RGVSPORTS.COM
Soon after learning its opponent for the UIL state tournament, Edinburg Vela coach Lalo Rios received a flood of questions.
“Guys were asking who’re we playing? Who’re we guarding? How do we matchup?” Rios said. “I told them, ‘Just enjoy the moment. Monday we’ll sit down and prepare, and figure out what we need to do to get ready.’”
Such was the anticipation following the SaberCats’ Region IV-5A final win on Saturday, when details about the tournament were still unclear. But by Sunday afternoon, the UIL had announced the pairings for the state semifinals, which pits Vela (35-2) against Lancaster (34-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Should the SaberCats win, they would advance to the state championship at 3 p.m. Saturday to take on the winner of Fort Bend Elkins (35-2) and Fort Worth Dunbar (23-11) at the same site.
Already, Vela finds itself in exclusive company after becoming the Valley’s first 5A team (or higher) to advance to the UIL state semifinal.
Edinburg High qualified for the state tournament in 1922 — at a time when there were no classifications, and eight teams qualified. Edinburg lost that year to Lindale in the state quarterfinals. According to the UIL website, Lindale went on to win state, but later was disqualified.
As one of four teams still alive in the postseason now, Edinburg Vela faces its steepest test to date. The SaberCats, ranked No. 8 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, knocked off No. 15 Alamo Heights and No. 16 Laredo Nixon, respectively, to reach the state tournament.
Now, Vela will take on a Lancaster team that is ranked third in state.
“We’ve seen them a bit, and they’re very athletic, very quick, obviously very tall. It’s going to be a quite a challenge,” Rios said. “But I think there’s things that we could take with us (from watching film) that could help us.
“I think guys are now past what we’ve accomplished (at the regional tournament), and I think we’re now ready to take on that next challenge.”