Column: Expectations keep rising for unbeaten Chino Hills High as Huskies head to final game

Whether it’s the all-around play of 6-foot-6 Lonzo Ball; the dunks of 6-5 Eli Scott; the blocked shots of 6-9 freshman Onyeka Okongwu; the bank shots of 6-6 LiAngelo Ball; or the Steph Curry threes from 5-10 freshman LaMelo Ball, unbeaten Chino Hills High has been providing an unprecedented brand of high school basketball entertainment in Southern California.

Gyms have been packed whenever they show up. Video cameras are seemingly everywhere trained to capture the best dunk or the best behind-the-back pass. The battle for the hearts and minds of the social media world was won over months ago.

As one fan wrote on Twitter after seeing the Huskies in the Southern California Regional final last week: “Went to my first NBA game . . .except it was a high school game.”

Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani said, “I haven’t paid for a high school game in 30 years. I wanted to go to that game.”

Expectations keep rising, and that’s exactly what Chino Hills (34-0) wants.

The Huskies’ final game of the 2015-16 season is set for Saturday night at 8 against Concord De La Salle (31-2) in the CIF Open Division state championship game at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. Seating capacity is 17,317, so we’ll see by the attendance figure whether Sactown also embraces the Huskies’ basketball show.

“We love the arena setting,” LiAngelo Ball said. “It gets us more pumped and more hyped.”

The game will be televised nationally by TWC SportsNet, the Lakers’ channel. A national audience can tune in to see what has mesmerized Southern California fans over the last four months — a team with three brothers in the starting lineup that’s unselfish, entertaining and capable of scoring points in large numbers.

There was no celebration after winning the Southern Section Open Division title. There was no jumping up and down after winning the Southern California Regional title. But come Saturday night, the Huskies are promising to celebrate should they fulfill their season-long goal of winning a state title.

“All the hard work is paying off,” Lonzo Ball said.

Chino Hills has scored 100 or more points 18 times this season, tying a state record. De La Salle is a patient team and needed only 41 points to win its Northern California Regional final against Modesto Christian, so don’t expect a 100-point game in an NBA arena. But Chino Hills isn’t going to change the way it plays — trapping on defense, firing up three-point shots en masse and trying to dominate in the rebounding department.

Chino Hills likes the arena setting because it allows the Huskies to fast break on a longer court and use their conditioning edge. Lonzo Ball has been known to fire a 70-foot outlet pass with the best, and De La Salle will certainly have to be prepared to deal with that.

“The fruition of all the hard work and labor our guys have put in, they deserve it,” Coach Steve Baik said. “Hopefully we can close it out.”

The Open Division girls’ final will be played at 6 p.m. matching West Hills Chaminade (30-4) and Orlinda Miramonte (32-0).

Chaminade has the imposing duo of USC signee Valerie Higgins and Duke signee Leaonna Odom. Miramonte has 5-10 Sabrina Ionescu, a McDonald’s All-American who has scored 29 and 36 points in her last two games.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATSondheimer