BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
Mercedes basketball is in a much different place now than it was six years ago. During the 2011-12 season, the program finished out of playoff contention for the 28th consecutive year. Since then, there has been very little stopping the Tigers from excelling on the court.
The Tigers qualified for the playoffs the last five straight seasons, including three combined district titles under the leadership of Marissa Gutierrez and, later, Monica Meza.
This season, the keys to the program were handed to Santiago Rivas, a familiar face around campus who helped the Tigers to a second-place finish in District 32-5A.
“It was a challenge at the beginning to get the girls to loosen up,” Rivas said. “For me, everything with the girls was there and already established. I just had to keep it going. There was a little bit of pressure on me to keep it going and not let it all fall down. But they’ve played well. We’re glad to be in the playoffs.”
Rivas had long been an assistant basketball coach on the boys side at Mercedes before earning the girls head coaching job last summer. He spent one season as a middle school coach in Santa Maria.
“I’ve been an assistant for three coaches: (Current Donna High) Coach (Manuel) Epperson for two years, (current PSJA Memorial) coach Eric Steinbrunner for seven to eight years and (current Mercedes) coach Rick Treviño. I learned a lot about what to do and what not to do from these guys.”
Steinbrunner has been a heavy coaching influence for Rivas through the years.
“What I learned most from him was how to build rapport with the kids,” Rivas said. “Right of the bat, he established the rules and set the kids straight. They respected him, and he respected them at the same time. On top of that, he knew a lot about basketball. He’s still one of my good friends.”
Mercedes (21-15) began to turn the corner around the start of the second round of the district season. After opening district play 6-2 through eight games, the Tigers dropped a 30-29 game to Donna North on Jan. 12. Mercedes ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak.
“That loss (to Donna North) might have been a blessing in disguise,” Rivas said. “Since then, we’ve been playing well, especially defensively.”
The Tigers defense will have to be on its toes when it faces the Valley’s leading scorer Jocy Amaya (24.1 ppg) and Rio Grande City in a bi-district matchup on Monday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at La Joya High.
“We played them in a tournament earlier this year, and we came out with the win,” Rivas said. “Jocy’s tough. She can shoot from anywhere. We’ll have a tough time.”