By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
“Ten strong” was the motto for Brownsville Veterans Memorial during the Tri-City Classic last weekend, and coach Larry Gibson said it took all 10 players to win more hardware this season.
Brownsville Veterans beat Harlingen South 74-71 in double overtime to win the Tri-City Classic and add another trophy to the collection after winning the BISD tournament in November.
“It was team tournament win,” Gibson said. “It went to the whole team. It was my most enjoyable tournament in a long time.”
It was tough on his players to play six games in three days, Gibson said, but the two-deep mentality Brownsville Veterans has this season allowed the Chargers to push through to the end.
Strong defensive played a role in the Chargers’ championship run. Gibson said Darian Thuku and Erick Saldana shut down their opponents’ best offensive players, which allowed the rest of the defense to press hard.
Aaron Villarreal, Brownsville Veterans’ junior point guard, was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
“I think he controlled the whole tournament from the point guard position,” Gibson said. “He did an excellent job.”
This week, the Chargers are 22 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ Class 6A state rankings.
TAKING THE COURT: St. Joseph Academy and Hanna are heading to San Antonio to play on the court where some of the game’s legends played ball.
The two schools face off Jan. 28th at AT&T Center in San Antonio, the home of the five-time NBA champs, the San Antonio Spurts.
St. Joseph coach Sam Lucio said his team is excited for the unique opportunity to play in the same building where Tim Duncan and company ply their trade.
“I talked to the administration, and they were all for it,” Lucio said. “So we’ve been selling tickets (for the game) and it’s a pretty good deal. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play on an NBA court. It’s going to be fun.”
Barckholtz, whose Golden Eagles played last season at AT&T Center, thinks the exposure to this type of atmosphere is good motivation for his players.
“I feel like it can be close to how a playoff game is,” he said. “Maybe not in the crowd noise but in the excitement of where you are playing, and you want to do good on the Spurs’ floor. It gives the players a reward, and for younger players in our program and middle school, maybe incentive to come play at Hanna.”
FALCONS FIGHT: Los Fresnos had a successful tournament of its own, winning the consolation bracket of the City of Palms Classic by beating Weslaco High 62-59.
“I thought the kids played well from the start to the finish of the tournament,” coach Marco Hinojosa said.
The Falcons went 4-1 in tourney play and lost only to eventual champion Laredo United in bracket play.
“Besides the guys executing on the offensive end, I thought the guys defended well, and the biggest thing I thought was an increase in bench production,” coach Marco Hinojosa said. “To compete well for five games in three days your bench has to be productive, and I thought they did an excellent job of giving us a spark when we needed it.”
The success in the City of Palms Classic has Los Fresnos at 13-5 this season, with only one loss to a Rio Grande Valley team.