SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOYS BASKETBALL REGIONALS : Guards Point the Way in Estancia-Servite Rematch : Division III: Paul McDaniels glad to have a another chance after Eagles’ Southern Section disappointment.

The moment plays over and over in Paul McDaniels’ head, like a video cassette recorder stuck on replay.

The drive.

The shot.

The block.

The end.

With Estancia trailing Pomona by one with 10 seconds left in the Southern Section Division III-AA championship game Saturday, the 6-foot McDaniels had the ball. He drove down the left side of the lane and pulled up for a short jumper.

The ball didn’t get very far. McDaniels ran into a Bigger Mac--Johnny McWilliams, Pomona’s 6-6 center.

McWilliams swatted the ball away.

“He really got up there,” McDaniels said. “He came from the blind side, and he really put it down my throat.”

Estancia’s Son Ly retrieved the ball, and his desperation shot with four seconds left rattled out of the rim. Pomona’s Dedrique Taylor added two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to seal the victory.

McDaniels and his teammates were devastated. They were the defending section champions and were hoping for a repeat.

It wasn’t exactly how McDaniels planned to celebrate his 18th birthday. A championship medal was all he wanted.

“No one wanted to give me any presents,” McDaniels said.

But the depression was short-lived. The blocked shot, and the loss, hasn’t made McDaniels gun-shy.

McDaniels, a senior, scored 10 points as the Eagles beat Ramona, 84-68, Tuesday night in the first round of the Southern California Regional Division III playoffs.

“Once we lost the section finals we thought to ourselves, ‘We’re not going to go out losers,’ ” McDaniels said. “It was a big goal for us to win back-to-back titles. And losing a close one to Pomona gave us a little more incentive coming into the regional.”

The Ramona game was the 90th that McDaniels has started in his three years on the varsity.

“That’s a heck of a lot of games,” Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien said. “There aren’t that many kids who get to play in that many games.”

Game No. 91 will be tonight against Servite in the regional semifinals at Cypress College. Estancia (26-5) beat Servite (24-6) in overtime for last season’s section title, and the Friars are looking forward to a rematch.

“Servite went on and won state, so they got the last laugh on us last year,” McDaniels said. “They’re a big, strong team and we’re quick and have good shooters. Both teams try to dictate the tempo, and we would definitely like to see an up-tempo game.”

McDaniels is the key to the Eagles’ up-tempo offense. He replaced Agustin Heredia, now at Orange Coast College, as the team’s point guard and leader.

McDaniels’ quickness and passing keeps the offense flowing. His quick hands force turnovers when the Eagles use their full-court pressure defense. He had six assists and three steals against Pomona.

But against Pomona, Estancia’s shooting was nightmarish.

Normally quick-starting, the Eagles missed their first 15 shots from the field and were 16 for 56 for the game.

McDaniels was three for 10 from the field, missing all three attempts from three-point range. Guards Ly (two for 12 from the field) and Mike Haas (three for 10) didn’t fare any better.

“The jump shot just didn’t happen in that game,” O’Brien said.

The three guards combined for 24 points against Pomona, 19 below their playoff average.

“I was really shocked,” McDaniels said. “As a point guard, I tried to get everyone involved in the game. But when we started to miss our shots early, I started to think it was going to be a long afternoon.”

But O’Brien didn’t point any fingers after the game.

“Paul thought he was open at the end,” O’Brien said. “The effort was there. But when you shoot poorly, and still have a chance to win the game, that’s all you can ask. It was just a frustrating game for everyone.”

Should Estancia lose before the state finals in Oakland, it will be in McDaniels’ last basketball game. His future is in baseball.

He hit .374 last season and is one of the top catchers in Orange County this season. He’s being recruited by California, UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount.

“A lot of it (recruiting) depends on what I’ll do this season,” McDaniels said.

McDaniels nearly quit basketball after his freshman year to concentrate on baseball.

“It’s a lot of fun playing with the guys on this team,” he said. “So I stayed.”

Now, 90 games later, he’s glad he did.