John Veil sat in the Target Center stands last March, agonizing as he watched DeLa-Salle win the Class 3A championship. Then a sophomore, the Blake guard knew his team had what it took to become the first team in school history to advance to the state tournament.

“Oh man, that was killing me,” Veil said. “I was itching to be out on that court more than anything. That was our motivation for this year.”

Together with backcourt mate Kebu Johnson, Blake’s two guards set the tone for this season. First in summer workouts, then during the season, the duo pushed the team to new heights using different, but equally effective, methods of persuasion.

“Veil is more vocal, a kid who just hates to lose,” said Sean Kruger, Blake’s first-year head coach. “Kebu leads more by example. He’s the ultimate team guy.”

They led the Bears (22-7) to the best boys’ basketball season in school history. The team fulfilled Veil’s belief when it defeated Holy Family 47-41 in the Class 3A, Section 6 championship game.

Veil led the Bears in scoring with 16 points while Johnson, a senior, was the picture of efficiency, making four of five field-goal attempts for nine points.

That victory, Veil said, not only culminated a year of single-minded focus, it was justification for the belief he and his teammates had in themselves, regardless of how they were viewed by others.

“When Kebu and I first came here, we were winning six, seven games a year. People didn’t see us as a basketball school,” Veil said. “But we worked out at 5 a.m., at 6 a.m., and we believed in ourselves. We’ve been underdogs for five years and some teams still take us lightly, but they find out quickly that they can’t come in and run us out of the gym.”

Blake once again will be the underdog when it faces No. 2-seeded Austin in the Class 3A quarterfinals Wednesday. Austin is 28-0 and was ranked No. 2 in the final Associated Press state polls.

That doesn’t bother Kruger. In fact, the coach said, being underestimated might work in the Bears’ favor.

“Are these guys looking to prove something? I think so,” he said. “Being the underdog can help. It gets us fired up and we play with a lot more energy.”