BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — With 17.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter of a District 31-6A battle, Edinburg Economedes senior Saul Alanis stepped up to the free-throw line, and sunk both to tie the game at 60.
The Weslaco High Panthers brought the ball up court, and everyone in the gym knew the ball would go to senior guard Safi Fino-A-Laself, who already had 25 points.
Econ senior Angel Salinas had been guarding him much of the game; the final possession was no different.
Fino-A-Laself wanted the ball earlier, but he didn’t get it until there were about seven seconds left on the clock.
“Angel forced him right, and then we had a triple team there,” Economedes coach Carlos Ramos said.
With three taller players smothering Fino-A-Laself, Salinas, the Valley’s second-leading steal man, poked the ball lose, and started to run up court.
“I grabbed it,” Salinas said. “I felt it on my left hand. I had the ball in my right. I was going to shoot the ball, but thank God they called the foul.”
The buzzer sounded and the whole gym was prepared for overtime, but the referees huddled up and when they broke the conference they signaled a foul. With the Jaguars in the bonus, that meant two shots for Salinas. They also reset the game clock to 1.5 seconds.
“I live for those moments,” Salinas said. “I love being under pressure. That is my game. That is my time.”
Salinas sunk both, and the Panthers desperation heave went wide, leading the Jaguars to a 62-60 win Tuesday at Weslaco High School.
“The last time we were here, we played three years ago,” Ramos said. “We lost a playoff game to Weslaco. They are a very well-coached team. Every time we face them, I know they run their set, probably the best in the Valley. So, we tried everything. We went man, we went zone, we went box and one. Thank God we got the win. It was just through perseverance. Our kids, they wanted it a little bit more.”
The Panthers were in charge throughout the course of the game. In fact, when Econ took the lead at the end, it was the first lead change since Econ led 2-0 to start the game.
The Panthers led by five after the first quarter, 11 at the half, and their largest lead of the game, 15 points, at the end of the third.
But the Jaguars have come from behind plenty throughout the year. This is not a new situation for them, and Salinas said after that he knew his team had the win in them.
“We just kept fighting and fighting,” Salinas said. “Fourth quarter, we were on fire. I saw the fire in my teammates’ eyes, and I knew we were going to come back.”
The Jaguars only go about seven or eight deep with their rotations, but being tired is not something they worry about.
“We do a lot of running in practice,” Ramos said. “A lot of our drills are game-conditioning drills that hopefully get them ready for something like this. We hadn’t been in a burner like this, and I think that is what got us over the edge there at the end.”
Weslaco sophomore center JJ Balderas had been on a roll, finishing the game with 11 points, all in the seconds half.
“(Balderas) has some really good post moves,” Salinas said. “He had that little spin going. Rick came up big there.”
Econ senior Ricardo Chapa was able to slow Balderas late, after being scorched early. And then with just over 30 seconds left, Chapa was trying to intentionally foul Balderas. Balderas felt the foul was too rough, and responded by throwing the ball at Chapa. Both received a foul, and Balderas was set to go to the line. The foul, however, was Balderas’ fifth, ending his night.
Without the inside presence of Balderas, the Jaguars were able to get through the lane just a little bit easier, setting up the late game theatrics.
Salinas’ biggest contribution to the game was his defense on Fino-A-Laself. The Panthers’ star guard had 21 points by halftime, but Salinas made it his mission to lock him down in the second half, holding him to just four points.
But that defense took a toll on Salinas. He was quick to point out he didn’t have his best performance offensively.
“I was just playing smart,” Salinas said. “I knew I wasn’t feeling it on offense, so I trusted my teammates.
“My boy Johnny (Barrientos), he knocked down a lot of threes. That’s scary, once he is on fire, he is on fire and he ain’t missing. I don’t think he missed the whole fourth quarter. I was just trying to get the ball to him.”
Barrientos made three straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and finished the game with 18 points.
Economedes remains undefeated in District 31-6A, now the only team able to claim that. They face Edinburg Vela in their final matchup of the first round.
“We don’t like to talk about those things — because we are a really humble team — but we are No. 1 right now,” Salinas said. “We don’t take this win as an accomplishment, though, because we know we will play them again next round. We have to be ready every night from here on out.”