BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
MISSION — From sleeping in the bleachers during tournaments to hitting game-winning free throws, Elijah De La Garza has grown up as a coach’s son, and he got a special payoff on Friday night.
De La Garza scored the winning points as his father, Mission Veterans coach Romeo De La Garza, picked up his 400th career win, beating the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks 47-42 in overtime on Friday at Mission Veterans High School.
Romeo De La Garza has been at Mission Veterans since the school opened in 2002, and his parents were in the stands Friday to watch his milestone victory.
“It felt good to have my boys step up the way they did and have my son redeem himself,” Romeo De La Garza said. “He hit those two big free throws. I’m just happy. It’s taken a lot of hard work. We have a great group of kids, a young group of kids, and I am very proud of them.”
Romeo’s son, freshman guard Elijah De La Garza, came up big in the overtime to lead his team to the win. Elijah finished the game with 18 points, going 8 of 12 from the free throw line. But he was 1 for his last 4 attempts coming into overtime.
“I’m tough on him, but he is even harder on himself,” Romeo De La Garza said. “To see him struggle, it is heartbreaking, because of all the time he puts in. All the work, all the sacrifices, missing birthday parties, missing family get-togethers, just to put work in the gym. But there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to step up when he got the opportunity. And he did.”
For Elijah, being a part of the special night for his father came with plenty of emotion.
“It felt amazing,” Elijah De La Garza said. “That’s honestly awesome. I’ve been to just about every game he has coached, and to get his 400th win with me on the team is amazing.”
The win wasn’t as easy to come by as it should have been. The Patriots charged out to a 14-2 lead and led 14-6 at halftime. Pioneer would not go away, and a strong third quarter allowed the Diamondbacks to pull within seven to start the fourth quarter.
“(The Diamondbacks) are a young team,” Romeo De La Garza said. “Coach Gonzalez does a really good job with them over there. I knew. I knew they would come back. What made the situation more difficult for us was we knew they would make their push, but if we weren’t in the foul trouble we were in, we would have been able to maintain it. We made some mental mistakes that we usually don’t make, but we found a way, when we had to, to get it done.”
Elijah De La Garza combined with a strong effort from junior guard Noe Cantu to seal the deal down the stretch. Cantu finished with 14 points.
“Noe is a great point guard,” Elijah De La Garza said. “He can score. He can shoot. He can distribute the ball to his teammates. He’s just a great point guard.”
Pioneer jumped out to a lead in the first two minutes of overtime. With 1:21 left in the period, Elijah De La Garza stepped to the line in the midst of a cool spell, but he shook it off and knocked down both shots.
“I felt composed on those shots,” Elijah De La Garza said. “I take one dribble and a spin before each free throw. That routine helps a lot. I definitely made a difference on those last couple shots.”
On the ensuing possession, Vets came away with a steal, and Cantu found senior forward Josh Acosta open running to the net. Acosta scored his first and only two points of the night to extend the Patriots’ lead. Perfect trips to the foul line for Elijah De La Garza and Cantu sealed the win for Mission Veterans.
“As a freshman, that was good to see from him,” Cantu said of Elijah De La Garza’s effort. “That is a very difficult moment to have to shoot those free throws. He knocked them down, and then I knocked them down, so that was good.”
Sophomore center Lavar Lindo had a team-high 12 points for Sharyland Pioneer. Sophomore Luke Padilla added nine, and freshman Eddie Marburger scored six.
Elijah and Romeo De La Garza have spent countless hours on courts all over the Valley. Romeo coached Elijah from the time he began playing basketball.
“He always had a ball in his hands,” Romeo said. “I just pushed him to be the best player he could be.”
Elijah also cherished the time they spent together.
“It was awesome,” Elijah said. “I was extremely excited for him to get his 400th win, because we have a special relationship. We go everywhere together — camps, tournaments, things like that.”
Romeo fought back tears after the game as he talked about his son with billowing pride.
“I usually don’t keep track of things like this, but it’s a tribute to the kids I have had in this program,” Romeo said. “All the hard work those guys put in. We have won a lot of big games here with our program. I am just thankful to the good lord for the opportunity to coach kids and not only prepare them for basketball but prepare them for life.”