By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
For as much recognition as his starters garner, Edinburg Vela coach Lalo Rios defers some of that attention to his reserves.
The SaberCats (25-2, 7-0) are the favorites to repeat as District 31-5A champions, and Rios believes much of that has to do with the relief his bench provides the starters. By dressing as many as 15 players (and playing as many as 13), Vela has the type of depth that allows it to play at a breakneck pace, without much regard for fatigue, considering it has capable backups.
“That’s what really separates us from a lot of teams,” Rios said. “We don’t just have a good starting 5. We have 10-13 guys that can play and do really well.
“We tell them, ‘Give me 3 1/2 minutes of everything you’ve got, and we’ll go from there.’”
It’s helped give the SaberCats, who have a five-in, five-out substitution pattern, two different identities. The starters, Rios said, are the taller, more controlled unit, while the bench is shorter and plays “a little more chaotic.” Part of that entails pushing the pace, forcing traps and baiting teams to match their intensity, particularly in stretches where the opposing team’s starters may grow tired.
“Because we have such a deep bench, in the fourth quarter we’re able to play with the same intensity because we’re not as tired,” Rios said.
Vela, ranked No. 1 in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll, has scored 100 points twice during district this year. Rios said part of that is due to a bench unit that is responsible for roughly 30 percent of the team’s offense, especially with Chris Ochoa hitting his stride from 3-point range lately and Luis Salinas (6.3 rebounds per game) reliably cleaning up the glass.
“With the style of game we have, my starters understand how important that second group is to them,” Rios said. “They may not always want to come out of the game for rest, but they know they need to if we want to go far this year.”
GROWING UP
McAllen High coach Ryan Flores had a hunch his team was making progress two weeks ago, when they lost to McAllen Memorial, the top team in District 30-6A, by six points.
His players — many of them newcomers to varsity after the Bulldogs graduated 11 seniors — had done a better job of keeping with the speed of the game. They imposed their physicality on offense, and remained relentless on defense.
“Even though it was a loss, in my mind it was a win because of how we played,” Flores said. “I told them, ‘If that’s the effort you’re going to give the rest of the year, you’re going to be surprised with what we could do.’”
Since then, the Bulldogs (11-15, 2-5) have won two straight, including a 57-54 victory over La Joya Palmview, the third-seeded team in district. With a win over Mission High on Tuesday, McHi found itself in a four-way tie for the fourth and final playoff spot in district, along with La Joya High, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and Mission.
Lately, Flores said he’s seen his players compete with more energy, chasing after loose balls and rebounds, and doing a better job of sticking to its defensive assignments — things that came naturally with his more experienced district-title-winning team a year ago.
“People said it was going to take a time (to rebuild) because we have a young team. I didn’t believe it,” Flores said. “We work hard everyday. We just made the switch here in the middle of district, and they’re seeing they could compete against these teams.
“With that same effort, hopefully we could make a good run in the second half (of district) and try to sneak into the playoffs.”