HIDALGO — PSJA North and Hidalgo emerged as the big winners on the final day of the 8th annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic basketball tournament Saturday by bringing home first- and third-place finishes, respectively.
Houston Strafford had run through each of its tournament opponents on its way to the championship game of the Platinum Bracket with wins over Harlingen South (51-33), Monterrey Tech (78-33), Weslaco IDEA (51-19) and Rio Grande City (61-36).
But in the championship game, PSJA North put an end to their run as the Raiders walked away with a 57-47 victory to finish as the Platinum Bracket champions.
Stafford ran out to a 22-19 halftime lead, but the Raiders went on to outscore the Spartans by a combined 38-25 during the third and fourth quarters to claim the championship.
PSJA North point guard Elijah De La Garza finished with a game-high 23 points, while big man Iziaah Rangel added nine points. The Raiders finished tournament play 6-0.
Rangel and De La Garza were named Co-MVPs of the tournament, while fellow Raiders Matthew Cantu and Juan Torres earned spots on the All-Tournament teams.
Rounding out the All-Tournament team was Hidalgo’s Gus Sanchez, Rio Grande City’s Aaron Marroquin, Harlingen South’s Rudy Rodriguez, Brownsville Hanna’s Diego Escobar and Houston Stafford’s Cameron Salawu and Maize Hightower.
In the third-place match, Rio Grande City and Hidalgo clashed in a rematch of a pool play game. The first time around, the Rattlers pulled out a 53-43 win over the Pirates. But, Hidalgo head coach Gus Sanchez rallied his troops and found a way to bounce back to take home third by beating Rio Grande City, 60-49.
A banner still hangs in Hidalgo’s gymnasium with the names of PSJA North head coach Jaime Gongora and Hidalgo head coach Gus Sanchez from when Gongora coached Sanchez and the Pirates to the regional tournament during the 1991-92 season.
Before the two teams earned first and third-place finishes, however, Gongora’s Raiders and Sanchez’s Pirates squared off in the semifinals in a coaching matchup of teacher against student.
On Saturday, the Raiders proved too much for the Pirates as PSJA North won 69-36 to advance to the Platinum Bracket’s championship game. Rangel and De La Garza each finished with 18 points.
PSJA North and Hidalgo will get set to do it all over again in just over a week as they’ll meet in non-district play Dec. 17 at Hidalgo High School.