FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
For the past two years, no other name has become more synonymous with the Harlingen High girls basketball program than Sami Quilantan’s.
In her two seasons as a starter for the Lady Cardinals, she led the team with 399 steals on her way to winning back-to-back District 32-6A Defensive Player of the Year awards. She also helped the team amass an impressive overall record of 64-7 and two District 32-6A titles.
Her talent on the court can only be surpassed by her generosity and her willingness to give back to the community as she volunteers often at the Boys & Girls Club in Harlingen – the place that helped her become the player she is today.
This year Quilantan is a finalist for the Girls Basketball Player of the Year award, which will be presented at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Award banquet on June 14 in McAllen.
The other finalists up for the award are Jordan Rudd of Brownsville Veterans and Jazlyn Muniz of Weslaco High.
Recently Quilantan shared some of her time with the VMS to talk about her nomination.
Q: How does it feel being nominated for the Girl’s Basketball Player of the Year award?
A: It’s an amazing honor and it was also a surprise for me. To know all my hard word paid off is the greatest feeling ever. I can only thank God, my family and my teammates for always being there to push me even when I wanted to quit.
Q: What would winning the award mean to you?
A: If I won this award I would be speechless. Of course, all the glory would go to God and I’d thank anyone that helped me in all my years that have led me to this point.
Q: How would you define your high school career?
A: My high school career has been very interesting. Going from hardly playing my freshman and sophomore years to starting my junior and senior years had a great impact on me. Knowing my coach believed in me that much to put me in the starting five was a great feeling.
Q: How long have you been playing basketball and how did you get into the sport?
A: I’ve been playing basketball since I was in the first grade or maybe even a little before. I first began playing in a team at the Harlingen Boys & Girls Club. The Boys & Girls Club had a very big role in the player I’ve become today. It always kept me out of trouble and I actually learned more about the sport by the older kids that were willing to help me. I got into basketball because of my Aunt Mindy, who was a former player at Harlingen South. Her team went to the Sweet 16 and I had a chance to go watch her play. She inspired me at such a young age.
Q: You like to volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club. How did that get started and do you plan to continue to do so after you graduate?
A: I started volunteering when I was about a freshman. I was always there playing basketball so much that all the workers knew me and thought it would be a good idea to let me teach the younger kids. As for the future, of course I’m going to continue helping kids there. I’m actually going to be working there in the summer that way I can continue teaching the kids.
Q: You played volleyball, basketball and soccer. Is there any sport that you might have missed out on that you wish you could go back and play?
A: Not at all. Playing volleyball, basketball and soccer always kept me busy. I wouldn’t want to play another sport because I would feel like I would burn myself out a lot faster.
Q: Everybody is motivated by something and someone. What kept you motivated throughout your high school career?
A: Well, to be honest, freshman year my motivation was, of course, Michael Jordan because I have always looked up to him. Seeing him play made me want to play like him. But since my sophomore season, my motivation has been my cousin Gaby Rivera, who passed away her sophomore year while I was a freshman. She was that person on the court that always had a smile. No matter how bad the game was or how bad we were losing, she always kept you happy and focused. She’s my role model and I hope one day I can inspire as many people as she did.
This is part of a series on all the area athletes up for awards at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet, which will be held on June 14 at the DoubleTree Suites in McAllen. Up next: Nicole Gonzalez of Harlingen South, who is a nominee for Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.