Belle Vernon boys hope to extend Salvino’s final season with state tournament run

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, March 2, 2025 | 5:12 PM

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On the doorstep of retirement but not quite ready to knock on the door with the PIAA playoffs to come, Joe Salvino still doesn’t crave attention.

Not after another WPIAL championship. Not after four decades of winning. Not after the sendoff of sendoffs.

In fact, simplicity has been a part of his coaching DNA for decades. In 41 years of leading boys basketball teams, the Belle Vernon coach admits practices are more appealing now to him than games.

He still uses pencil and paper to chart game plans.

A tall glass of wine after a game beats watching hours of game film, and a hug from his wife, Tori Lynn, is the best thing after a win or a loss.

“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “When I got sick, she helped me through it.”

Salvino, 73, doesn’t have any gold medals from his seven WPIAL championships and didn’t get one Thursday night at Petersen Events Center after he earned his first title since 2017 with Monessen.

“Those are for the grandkids,” he said of medals. “I’m not into that stuff.”

The Belle Vernon coach put medals around his players’ necks Thursday night after the top-seeded Leopards beat No. 2 North Catholic, 54-49, to win their first WPIAL title since 1978 and second overall. Then, he stepped back and let his team celebrate.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Salvino, whose seventh season at Belle Vernon will be his last in coaching. “All the credit goes to the players. They have withstood a lot the last few games we’ve played.

“This is all for them. I am just a part of it. It’s the icing on the cake.”

The state tournament looms for the Leopards.

“Now I just hope I don’t die on the way home,” Salvino said jovially.

Senior guard Trevor Kovatch quickly quipped: “No, coach. Don’t do that. We need you for states.”

Belle Vernon will host Farrell (12-11), the fifth-place team from District 10, in the PIAA first round at 7 p.m. Friday.

Salvino, whose 744 wins are second all-time in WPIAL boys basketball, has seven WPIAL titles and two PIAA titles, with six WPIAL crowns and both state wins coming from his 34-year tenure at Monessen.

Nobody has won more than him in Westmoreland County. Consider: Seven of the past eight WPIAL titles won by county boys teams involved Salvino (Belle Vernon this year, and Monessen in 2017, ‘15, ‘11, ‘02, ‘01 and 1995).

“I’m happy for him,” said North Catholic coach Jim Rocco, a teacher at Penn-Trafford. “He is one of the good guys. He’s had a special career. His kids play tough and don’t back down.”

Now, with the WPIAL title part of his emotional sendoff, do the Leopards (21-4) have the energy to push for a state double?

“We had to go out with a bang,” Kovatch said of the WPIAL win. “We had to. It’s always about defense. Defense wins championships, but offense wins games. That’s what coach tells us.”

A state title might rival a district crown, but the Leopards wanted to take time to enjoy their latest win.

“It was wild, a great feeling,” Leopards senior guard Zion Moore said.

Senior forward Dom Ghilani said the best way to enjoy the win was to sleep in (Friday).

The Leopards surely have the talent to make a state title run.

Tommy Davis led Belle Vernon with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the WPIAL final, and Moore and Kovatch scored 12. Ghilani each and pulled down 13 rebounds. The Leopards out-rebounded North Catholic, 40-17.

“We left it all out on the court,” Davis said.

Salvino said the PIAA tournament has undergone change since he won titles at Monessen.

“It goes on,” he said. “Teams come in from the WPIAL and think they’re going to win. You have to start on a roll and start to believe and who knows what can happen?”

Belle Vernon hasn’t won a PIAA title in boys basketball.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon