FATHER ENJOYS ARENAS' HEROICS.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

A few minutes after former Grant High of Van Nuys basketball standout Gilbert Arenas lifted the Washington Wizards to a 112-110 playoff victory Wednesday over the Chicago Bulls with a buzzer-beating shot, his dad was trying his best to settle down.

Not that he was having success. He's still trying to settle down.

Gilbert Arenas Sr. was house-sitting at his son's Washington-area home while watching the crazy final seconds of the Eastern Conference first-round game unfold.

Chicago rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of Game 5 to tie the score 110-110 on Jannero Pargo's 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining. That set the stage for Arenas, who calmly sank a 14-foot jumper at the buzzer to give the Wizards a 3-2 series edge heading into tonight's game in Washington.

``Man, these guys are going to drive an old man to drink,'' Arenas Sr. said by phone, numb after Washington nearly threw the game away.

Thanks to his son, the Wizards are a win from advancing to the second round - where they'd face Miami - for the first time in 23 years.

Arenas Sr. had planned to go to Chicago for the game, but his father was visiting Washington, so he decided to watch comfortably from his son's home.

``It was nerve-racking,'' he said.

Needless to say, his phone was ringing off the hook after Gilbert Jr.'s heroics.

The prevailing sentiment: Arenas stepped into the house that Michael Jordan built and pulled off a little bit of Air magic.

``That's what everybody's talking about,'' Arenas Sr. said. ``But now they have to take care of business at home. We don't want to go back to Chicago.'' ...

Former UCLA standout Chad Barrett had three assists and current Bruins standout Benny Feilheber scored a goal and assisted another as the U.S. under-20 national soccer team defeated the Seattle Sounders (USL First Division) 4-1 last week at the University of Washington. Barrett is a rookie for the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. The U-20s are preparing for the upcoming World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. ...

Three area players took part in the U.S. under-18 national soccer team's training camp last week at Home Depot Center: St. Francis High of La Canada Flintridge defender Jeff Buddenbohn!off, UCLA defender Greg Folk and Loyola Marymount forward Diego Barrera!off. Folk played at Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks before joining the U.S. U-17 residency in Bradenton, Fla., and he and Barrera (Thousand Oaks High) played together at top youth club So Cal United. ...

Chaminade of West Hills offensive lineman Garrett Nolan signed a football scholarship with Holy Cross, a Div. I-AA university in Worcester, Mass. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Nolan received All-Mission League second-team honors as a senior. ...

Track standout Nicole Anthony of Chaminade High of West Hills has committed to SMU. ...

Hart High football teammates Brock Arndt and Bryan Toledo, two of the team's surest tacklers last season, are good with their hands. They worked together to construct a customized poker table with a faux snakeskin padded rail and a velour surface colored in Hart's colors, red and black.

``It's beautiful,'' said Toledo's father, Rodney.

The table is slated to be auctioned at the Hart football poker fundraiser June 4. ...

Lancaster High defensive back Andre Hunter, a two-time All-Golden League first-team selection, will play football at NAIA school Azusa Pacific next fall on an academic and partial athletic scholarship. Hunter, who led the team with five takeaways on defense, also is a top kick returner. He carried a 4.3 grade-point average in high school.

Scott French, Gerry Gittelson, Matthew Kredell and Ramona Shelburne contributed.

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com