BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Though they share the same last name and are unrelated, Alyssa Jade Salinas and Brianna Salinas have had a sisterly bond that has lasted for most of their lives.
Alyssa and Brianna’s friendship dates back to when they met in elementary school.
“When they were in elementary, they met in the same kindergarten classroom at Canterbury,” Brianna’s dad and EHS coach J.D. Salinas said. “They’ve been really close friends since then through first grade and second grade up to middle school.”
“We (Alyssa and the family) moved to another part of Edinburg for middle school,” Alyssa’s mom Esmeralda Salinas said. “They were in separate schools, but they always kept in touch over the years.”
Brianna went to Barrientes and Alyssa went to South. But all the things kids normally did growing up, Brianna and Alyssa still did them: birthday parties, trips to the movies and everything in between.
When Alyssa and Brianna were incoming freshmen at Edinburg High, Brianna was planning to try out for the basketball team. She wanted Alyssa, who hadn’t played organized basketball before, to do the same.
“I was a cheerleader before and I had cheer practice,” Alyssa Salinas said. “The summer before school started, Brianna was telling me, ‘Just try it! Just try it! You’re tall. You can jump.’ I thought I’d give it a shot.”
“She did track and cross country (in middle school), so she wasn’t committed to those sports like she was with cheerleading,” Esmeralda Salinas said. “When she tried out for basketball, I said, ‘Are you sure, Jade? Basketball is a different sport. You run around, can push each other and get hurt.’ But she said she really wanted to play. That (her freshman year) was the first time she stepped onto a basketball court.”
Alyssa made EHS’ freshman dark team three years ago.
“She’s a smart kid, so she picked the game up quickly,” J.D. Salinas said. “She got a lot of playing time during her freshman season. She put the time in and played in the summer league so we moved her up to the varsity squad. She’s always progressed and progressed.”
“It was a little bit challenging. I wasn’t familiar with terms like double-dribbling at first, but I picked it up pretty quickly,” Alyssa Salinas said. “When I made mistakes, my teammates kept giving me confidence. ‘Oh, it’s all right. It’s going to happen. It’s just part of the game,’ they’d say. The coaches never underestimated me. They were always there for me. That helped me a lot.”
During a season marred by early-season injuries, Alyssa has been one of the fixed points in EHS’ ever-changing rotation. Alyssa is averaging 4.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 41 games. Her 7.5 rebounds is the second highest average on the team.
“She always had an instinct to get a rebound,” J.D. Salinas said. “She knew where the ball was going to bounce, how it was going to come off the rim and react to get to certain spots on the floor. Because of her quickness, she was able to get to loose balls pretty fast. She reads those things really well. That’s (Alyssa) Jade.”
Along with fellow senior Jenessah Santa Maria and junior Brianna Sanchez, Alyssa was named as one of the Bobcat captains for the 2018-19 season.
“It was an eye-opener because it meant I was going to lead with Jenessah (Santa Maria) and Brianna (Sanchez),” Alyssa Salinas said. “I’m glad we’ve been able to grow a stronger bond between each other, help our team get better and pick each other up.”
“Over the years she’s been playing at EHS, Alyssa and her teammates have had this chemistry together,” Esmeralda Salinas said. “They have this special bond, and I think the coaches have a lot to do with also because the players bond with the coaches, too. It’s not easy to find a connection like the one they have.”
Edinburg High (33-8) turned on the jet skis and went on a 20-0 run against Harlingen High in their third-round game on Tuesday to help the Bobcats punch their ticket to the UIL Class 6A regional tournament.
After the celebration began in earnest on the Edcouch-Elsa campus, Esmeralda learned she needed to hop on US-281 out of the Valley and up to Pflugerville to see her eldest daughter and son-in-law.
“My eldest daughter was pregnant and her due date was Feb. 24, but she started dilating last Friday,” Esmeralda Salinas said. “I told her, ‘OK, you need to just hold off for a little bit.’ She said, ‘Really, mom?’ ‘Just until Tuesday.’”
Esmeralda packed a suitcase and left the Valley after midnight Wednesday morning and arrived in Pflugerville just before 5 a.m.
“Around 11:46 a.m., my daughter’s first child and my first grandchild were born,” Esmeralda Salinas said. “I’ve been full of emotions. There’s so much excitement. My grandson’s a big boy, but he won’t be a part of the Bobcat family, unfortunately.”
“My mom just wanted to me to focus on the game and nothing else, but I’m excited,” new aunt Alyssa Jade Salinas said. “This is the best part of the season. It’s exciting but also I’m like, ‘Aww,’ because I want to share this moment with my sister.”
The Bobcats will face San Antonio Clark at 6 p.m. tonight at the Northside Sports Gym in San Antonio.