MISSION — The last time La Joya Palmview faced Mission Veterans on the basketball court, the Patriots were celebrating a 70-62 win over the Lobos on Palmview’s home floor.
Tuesday night, the Lobos returned the favor as they locked down the Patriots for a 66-49 victory at Mission Veterans High School in a game Palmview dedicated to Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna who died in a helicopter accident Sunday.
“We came into a hostile environment and we needed to get this win. The first time around, I felt like we let the game slip away,” said Palmview head coach Albert Carrillo, wearing a Kobe Bryant backpack after the game. “I told the kids from the beginning we were going to play this game for Kobe, who impacted all of our lives in a big way. We dedicated this one to Kobe and his daughter Gigi, and I think our guys did an exceptional job.”
With less than a minute left, Palmview senior Irving Gamez nailed a free throw to increase his point total to 21. After the Lobos pulled down a rebound, Gamez found himself with the ball in his hands with the game clock winding down. With five seconds left, Gamez let a 25-foot 3-point attempt fly from the left elbow that swished through the net as he finished with a game-high 24 points.
On Gamez’s feet? A pair of Kobe Bryant shoes — one purple and gold on his right foot, and black, white and gold shoe on the other.
“When I found out I scored 24, it meant a lot to me. I had Kobe’s numbers written on my wrist for Kobe, and I had Philippians 4:13 written on there,” Gamez said.
Gamez’s 24 points matched the number Bryant wore the latter half of his career. Gamez also added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
Fellow senior Freddy Flores poured in 22 points as he knocked down his first two 3-point attempts of the game as he was in a rhythm for four quarters. Flores even drained a midrange fadeaway jumper that resembled one of Bryant’s trademark moves.
“It was a great game. In the last round, they went to our home court and beat us, so to get the victory here on their home court, it was sweet,” Flores said. “It was something that we really wanted so we came out here and executed.”
Mission Veterans managed to cut the Lobos’ lead to six during the second half, but each time the Patriots drew closer, Gamez and Flores came up buckets in transition to keep Palmview ahead.
“All season long, we’ve been fighting through adversity and this was another example of how much our team has grown. We have a senior club and when games get close, we’re finding a way to win,” Carrillo said.
AJ Gonzaque notched a team-high 19 and four rebounds for the Patriots, while senior guard Jacob Marquez added 16 points to go with five assists.
The win improves La Joya Palmview’s district record to 5-3. Meanwhile, Mission Veterans drops just its second game in 31-5A at 6-2.
Both teams are faced with another tough test at 7:30 p.m. Friday as the Mission Veterans Patriots will travel to take on Sharyland Pioneer, while the La Joya Palmview Lobos play host to the PSJA Memorial Wolverines.