What happened at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum was more than just a coronation.

Central High’s 69-58 5A championship victory over Mountain Pointe uplifted a resilient community that’s waited a long time to celebrate like the Bobcats did. Central is in the heart of Phoenix, opened in 1958 and had never won a basketball title.

That’s until late Friday night arrived.

Head coach Darren Bustos and the Phoenix Union District also waited quite a while to hold a basketball championship trophy again. The last times the district did so was in 2011 (Betty Fairfax) and 2010 (North High).

That North team was coached by Bustos’s cousin, Joseph.

“It (title) means a lot to me, the boys and Central High,” said a teary-eyed Bustos, Central’s 21st-year coach. “Something good happened for these boys and for our school. That’s what I love.”

The Bobcats trailed only once, when the Mountain Pointe Pride scored the first basket.

Mountain Pointe (21-8), which won only three games last year, also earned plenty of well-deserved congratulations for reaching the final. Mountain Pointe trailed 33-14 in the second period after a 16-0 Central run, but the Pride responded with a 12-2 stretch that helped keep the game within reach the rest of the way.

Amous Price, Mark Wiltshire (11 rebounds), Justin Kimbrough, and Jayvein Moody scored in double figures for the Pride.

Mountain Pointe was one of this season’s biggest surprises. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)Four players for Central, Grant Mattingly, Dominic Rojas, Eric Butler, and John Mattingly, also scored in double figures. Butler and Anthony Maciel (12 boards) did most of the post patrolling for Central.

The Mattingly brothers, Central’s offensive leaders, were at it again, scoring a combined 38 points.

“This is so special,” said John, who transferred this year to Central to play with his brother. “I love my brother to death. It’s a dream come true.”

Grant, just a freshman, scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half of the final.

“It (title) means everything,” Grant said. “I’ve been playing basketball with John my entire life. It’s a big moment.”

Central (28-3) will return a strong nucleus next year, including the Mattingly brothers.

So expect the Bobcats to continue to make their community proud.

“There’s more to come, though,” Grant said. “There’s more to come. It’s not over.”