Look: Destiny Agubata, 4-star Santiago (Corona) senior, dazzles at H.O.P.E. Showcase in return from injury

CYPRESS, Calif. - Back like she never left.

Making her preseason debut as a Santiago Shark, 4-star guard/forward Destiny Agubata led Santiago to an impressive 45-26 victory over reigning CIFLACS Open Division champion Westchester at the H.O.P.E. Showcase.

Agubata scored 15 points on an efficient clip, dimed up her teammates, and made play after play on defense and the boards. She opened up with a hook in the low post in the first quarter, drained two mid-range jumpers shortly thereafter, and splashed a trio of threes down the stretch – with every single made field goal hitting nothing but net. One of California's top hoopers and most unique talents is officially back in the saddle.

MORE: WESTCHESTER'S HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE GAME

After helping lead Etiwanda to its first-ever Southern Section Open Division title in 2021-22, Agubata missed her junior year to an ACL injury. While she technically made two brief appearances last season, for all intents and purposes her junior year was lost to injury – but she stayed the course. Agubata transferred to Santiago early in the summer of 2022, around the same time her injury occurred, and spent the entire season building chemistry with her new team with a positive attitude from the sidelines. 

Clearly, Agubata also didn't let the injury stop her from working on her game. While some athletic rust was evident in her preseason debut – as it was for half the players at the showcase following an offseason – the do-it-all playmaking wing/point forward showed that her ball skills have progressed as if she hadn't missed any time. 

Sure it was just a preseason game, but Agubata looked better than ever shooting the ball from both three and mid-range, and her handles and passing have also reached new levels. It's not that she did anything she hasn't done before – it was just the level of polish easily detectable by the eye test.

Over the span of time since her injury, Agubata slid from being ranked inside the top 30 in her class to barely inside the top 100 by ESPN HoopGurlz. Early on in the process, her recruiting cooled way off for a long chunk of months as well.

But in recent months, Agubata has picked up a slew of new offers, including from high majors. And a healthy season of doing what she's capable of will remind the rest of the scouts that she's still one of the premier players in California – with a ceiling like few other wings in her class.

Whether or not it takes Agubata a chunk of the regular season to reach peak form as a Shark, she's poised for a huge senior year. And if all goes according to plan, that could mean the best Santiago team yet.

– Lance Smith | lance@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca