THE RECENT NBA DRAFT surely missed out on some golden prospects coming out of the Diocese of Orange.
THE SOUTH COUNTY TEAM BESTED NORTH COUNTY IN THE JUNE 12, 2026, BASKETBALL GAME. PHOTOS BY IAN TRAN/ DIOCESE OF ORANGE
As spectators can attest, this year’s diocesan priests vs. seminarians basketball game did not disappoint.
The gymnasium at Mater Dei High School’s Meruelo Athletic Center was filled to near capacity, as is the case every year, for the annual event. And once again, the crowd was charged up and erupted loudly for virtually every basket, high-jumping rebound, bullet pass and steal.
Held June 12, 2026, on the Gary McKnight Court, named for the Monarchs’ legendary basketball coach, the contest pitted priests and seminarians from North Orange County parishes within the Diocese of Orange against priests and seminarians from South County parishes.
The South all-stars broke open a close game in the final minutes, going on to a 65-57 victory over the North all-stars.
“The people of the Diocese of Orange really love their priests and seminarians,” said Fr. Cheeyoon Chun, director of priestly vocations for the Diocese of Orange. “We’re so grateful we can put on a show like this.”
Along with giving the public a chance to see their priests and seminarians without their vestments and outside of traditional settings, the game serves as a fundraiser for diocesan vocations.
The MVP of the South squad was Frater Athanasius Inman, who was playing in the game for the second year in a row and scored a team-high 23 points.
“It is really beautiful, everyone coming out to support us,” said Frater Inman, who will be ordained a deacon on June 27 and assigned to St. Michael’s Abbey, in Silverado. “It was a ton of fun. We are all one big Church.”
The MVP for the North team was seminarian Travis Ang, who scored a game-high 27 points with seven 3-pointers.
“I was just sending the Holy Spirit with every shot,” said Seminarian Ang, who is assigned to St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim. “This is something I look forward to every year. The people are so, so supportive of the seminarians and priests and we always want to put on a good show for everyone.”
Fr. Brandon Dang, who will become the pastor at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Aliso Viejo on July 1 after serving as director of vocations for the diocese, helped start the game.
While studying for the priesthood at St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, Fr. Brandon and another seminarian found out about the annual “Revs vs. Sems” basketball game held in the Diocese of San Jose that drew large crowds. Initial attempts by another seminarian to organize the game in the Diocese of Orange were unsuccessful. Eventually, Fr. Brandon and other organizers were given the go-ahead. The inaugural game was played at the Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic School gymnasium in Tustin with Bishop Kevin Vann getting the contest started by tossing the ball in the air for the tipoff. The game was held annually from 2015 to 2018 but didn’t take place in 2019 due to administrative changes in the diocese.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the game to be canceled in 2020 and 2021 before returning in 2022. The game has now been held for five consecutive years.
A JOURNEY TOWARD PRIESTHOOD
Before the contest even tipped off, another all-star performed on the court. Servite High School graduate Jakob Flores sang the national anthem. Having graduated on May 29, Flores is already on the verge of entering the seminary to begin his journey toward priesthood.
Flores has been provisionally accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Orange and is preparing for his final interview before entering the Bishop White Seminary in Spokane, Washington. As the oldest of 12 children from faith-centered family, Flores began singing in church at age 13. He sang at school Masses at Servite and in the church choir at his parish. Flores said he has felt drawn to the priesthood for most of his life, but the call intensified during his junior year at Servite as he taught confirmation classes and became more active at St. Joseph’s Church.
“I saw more of my love for service,” he said. That’s something that I enjoyed, and I think I just wanted to go deeper into giving myself to God. And I kind of saw that in the priesthood, I can do that more fully.”
Singing the national anthem along with Flores was Angelina Soria, daughter of Elizabeth Sandoval-Soria, vocations coordinator for the diocese.