By JOSHUA MCKINNEY, Staff Writer
The beginning of Brownsville’s largest basketball tournament of the season is today.
Lopez is set as the host of the 70th annual Brownsville Independent School District Tournament today through Saturday.
Getting to host the tournament is a big deal for Lopez coach Neil Schuster.
“The BISD tournament has been a part of Brownsville basketball for over a half a century,” Schuster said. “Hosting the tournament is an honor and a privilege. I was fortunate to compete in this event as a player and now as a coach, like so many other coaches in this event.”
The tournament gives BISD schools that no longer share a district the chance to reignite old rivalries during the week. Now schools like Hanna and Pace, or Porter and Lopez can face each other for city-wide bragging rights.
“Whenever two Brownsville schools play against each other, the kids and coaches bring out the very best in one another and compete at a high level,” Schuster said.
Representing BISD in the tournament are Hanna, Lopez, Porter, Pace, Rivera and Brownsville Veterans. Brownsville First Baptist and St. Joseph Academy also play in the tournament.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
It’s no secret that Rivera carries an inexperienced roster into the 2015-2016 season after losing 10 players from last year, including all five starters.
But the opportunity to get more game action during the BISD Tournament could be a boon for the young Raiders.
“It’s good for us for the reason that we have real young ballclub,” Rivera coach Saul Villarreal said. “For them to start getting their teeth wet and to get that experience is good. We just need to play ball and get that varsity experience. It’s practice and the more we play, the more I think it’s going to help us out.”
Villarreal and the Raiders’ coaching staff are going to use different lineups and look for young players to step up during the tournament.
He cited Oscar Hernandez, who had seven rebounds and five points against Porter on Tuesday night, as an example of a player they’re looking for this weekend.
“(Oscar Hernandez) stepped up to play (Tuesday night),” Villarreal said. “In scrimmages we were only giving him few minutes, but he played the whole second half (Tuesday). We weren’t expecting to do that. We were only expecting two or three minutes. He played good though. We’re going to be looking for little things like that.”
SET FOR ST. ANTHONY
The Falcons are heading to San Antonio for the weekend to play in the St. Anthony Catholic School Tournament and will have to go without two starters for the weekend.
All-district first-team players Alex Garcia and Hugo De La Cruz are out with knee injuries, but their absences aren’t going to hold Los Fresnos back.
“We’re pretty thin, but I expect us to compete, have fun and get better,” coach Marco Hinojosa said. “Our goal is to come out of the tournament at .500 (winning percentage).”
Hinojosa expects a couple of sophomores with prior varsity experience to step into the roles of Garcia and De La Cruz roles during the weekend tournament.
Playing in the St. Anthony Tournament will get the Falcons out of their comfort zone and allow them to face unfamiliar opponents from the San Antonio area. Hinojosa said there is a good mix of teams in the tournament, including teams with 28 wins last season.