Eli Juarez gets 500th coaching victory as Davis of Yakima basketball rolls on

Hall of Fame coach becomes 24th boys coach in WIAA history to reach that milestone

YAKIMA, Wash. -- You'll have to pardon Davis' Eli Juarez if his initiation into the most exclusive fraternity of Washington high school boys basketball coaches darn near snuck up on him.

Not that the humble Pirates head man wasn't proud of notching his 500th win, or excited to become just the 24th coach to reach the lofty height.

It's just that for Juarez, a 1975 Wapato High graduate in his 19th season leading Davis, team accomplishments dwarf any individual accolades.

"Numbers, like I've said, don't matter that much and you kind of forget where you're at, then somebody said there might be a celebration if we win," said Juarez, after his second-ranked Pirates beat West Valley 72-50 on Saturday night to complete an undefeated romp through the 4A Columbia Basin Big Nine and give the coach the milestone.

"That personality definitely comes from my parents and the humbleness that they've passed on," he said just before leaving the locker room to a throng of family and friends. "It is also an accomplishment, like I told the kids, of all my teams and all my family. There have been a lot of people that have had a little stake in it and I'm the beneficiary."

For nearly four decades, with stops at Dayton, Wenatchee, Wapato and Davis, the 2021 Hall of Fame inductee has put a gritty, in-your-face stamp on his teams, with this year's edition one of his best.

After wrapping up their third straight conference title Friday night by racing past rival Eisenhower 78-41, the Pirates took control Saturday night's contest in the second quarter en route to their 14th consecutive victory, most in runaway style.

"It's all attributed to the fact that when our team goes out in a practice situation, they are all really business and they work extremely hard, not just one day and then take a day off, and they don't waste a minute," Juarez said.

Standout junior Cesar Hernandez scored a team-high 27 points for the Pirates (20-1 overall, 12-0 CBBN) and senior Finnegan Anderson added 21, with 16 of them in the first half.

Sophomore post Parker Mills had a game-high 28 points and Landen Birley added 14 for West Valley (13-6, 9-3).

The teams will meet again Thursday night in the 4A CBBN district final at Davis.