BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — The second district meeting between Weslaco High and Edinburg Economedes came down to free throws Friday, much like the first go-round on Jan. 15, but the outcome wasn’t nearly as dramatic.
On that night, Economedes needed critical free throws from Angel Salinas with 1.5 seconds to go in regulation to snatch the game away from Weslaco High. This time, the shoe was on the other foot.
Weslaco High led the tight game through three quarters, but the Panthers widened their lead when the Jaguars’ jump shots weren’t falling and resorted to fouling. Weslaco High concluded its district schedule with a 48-37 road victory over Edinburg Economedes.
“The kids have played like that all year,” Weslaco High coach Gabe Valdez said. “We try to put ourselves in a situation to win, and tonight was no different. Economedes has a senior-laden ballclub. I talked to the kids about redeeming ourselves after the loss at our place. They fought and battled and came out on top.”
Weslaco High made 8-for-13 free throws in the fourth quarter. Edinburg Economedes were just 1-for-2.
“I’m not going to blame the officials because of the way we played. We had two of our kids foul out,” Edinburg Economedes coach Carlos Ramos said. “There were some missed calls, which always happens. I think that predicted the outcome of the game. We’ll take it and we’re going to move on.”
The Jaguars (24-7, 9-2) entered Friday shooting a mind-boggling 40.8 percent from the perimeter as a team, but they went 1-for-7 on 3-pointers in the final period.
“They locked us down on defense,” Ramos said. “They had a lot of ball pressure. They took No. 10 (Angel Salinas) from us. He’s our primary ball handler, so when we put the ball in someone else’s hands, the likelihood of us moving the ball as well is not as great. It is what it is.”
Weslaco High senior guard Caleb Ybarra provided much of the ball pressure, southpaw shooting guard Isaiah Garcia was reliable shooting from the outside and Safi Fino-A-Laself put the game out of reach with key free throws.
“That last game (against Edinburg Economedes) was a game that we shouldn’t have lost,” Fino-A-Laself said. “We were ready to fight. There was a lot of hustle from a lot of different players on our team. Our bench was great. Everyone really wanted this win.”
Ybarra, Garcia and Fino-A-Laself combined for 40 points.
“Those three have been our heart and soul all year long,” Valdez said. “They’re back from last year, and they’ve put the team on their shoulders. We won two tournaments in the Valley earlier in the year, and we played really well at times. We dropped a couple in district play that kind of hurt us a little bit, but we were in those ball games. That’s a tribute to those kids working hard in the summer to become the players that they are today.”
The Panthers (26-8, 9-3) ended their district slate on a three-game winning streak and officially tying the Jaguars in the win column in District 31-6A.
Edinburg Vela defeated Edinburg North on Friday to improve to 10-1 in District 31-6A. The SaberCats will end their season with the Jaguars, who are one game back.
“It’s a tough district,” Ramos said. “We had Weslaco tonight and Vela on Tuesday. We’re going to try to get them in a two-way for the district title.”