By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — The Brownsville St. Joseph Bloodhounds made it to the Elite Eight in the TAPPS state playoffs last season, and the goal for this senior-heavy team is going further.
The Bloodhounds are ranked second in the Rio Grande Valley behind the Pace Vikings. Some players questioned their Valley ranking, and they have a legitimate argument.
They won’t be able to settle those arguments because they play in TAPPS, so arguably the best team in the Valley is resigned to competing for a state championship instead.
“Our goal is to be better than last year,” senior Martin Tapia said. “Last season we made the Elite Eight, so we are not content with doing as good as last season
Said senior and sixth man Nick Jackson, “I think we will get farther than last year. This year, we have the potential to go even further and possibly to state.”
For a team to be as successful, everyone has to understand and be accepting of their roles. Senior Bernie Garza gets plenty of open looks from deep, Josh Cisneros can do everything and Luigi Cristiano takes care of the post.
If Gerry Martinez gets doubled, they are expected to step up when called upon and will get open looks because of it.
“It is very important that I make those shots not just for me, but for the team,” Garza said. “Gerry (Martinez) creates a lot of shots for me. He is good on the court, but Fortnite not so much. They brought Tilted back, so we have been playing. We bond a lot off the court.”
Said Cristiano, “This is a great team, we play together and work hard. That is all you can ask for in any team, and we got star power. We are all capable of doing star-type things, like any other program. With that recipe, I think we can go pretty far.”
Said Cisneros, “Whenever Gerry (Martinez) gets overplayed, we know I need to get the ball more, we need to get Luigi the ball more and find our shooters.”
The team’s players were no strangers with Martinez, the back-to-back District 32-6A most valuable player. They have played with Martinez and other basketball players in the city from other programs since their youth.
“I have been playing with Gerry since I was 6 years old,” Cristiano said. “He is not a random kid, he is family.”
Said Martinez, “I knew coming in I was going to be accepted because of (Cristiano). We have been playing with each other for a long time, soccer and basketball, so coming in was good because I know these guys. I did not have to come in and prove myself and do too much,” Martinez said.
This senior-heavy Bloodhounds team’s players are ready to end their youth careers on a high note. They might not be recognized as better than Pace on paper, but they still could be state champions.