By MARK MOLINA | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Pace came into this season knowing they would lean on their senior leaders.
Among that senior group was guard Julio Ortega who stepped up in a big way, leading the 29-9 Vikings in scoring and guided them to an undefeated district championship as well as the team’s first regional quarterfinal berth since 1993.
After finishing the season as the unanimous District 32-5A Most Valuable Player and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches 5A All-Region IV team selection, Ortega has now been named The Brownsville Herald’s 2018 All-Metro MVP.
“It means a lot; it really does,” Ortega said. “It’s a real blessing playing with my teammates and the coaches that I had, pushing me every game. It was the cherry on top (of the season). It feels real good.”
Ortega was a force for Pace, scoring 16.9 points per game with 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
In the playoffs, the senior averaged more than 15 points per game, scoring 46 points in three games.
While the talent and numbers have consistently been there over the past two seasons, Vikings head coach Jose Luis Ramirez said Ortega’s coachability and tranquil demeanor has been just as an impressive.
“He was always a yes, sir, no, sir kind of guy, not very talkative,” Ramirez said. “As seasons progressed he was a bit more talkative, but even as a senior it wasn’t much. He just led through his actions and he walked the walk. With a kid like that, it didn’t matter what you told him to do, he’d do it and wouldn’t question it.”
Ramirez recalls having Ortega play close to the basket, a position he feels can be an unnerving one during the course of a game.
Ortega excelled and became the team’s leading scorer and Ramirez said he motivated his teammates to do the same.
“I couldn’t get anybody to play the free throw line and now I have people fighting for that spot,” he said. “I remember the other players saying ‘okay, I’ll play the free throw line,” and Julio would move over to another position few wanted to play and he’d do damage there. If I told him to set a screen, play the post, it didn’t matter; he just did it.
“Nine times out of 10 something good would happen when he had the ball and players would rally around him.”
Pace had a roster loaded with sophomores and juniors with little varsity experience that Ortega and fellow senior and teammate Randy Aguilar helped get on the same page during the season.
Aguilar said Ortega is a natural leader and makes staying focused and integrating new faces into their up-tempo style easy.
“He’s an amazing leader and pushes all of us to go hard in practice, just like we’re going to in the games,” Aguilar said. “That’s why it’s a routine and we practice the way we play. It’s always been a fast-paced game for us and especially with him, he never gets tired. It’s easier for him and all of us to just follow him.”
While taking the lead isn’t always easy, Ramirez said Ortega’s patience is what resonated with the rest of the team and makes him, for all intents and proposes, another coach on the floor.
“He talked to the (younger players) in a calm way and empathize with them because he was a sophomore once,” Ramirez said. “He’s got little brothers and sisters and he knows that role. He was like that on the floor. During timeouts and dead balls he’d go up to kids who were down on themselves for making a mistake and tell them what to do and encourage them to do better. That’s a rare quality.”
While Ortega took over games, put up points and has racked up several accolades along the way, he takes just as much pride helping and watching the team get better together.
“It means a lot knowing I’ve helped my teammates and coached them up,” he said. “I really do learn a lot from them, just like they learn from me. We help each other as a team. It feels good that they look up to me and I’m able to set an example. I want to try and set the best example I can so hopefully they can do the same and accomplish great things in the future.”
The Herald’s 2017-18 All-Metro Boys Basketball Team
MVP
Julio Ortega, Sr. Pace
OFFENSIVE MVP
Andrew Carrizales, Sr., Los Fresnos
DEFENSIVE MVP
Jordan Urbina, Sr., Los Fresnos
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Daniel Rinza Jr., So., Port Isabel
COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Hazelton, Port Isabel
ALL-METRO FIRST TEAM
1. Oscar Lozoya, Sr., Rivera
2. Gabe Martinez, Sr., Los Fresnos
3. George A. Solis, Sr. Brownsville First Baptist
4. Randy Aguilar, Sr., Pace
5. Tommy Zurita, Jr., Port Isabel
ALL-METRO SECOND TEAM
1. Cesar Garcia, St. Joseph
2. Damian Maldonado, So., Bro. Vets
3. Gustavo Recio, Jr., IDEA Frontier
4. Noah Armstrong, Sr., Hanna
5. Armando Pecero, Jr., Lopez