BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
PHARR — Hidalgo’s magisterial mix of veteran leadership and youthful athleticism allowed the Pirates to pull away late on Tuesday.
The Pirates bested the rival Valley View Tigers in a non-district matchup at Valley View High School 57-40 to gain some momentum ahead of the sixth annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic tournament, which they will host beginning Thursday.
“It does build some momentum,” Hidalgo coach Gus Sanchez said. “We have played some tough teams in the last few games. Being a rivalry game against Valley View, I think this does build momentum heading into the tough tournament that we are hosting.”
The score looked one-sided, but that was thanks to Hidalgo’s late push. Valley View even had a 33-32 lead with 1:37 left in the third quarter. Hidalgo senior Aaron Anaya scored six points in the fourth quarter to help the Pirates seal the game.
“Aaron has been doing this for the last couple years,” Sanchez said. “It’s his turn now. He made some big free throws there and some big shots for us. He kept our poise. We got a good combination of some older guys and some young guys. He’s the one that keeps our team in check.”
Anaya knows all too well how crucial this rivalry game can be.
“I was part of the team the one time in my career that we lost to them, so it feels good my senior year coming into their house and taking the ‘W,” Anaya, who had a game-high 16 points, said. “I have been struggling this year, to get to the basket. Now that I am starting to find my rhythm, it feels good, and I am able to get my teammates more involved.”
The teams went back and forth during the first half, but Hidalgo had the slight advantage early.
The Pirates couldn’t find their rhythm from deep, missing several open shots in the first half.
“That was big,” Anaya said. “We rely on our shot, so we had to take it to the hoop more often, and that’s what worked for us tonight.”
Valley View’s Achilles’ heel, meanwhile, was free-throw shooting. The Tigers went 4 of 13 from the charity stripe in the first half.
The heated rivalry was scrappy early, as each team had accumulated 10 fouls by halftime. That led to several key players for both teams being in foul trouble.
Add to that the early injury of Valley View senior Ricky Rodriguez, who landed awkwardly after a shot attempt early in the first quarter and did not return, and both teams needed to go deep into their benches.
Hidalgo has gone 12 deep for much of the early season, allowing Sanchez to make five-man substitutions and then adjust based on the personnel on the court and the opponents’ lineup.
“We are counting on 12 guys,” Sanchez said. “That’s one thing that we are focusing on. If we want to make a deep playoff run, that depth is going to be big this season.”
Saul Arjona was second on the team with 10 points, followed closely by Andy Flores with nine and Alexis Gonzalez with eight.
“This win carries a lot of momentum,” Arjona said. “We got a big win tonight, and that gets us pumped for the tournament.”
Felipe Ayala, one of two seniors for Valley View, had to rise to the occasion with Rodriguez hurt. He did to the tune of a team-high 13 points, but the next highest scorer on the team had six points.
Carlos Zuniga, Hidalgo’s starting post player, was one of the players in foul trouble. His absence from the court was a major obstacle for Hidalgo. Valley View junior Andres Sepulveda found a rhythm with Zuniga out and collected all six of his points in the third quarter.
“Our kids dug deep,” Sanchez said. “Our fundamentals kicked in in the second half. That’s our goal, is just to get better. I know it’s a rivalry game, but we want to get better every time, and that’s what our kids did tonight.”
Now, the Pirates look ahead to the Pirate Classic.
“We are really excited for the tournament,” Anaya said. “We have been working hard, and our goal is to win the championship. We have two big games to begin the tournament. We are just going to hit it hard.”
[email protected]
