McALLEN — The City of Palms Tournament has been dominated by Lower Valley teams through two days with Brownsville Hanna, Brownsville Pace, Los Fresnos and Santa Rosa claiming all four spots in the tourney’s semifinals today at McAllen Rowe High School.
Santa Rosa won the battle between the Warriors with a 54-38 win over host McAllen Rowe on Friday night. Santa Rosa overcame a three-point halftime deficit with an 18-9 third quarter to jump ahead of Rowe for good.
“These boys, they’re the ones doing the work. I’m just privileged to be on the back end, maybe driving the bus a little bit, but these boys have all the talent and they’re the ones doing all the work,” Santa Rosa head coach Rene Duque said.
Point guard CJ Olivarez led Santa Rosa with a game-high 19 points while teammate Derek Guerra added 12. Rowe’s Julian Avila scored a team-high 15.
“This program has always played the best, and to be invited to these tournaments is a huge compliment to the boys,” Duque said.
Awaiting Santa Rosa in the semifinals is defending tournament champion Los Fresnos. The Falcons fought their way past Laredo LBJ 59-54 to move into the final four. Roger Capetillo led Los Fresnos with 18 points.
“We’re still growing as a team. We haven’t peaked yet,” Los Fresnos head coach Marco Hinojosa said. “We’re still trying to figure things out. The kids overcame some adversity today and found a way to grind out a win. Sometimes, you need games like this to get better, and today we got better.”
Tip-off between Los Fresnos and Santa Rosa is slated for noon at Rowe High School.
“We come to this tournament every year. (Rowe coach Jose) Yebra’s done a good job and has quality teams here. No matter who we play, Nikki Rowe or Santa Rosa, we’re going to get our money’s worth,” Hinojosa said.
The other semifinal matchup features Brownsville Hanna against Brownsville Pace at 1:30 p.m. The Eagles took down Grulla 60-22 on Day 1 and Sharyland High 62-48 on Day 2 to slide into the semis. Meanwhile, the Vikings battled past Harlingen South 55-48 to punch their ticket to the final four.
The third-place game is set for4:30 p.m. with the championship game to follow at 6 p.m.