‘Miracle Season’ : After 41 Losses, Bible College Wins 2 Championships

David Aguilar did not expect any miracles when the Latin American Bible Institute began its college basketball season last December.

Aguilar, the athletic director at the La Puente school, just wanted a few victories after watching the team lose 41 consecutive games in its first two seasons of competition against other Christian and Bible colleges.

Instead, he got two national championships.

On March 15 in Cincinnati, the LABI Lions defeated Atlanta Christian to win the National Christian College Athletic Assn. Division II championship. One week later at Oklahoma City, LABI beat defending champion Hillsdale Freewill Baptist to win the National Bible College Athletic Assn. title and finish the season with a record of 33-2.

“It was a miracle season, that’s the only way to put it,” Aguilar said. “Winning the second championship in Oklahoma was like putting the finishing touch on a fantastic year.”

The Latin American Bible Institute has existed since 1926 and has been in La Puente since 1946. The institute, which has 134 students this year, prepares students for careers in the ministry and the social assistance professions.

LABI does not have athletic scholarships or a gym. The team practices and plays its games at a park gymnasium in Pico Rivera and has had candy, flower and tamale sales to help finance the program.

LABI’s turnaround began when Aguilar stepped down as coach and replaced himself with Ken Elisaldez, 31, a supervisor of community services for the city of Pico Rivera who has been coaching at various levels for 13 years. After Elisaldez was named coach, word began circulating among those who had played for him as youngsters in Pico Rivera, and some of those players enrolled at LABI.

Using an offense that emphasized the three-point shot, LABI led the NCCAA in scoring this season, averaging 104 points a game. John Guerrero, a senior guard from Pico Rivera, was named a first-team NCCAA All-American after averaging 27 points and nine assists a game.

The team also includes center Alfonso Parga of Bell, who was selected most valuable player of the NBCAA tournament, guard Jason Hart of Pico Rivera, center Mike Levario (Pico Rivera), forward Art Ramos (East Los Angeles), forward Art Rivas (Redlands), forward Rich Cantu (Pico Rivera), center Mike Hess (Whittier), and guards Darin and Sinoe Elisaldez (Pico Rivera), the coach’s younger brothers.

LABI’s only losses this season came against Bethany Bible and The Master’s College, a National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics school that the Lions defeated in a later game.

“Once we all agreed it was a realistic goal to win a national championship, we just built on it and peaked at the right time,” Coach Elisaldez said.

LABI does not award baccalaureate degrees and serves as a feeder program for schools such as Azusa Pacific and Southern California College.

“It’s a self-sufficient (basketball) program,” Aguilar said. “A lot of our players have paid out of their own pocket. Most athletes would expect something in return, but they have done everything on their own because there is nothing there (financially) for them.”

Aguilar said the basketball team’s success has generated interest in organizing a women’s volleyball program and possibly a baseball program in the next few years. “It’s been a great season for the kids on the team and for everyone at the school,” Aguilar said. “We’re hoping to build on it for the future.”