BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
HIDALGO — For the second year in a row, Weslaco High came up one game short of winning the Hidalgo Pirate Classic.
Last year, Weslaco lost in the title game to Houston Dickinson. Saturday, Weslaco exorcised one demon by beating Dickinson 61-59 in the semifinals, but lost to Los Fresnos in the finals.
Los Fresnos took a lopsided 67-51 victory on Saturday in a matchup of two teams from District 32-6A that will play two more times this year.
“I’m not going to lie, we didn’t want to play Weslaco,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “I hate playing a team three times. They are going to be tough to beat in district. This win really doesn’t mean anything. Did we win? Did we play well, get better? Yes. But at the end of the day, we want to win when it matters — in district.”
Last year, Los Fresnos and Weslaco High shared the district crown after the teams split the season series. This year, the trio of matchups all but guarantees an outright winner of the season series, and that team will likely be the frontrunner for the district title.
“We are two of the top teams in the Valley right now,” Weslaco High coach Gabe Valdez said. “It’s great for us to be matched up. It’s a good game for us. We have to learn from it and get better. Games like this help us get prepared for district play, and that is what it’s all about.”
One basket was scored in the first 4:13 of the game Saturday. Senior forward Derrick Cedeño grabbed a board and got a putback on the opening possession, leading to the four minutes of scoreless play.
“I think both of us were trying to feel each other out,” Valdez said. “We were trying to figure out what was going to be the best way to attack each other. Two great squads.”
Los Fresnos righted the ship first, using transition baskets to build a 10-4 lead about two minutes after the team’s first basket.
Senior Jordan Urbina had a game-high 27 points to lead Los Fresnos. Also in double figures were senior guard Gabe Martinez (12) and senior forward Tomas Rangel (10).
“I thought we defended really well,” Hinojosa said. “The kids know that the offense will take care of itself. We just have to defend. We brought a lot of energy, a lot of focus and we ran the game plan to a T, I thought.”
Weslaco threatened to get back into the game at the start of the third.
“We just became more aggressive,” senior guard Braxton Bloomquist, who finished with 12 points, said. “We knew we were down, and we had nothing to lose, so we brought that aggression. We were just trying as hard as we could to get a board and start the run.”
Weslaco cut the lead to 8 points for the first time since the first quarter, but Martinez and Urbina got back-to-back baskets to quiet the Panthers and put the game out of reach.
Valdez played his starters until the end. Senior Jesus Payes finished with 12 points. Junior Safi Fino-A-LaSelf scored 10.
“It’s a good experience,” Valdez said. “We played a lot of really good teams up in the San Antonio tournament, and then we played a tough Los Fresnos team today. We have gained some great experience. We are playing well, we just ran into a buzz saw in the first quarter, and it hurt us.”