KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
The Tri City Classic will tip off today at PSJA North, PSJA Memorial and PSJA High with 24 teams hitting the court.
The tournament will run from today through Saturday with the championship game scheduled for 11 a.m. at PSJA North and the third-place game at the same time at PSJA Southwest.
Harlingen High will be in Pool H and will play McAllen Memorial at 1 p.m. and follow up with a matchup against Sharyland Pioneer at 4 p.m. Both games will be played at PSJA North.
Meanwhile, Harlingen South is in Pool E. The Hawks’ first test will be at 11:30 a.m. against Brownsville Veterans. Their next game will be at 8:30 p.m. against Hidalgo.
“We are still trying to find our identity,” said Hawks coach Brian Molina. “We are still mixing in some things and trying to find what works and giving the kids some playing time so we can figure things out for district.”
The young Hawks are still looking to find their mojo. Having another tournament against strong opponents will be a plus for South moving forward.
“We have some kids that have been in a tournament like this before, but for some kids, playing in a tournament this is new to them,” Molina said. “This tournament gives us a chance to see other teams and gives us a measuring stick on where they are at and where we are at.”
Also playing in the three-day tourney is Hanna, which will be in Pool C. The Golden Eagles are welcoming back a handful of football players back to the court.
Moving forward, Hanna will look to get the pieces in play and use the tournament as a chance to get the kids acclimated with the system.
“The biggest thing we want to do is improve ourselves,” said Hanna coach Fermin Lucio. “We are getting kids back from football and we have been together for about a week, so this tournament will help us and will let us know where we are at and what we will need to improve on.”
Hanna’s first game will be against South San Antonio at 1:00 p.m at PSJA Memorial. Their second contest will be at PSJA High, where the Eagles take on the PSJA Bears at 4.
Class 2A Santa Maria is new to the tournament. The Cougars are in Pool G and will play Laredo United South at 11:30 a.m. and will finish their day against La Joya at 8:30 p.m. Both games will be at PSJA Memorial.
Porter and St. Joseph will also take flight this weekend.
The Cowboys will be in Pool B and will square off against PSJA Memorial at 2:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m. against Edinburg High with both games played at PSJA Memorial. The Bloodhounds are in Pool A and have dates with PSJA North at 10 a.m. and La Joya Palmview at 2:30 p.m. at PSJA.