By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
It’s almost the halfway point for the teams in Districts 32-6A and 32-5A, and Metro-area schools lead each with 6-0 records.
Los Fresnos’ win over Brownsville Veterans Memorial last week gave the Falcons a one-game lead over the rest of District 32-6A. The win also bumped the Falcons into TABC’s Class 6A poll, with the leaders entering at 22nd.
Coming in as the Rio Grande Valley’s top ranked team doesn’t faze Los Fresnos.
“We don’t look at the polls at all,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “At the end of the day, there is still much basketball left to be played. If at the end of the season we are still playing well and finishing strong with a good playoff push, then maybe we will look at that poll. But as of right now, we haven’t proven anything.”
Pace’s 52-50 road win against Mercedes on Tuesday gave the team the lead in District 32-5A.
Fearless play is a staple of Pace’s play, and it comes with an experienced squad that thinks it can win at any time in any environment.
“You can’t come in (to Mercedes) and win if you have doubt in your head,” Pace coach Jose Luis Ramirez “You can’t go to Edcouch and win if you have doubt in your head. These guys are proving themselves day in and day out, and it’s just a challenge. They want that challenge. They’re hungry. We just have to keep them hungry and facing those challenges. There’s a lot more basketball to be played. We haven’t won anything yet.”
MAKING HISTORY: Athlos Leadership Academy is getting ready for its first postseason appearance.
Playing in its second year of varsity basketball, Athlos is set to play host to Alamo IDEA in a Texas Charter Schools Academic and Athletic League regional playoff game at 6 p.m. today at Athlos’ campus.
“This is our second year of existence, and our boys are very excited for our first playoff game at home against a very good Alamo IDEA squad,” coach Jose Lucio said. “We are hoping for a packed house for our game, and I can’t wait to hear our Athlos fans support our boys. It is an awesome feeling seeing our Athlos program begin to grow.”
STARTING DISTRICT: IDEA Frontier Academy started District 32-3A play last week with a 90-29 loss to the state’s 23rd-ranked Class 3A team, Santa Rosa, and lost to Monte Alto 62-59 to start 0-2.
The slow start has coach Gerardo Dela Garza’s squad focused on elevating play for district.
“It’s definitely woke the boys up,” Dela Garza said. “The last couple of practices, they’ve ran a little harder and have been more focused. The goals haven’t changed. It just means that we will continue to work hard to string a few Ws together.”
The loss hasn’t changed Dela Garza’s opinion on his squad.
“We have a lot of young players with great energy,” he said. “We are definitely heading in the right direction. We have some tough opponents, but we feel confident going into district.”