By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN ― The Weslaco High Panthers got the fast start that they wanted and led wire to wire in their 6A bi-district playoff game at Harlingen High, a 61-52 victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night.
After the Panthers went on a 15-5 run that spanned most of the first quarter, the Cardinals responded during the second quarter by pressuring Weslaco High into turnovers and scoring in transition, closing the gap to a more manageable 32-28 deficit at the half.
But stopping Safi Fino-A-Laself proved to be a big challenge. The senior guard led the way for Weslaco High, scoring 11 of his 20 points during the first quarter. Junior Rollie Berrones (seven first-half points) and senior Isaiah Garcia (12 total points) were key contributors for the Panthers.
“Our three starting guards have played like that all year long,” Weslaco High coach Gabe Valdez said. “The team’s on their back, and as far as they go, we can go. We just came into tonight knowing that we had to do some things. Harlingen’s got a great, athletic ballclub, and hopefully we can do it in the next round against Laredo United.”
The Cardinals’ comeback was sparked by senior Michael Arellano, who scored 11 of his 17 points during the second half. Senior John Ortega finished with 11 points, and junior Michael Vasquez had seven.
Harlingen High assistant coach Lee Roy Sanchez was impressed by his team’s ability to up its defensive intensity after allowing a game-high 22 points during the first quarter.
“Mike, he’s our (go-to) offensive player,” Sanchez said. “He knew he had to step up at the end, and he played as hard as he could. All of our boys gave as much effort as they could. I was proud of the effort, we just came up short. Weslaco’s a tough team. They’re really good, they’re always disciplined and they have a great coach.”
Harlingen High trailed by 10 halfway through the fourth, when Arellano decide to take over the quarter. He narrowed the margin to four points by draining a pair of free throws after a steal and layup. After falling and sprawling out along the baseline, Arellano picked himself up and stole the inbounds pass to give his team another possession, and intercepted another pass at halfcourt. But the Cardinals were unable to convert either additional opportunity into points.
“We started picking up the pace in the fourth quarter,” Sanchez said. “We started picking them up full-court, and it caused them to get some turnovers and got us in rhythm, got us back in the game offensively, I think we were only down by three at some point. But we just couldn’t get over that hump. We used a lot of energy and couldn’t get some of those steals and easy baskets that we were trying to get.”
Eventually, Fino-A-Laself answered when his team needed him most, scoring a bucket and drawing a foul that put his team back up five with less than a minute and a half to play, a cushion that proved to be sufficient even though he missed the free throw that followed.
“When the game’s on the line and (there’s) pressure like that, you’ve got to be able to finish,” Valdez said. “And the guys did, for the most part, did what they had to do, got (the ball) to the right people at the right times. And we were able to score a few layups at the end, hit some free throws, but we’ve got to be able to do that a little bit better.”
Weslaco High will play Laredo United in the area round at the Northside Gym in San Antonio.