Odena twisted to his left as he elevated, and the ball banked hard off the backboard.

But for the Titans, style points didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Odena’s shot went in.

Odena’s straightaway 3-pointer as time expired gave New Mission a 68-67 victory over East Boston yesterday in the Boston City League semifinals at Madison Park High.

New Mission coach Cory McCarthy said the scenario was what he drew up in the huddle, even if it didn’t look very smooth.

“Osmel going right is one of the great shooters around, so that’s what we wanted,’’ McCarthy said. “It wasn’t necessarily a great shot. It went off the glass. But it went in, so I guess it was a great shot.’’

East Boston coach Malcolm Smith said it was a tough way to lose, but that New Mission deserved the victory.

“It’s sort of surreal, like it didn’t happen,’’ Smith said. “When the shot hit the air, you just heard an eruption.’’

The Titans (18-1) trailed by 4 with a minute remaining, but a free throw by Odena and a lay-up by center Ousmane Drame brought them within a point with 25 seconds left.

Senior Kevin Orenella hit one of two free throws on the next trip, opening the door for the Titans.

It looked like the team had squandered its chance, however, when guard Darius Davis traveled and the ball went back to the Jets (15-5) with 5.1 seconds left.

The Titans’ defense held tough on the ensuing inbounds pass, though, forcing a bad pass that sailed out of bounds, opening the door for Odena’s winner.

“Four seconds is a long time,’’ McCarthy said. “I told [the team] in the huddle to fight, fight, fight. Dedication will reward you when you fight for the game.’’

In the other semifinal, defending league champion Madison Park dispatched Boston English, 70-53.

The Cardinals (18-1) led by just 3 points with five minutes to play, but the strong play of seniors David Campbell (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Spencer Braithwaite (19 points) helped them pull away from the Bulldogs (13-8).

Madison Park and New Mission will meet in the final tonight at 6:30 at Madison Park.