Mission Bay High School’s Irving Valdovinos started fires on the court as a member of the Buccaneers’ varsity basketball team. With his senior season in the rearview mirror, Valdovinos hopes to extinguish fires off the court as a member of the San Diego Fire Department. “I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter since I was a little kid,” Valdovinos said. “Basketball will help me, too, because being a basketball player, you have to be a team player. I just want to be part of a team because that’s where I work best at.” Teammate Derrick Thompson echoes Valdovinos’s thoughts. “He is one of the harder workers on the team,” Thompson said. “He can shoot, he can jump and rebound. He’s the guy that I can always depend on.” Thompson and the rest of Mission Bay’s squad went without Valdovinos for several weeks this past season. An early season ankle sprain sidelined Valdovinos and he missed three weeks of playing time. Another three weeks was tacked on to get him back into playing shape. Valdovinos’s view from the bench made him realize the extent of his feelings toward basketball. “I was excited to come back,” Valdovinos said. “I had more of an appreciation for the game.” Coach Dennis Kane appreciated Valdovinos’s enhanced enthusiasm. “He was definitely a lot more motivated and [had] much more appreciation for what was taken away from him,” Kane said. “He came back with a vengeance.” Valdovinos never looked back. In the first round of the CIF San Diego Section Div. III championship games, Valdovinos helped his team advance to the next round with prolific shooting and rebounding against El Capitan High School. Mission Bay won by a decisive 83-48 score. Three days later, Mission Bay couldn’t hold off St. Augustine High School, 58-55. With the Buccaneers’ stats and score sheets in the books, Valdovinos’s fire is still lit. He said he’s likely to compete at the community college level but is open to all options.