They pressed the whole game, they fouled all our guys out and they kept going and going and going. [Former Artesia head coach] Wayne Merino did not shake our hands; he walked straight to the locker room.”

While the rivalry may be temporarily halted and the memories continuing, both coaches have agreed that they would like to find a way to play a non-league game until they are in the same league.

“I’m always one for playing them,” said Myles. “It’s a great game; it’s a fun game. I know the kids always get up for it. I know they know each other. A lot of them go to middle school together, maybe elementary.”